Naked Prey, Part Four

To their credit, the lead cop—his name was Aguilar—didn’t immediately tell us we were crazy. But he was skeptical. “I should shut you down,” he told a very nervous Perry. “But I won’t right now. Mostly because I don’t want to have to explain this upstairs.”

            Aguilar turned and looked down at the forest. The hiking trail. “We’re not going down there tonight. But tomorrow morning we’re going looking.” Then he jabbed a finger at Dixon. “You. We need to talk.”

            “But I don’t—I can’t . . .” He hung his head. “I might want my lawyer.”

            “That is your right.” Aguilar looked at me. “You two—don’t go home. We’re going to want to talk more in the morning.”

            At least none of the cops had openly checked out Rachel’s body—or mine, for that matter, although I’m not much to look at. Maybe they’d been here before. “Fine.” I faked a yawn. “I’m just going to bed.” I had no idea what time it was—I rely on my phone for that.

            “You know, I kind of like being naked all the time.” Rachel sat on the bed in our cabin. “Maybe we could get a membership? Somewhere else—without any monsters.”

            I checked my phone. It was 9:30. “I’d be okay with that.” I looked for my shorts.

            “Wait, what are you doing?” Rachel cocked her arm to punch me. “You’re not going out looking for Charley, are you?”

            “I just want to look around. And I need my pants for my phone.”

            “Not without me, you’re not.” She grabbed her cutoffs. “Two phones are better than one, right?”

            I knew not to argue with her in situations like this. “Fine. Let’s go hunt monsters.”

           

The cops were gone, but they’d staked out the area where Vann’s body had been with yellow ribbons: POLICE AREA—DO NOT CROSS.

            I circled it, taking pictures with my phone. Then I looked toward the hiking trail.

            “Don’t even think about it.” Rachel kicked my ankle. Even with a sandal, it hurt. “The cops wouldn’t go down there at night, and they’ve got guns. We don’t even have flashlights.”

            “Yeah.” What the hell was I thinking? That I could spot clues the police couldn’t? Maybe I should just take Rachel back to the cabin and go to bed.

            “Hi!” A voice startled us. “I guess we had the same idea?”

            Kate. A cigarette in her fingers—tobacco this time. “I just came out for a smoke. The cops said the body was gone. I just wanted to . . .” She stopped, staring at the grass.

            Even in the darkness, under the bright stars we could all see the blood. “Yuck.” Kate sucked on her cigarette. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

            “Yeah, I don’t know what we’re doing out here either.” I looked around. Down toward the trail, high up into the trees. “I just thought . . .”

            One of the trees shook. Not that windy, but it bent forward, then snapped back.

            I held up my phone. It had a flashlight app. But it wasn’t strong enough for me to see anything more than a few feet away.

            Kate tossed her cigarette into the grass and squashed it out with her sandal. “You’re both wearing shorts.”

            Rachel glared at her. “Is that a problem?”

            “It just looks weird after a week of—”

            “Wait a minute.” I leaned forward. “There’s something there.”

            Rachel put a hand on my shoulder. “Yeah . . .”

            The ground around the tree shimmered. It was like watching a movie on fast forward, skipping scenes every two seconds. I thought I saw it—but then I didn’t. But there it was again

            The creature? Charley? It looked up at us, its eyes glowing. Sharp teeth and wide jaws. Blood and skin poured down its chin.

            Then it was invisible again.

            “Oh god.” Kate trembled next to me. “Is that . . .”

            “Charley.” I grabbed Rachel’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

            But Charley had seen us. And it was still hungry. Or angry. Or both. It vanished, the tree shimmering.

            “Take off your shorts.” Rachel pulled down her cutoffs. “It only wants skin. It’ll rip through your pants—come on, Tom, get naked!”

            Any other time that would have been the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. Right now I only wanted to get away from Charley. So I pulled down my shorts and kicked them off, then shoved Rachel forward. “Go!” I slapped her butt. “I’m right behind you!”

            But I could hear the creature right behind me. I felt its breath on my bare back. I ran.

