Page 24 of Starved Until Sunset

“They’ve got security cameras all over that place, don’t they?”

“Oh, yeah. After old man Kelmer went feral werewolf, they doubled the number of them.”

“You never realize how many more security cameras you need until an old man is bitten by an alpha werewolf on a trip overseas,” Dave said with a sigh, and Cody laughed as something tight inside his chest loosened a bit. God bless his little brother. “Maybe we could convince them to take a look at the camera for that side door going back a few weeks?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Cody blew out a breath, tipped his head back, and shouted “Fuck!” up at the first stars showing in the late evening sky.

Dave pulled him up from the car and into a strong hug. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, little bro.”

He stepped back and watched Dave get into his car and pull out of the lot. Standing beside his truck for a bit, Cody listened to the wind in the branches of the pines that surrounded the facility. Frogs and crickets were holding a competitive sing-off, and somewhere deeper in the woods an owl hooted.

A quiet sound started up beneath the nighttime chorus, and at first Cody thought the wind had picked up, blowing through the branches of the pines. But something brushed past his face, startling him, and he frantically wiped at his cheek.

“The fuck?”

He looked up and saw a large black shape twisted and turned in on itself overhead, blocking out the stars. It spun and spiraled above the pine trees, then suddenly swooped down toward him.

“Shit!”

Cody dropped to a squat and covered his head. Dozens, possibly hundreds of bats chased each other over and around him, their small, furry bodies bouncing off him, wings slapping him all over. Cody closed his eyes and screamed down at the asphalt as the bats circled him, their wings blowing dust and dirt into his face.

Then suddenly, they were gone. Cody remained in place, hands over his head, panting down at the parking lot. Slowly he lifted his head and looked around. Not a bat was in sight. He unlocked his truck and got inside, slamming the door and hitting the lock button. A shiver rattled through him, and he ran his hands over his head and face, shouting into his palms.

“What the fuck?” he whispered, leaning forward and looking up through the windshield. All he could see was stars and a few wispy clouds. He swore again for good measure before starting his truck and heading for home. A shiver snuck up on him as he pulled onto 118 and it seemed to push another round of curses up from his gut.

For some reason, he felt like he’d just been fucked with by someone, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

CHAPTER FIVE

“It’s pretty inventive, do we really have to clean it off?”

Demetrius looked up from the cleaning solution bottle in his hand. He had to agree with Cody, the vandals of Parson’s Hollow were becoming more creative with their graffiti. The yellow, diamond-shaped sign warned SPEED HUMP, but someone with a fairly steady hand had used spray paint to alter the message to read SPEEDY HUMPS, and then added $10 underneath.

“Yeah, it is pretty funny. But the council wants everything to be perfect for Halloween next week, since we get so many tourists now.”

“We should get a percentage of the sales at every shop next week for saving the town from all the monsters it’s coughed up,” Cody said. “We never got a parade or a free dinner or even a goddamn thank you.”

“Right.”

“Pay off some of our medical bills earned from a lot of those cases.” Cody’s expression turned slightly sour. “Did you see those werewolf ear headbands they’re selling at Parson’s Pharmacy? What the fuck is that about?”

Demetrius made a face. “I saw them. They’re being sold at Hollow Grounds and The Purple Orchid as well.”

“The Purple Orchid?”

“That new gift shop a few doors down from Margie’s.”

“Stupid name for a store.”

“Anyway, if we don’t clean all the signs on this stretch of road, we’re going to hear about it.” Demetrius watched Cody check the sky and the trees on either side of the road before he went to the truck to get the ladder. The bats the night before had really freaked him out, and Demetrius couldn’t blame him. They’d dealt with bats when they were still operating Critter Catchers, and those had been creepy even when they’d been wearing protective gear. But it had been nothing like what Cody had described.

Cody carried the ladder toward the sign. “Those directions making any sense?”

“Sort of.” Demetrius turned his attention back to the instructions printed in very tiny lettering on the bottle. It didn’t help that greasy fingerprints covered a lot of the words. Working at the DPW was a lot like visiting a house where the people had toddlers: everything was either sticky or slippery and covered with fingerprints.

“I still say we leave it and tell John the Bastard it wasn’t there.”