            We raced across the grass.

Rachel stumbled, kicking off a sandal. I grabbed her arm and helped her keep moving. Then Kate yelped, stepping on something sharp in the dirt. I leaned over to hold her up. Okay, there may have been some inappropriate touching involved, but I managed to help her keep running.

            Behind me I heard grunting. Charley was getting closer. We’d never get to the cabins in time. I looked at Rachel, glanced at Kate, and wished I’d chosen another line of work.

            Then gunshots roared in the air.

            Kulick and Aguilar ran around the row of cabins. “Get down! Get down, damn it!”

            Rachel flopped on the ground. I tumbled and grabbed for Kate’s foot. She cursed, and we all fell into a pile as the cops’ weapons roared. Over and over. How many shots? I didn’t care, as long as they all passed over my head.

            Eventually the gunfire died. I tried to roll over, but my hand was trapped between someone’s legs. “Uh, Rachel?”

            “Just let me sit here for a minute.” I felt her foot kick at the dirt.

            “Okay. But my hand is . . .”

            “That’s me.” Kate patted my shoulder. “No worries.”

            Easy for her to say. I sat up. “Uhh . . .”

            “I think we’ve got it.” Kulick pointed her weapon at the ground. “Good thing you got down when we said.”

            I twisted around. “Is that—?”

            “NO!” It was Perry, running between the cabins, chased by two more cops—Trentman and someone else. “You didn’t have to kill him! Charley? Charley!”

            I struggled to my feet.

            Charley looked like an overgrown wolverine, with coarse black fur and sharp claws. Its teeth weren’t huge, but its wide jaws looked capable of biting through bone. Kulick and Trentman circled it, their weapons raised, looking for any sign of life.

            Perry tried to approach the body, but Kulick pushed him back. “What is that thing, anyway?”

            “I don’t know.” Perry dropped to his knees. “He was just . . . Charley.”

            “You guys all right?” I helped Rachel up.

She leaned down to pull Kate to her feet. “Just grass stains and a skinned knee.”

“I think my heart stopped for a moment.” Kate patted her chest. “Okay, it’s starting up again.”

I looked around. “Where’s your husband? Still playing poker?”

“Oh, I’m not married.” She twisted the ring on her finger. “Not anymore. I just tell people I am so they don’t hit on me. Especially after dark.”

That almost made sense.

I looked at Kulick. “Do you need us, or can we go to bed?”

She smirked. “Hey, you’re consenting adults. Sleep wherever you want.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I took Rachel’s hand. “Good night, Kate.”

Kate winked. “Nice meeting you both.” She headed across the grass toward the cabins.

“Stick around tomorrow morning.” That was Aguilar. “We’re going to need statements.” He sighed. “I don’t know how we’re going to explain this to the chief.”

That was their problem, not mine. Rachel and I turned to head back to our cabin.

The cops took our statements in the morning. They told me they’d found Vann’s body just off the hiking trail after dawn.

I didn’t talk to Dixon again, but I did phone his wife to bring her up to speed. I hadn’t actually found out much about Dixon’s dealings, so his wife asked me if I’d look into his business.

So I had another job, or at least a continuation of the old one.

Rachel and I packed what clothes we had, got dressed, and checked out. A different naked manager was working the front desk. “Everything okay with your stay?” A young guy in his twenties. “Hope to see you again soon.”

“Yeah.” I signed a credit card slip. “Have a great weekend.”

Dixon’s black SUV was gone from the parking lot. I hoped he was going home. But I didn’t want to be there when his wife opened the door.

We had to drive back separately after I drove Rachel to pick up her Prius. Back in Chicago I carried Rachel’s bag to the elevator. “Feels funny wearing clothes again. Scratchy.”

            “Yeah.” She shrugged. “You want to come up for dinner?”

            “Sure.” The elevator opened. “What should I wear?”

Rachel laughed and slugged me. “Don’t get any ideas. But we can check out websites. Maybe we can find a place that’s a little closer next time. Without any monsters.”

I smiled. “Count me in.”

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