horrors2

lucifer_chikken.The_Wareho.tex

  1\chapauth{lucifer chikken}
  2\chapter{The Warehouse}
  3
  4
  5Dripping water echoed through the empty warehouse. I stepped into a
  6slant of light thrown by security spotlights outside. The sliver of
  7light was intermittently chopped by an exhaust fan set into the
  8wall. I checked my old automatic watch, lost in meditation as the
  9second hand whirred smoothly around the dial. It was late. I wound
 10up at the old warehouse in the harbor on a hunch, there was a lot
 11of money riding on the investigation, and Luke Bavarius, P.I.
 12listened to hunches when it meant keeping the freezer flush with
 13starchy Hungry Man dinners.
 14
 15
 16
 17In the distance, a low grunt crept through the darkness accompanied
 18by the clang of metal. The sound rattled me down to the very
 19marrow. Instinctively, my hand flew to my Beretta, two fingers
 20rubbing the sleek metal for security. I'd seen a lot of horrors in
 21the Big Apple, some things I'd never shake. The Beretta was my
 22partner through each of them.
 23
 24
 25
 26Gritty footsteps crossed the dirty cement floor some distance in
 27front of me. Squinting, I caught a flash of pale skin, a glint of
 28metal. I pulled my gun from its holster, admiring its length as it
 29was unsheathed. Stalking forward, back tight against shipping
 30containers, I disengaged the safety and cocked the gun. Footsteps
 31scurried further into the depths of the warehouse.
 32
 33
 34
 35I spoke to the darkness. ``Show yourself,
 36asshole.''
 37
 38
 39
 40Legs flashed across a slit of light.
 41
 42
 43
 44``No one should be here now,'' I muttered. My heart fired
 45adrenaline through my body. ``Shoot first, ask questions
 46later, Bavarius.''
 47
 48
 49
 50I raised my weapon, aiming it at the sound. ``Stop right
 51there!'' I shouted, firing two shots into the darkness. An
 52anguished cry echoed off the tin ceiling, followed closely by a
 53thick thud of a body hitting the floor.
 54
 55
 56
 57I honed in on the sound and stalked toward it. In the shadows,
 58another hulking figure loomed. ``What the fuck is
 59that?''
 60
 61
 62
 63It emitted a low sound and moved. Its form seemed unearthly. My
 64colon clenched in response to the adrenaline rush. Must've drank
 65too much muddy coffee before this stakeout.
 66
 67
 68
 69Again, my Beretta found itself ready to fire as I aimed at the
 70hulking figure. The sounds it was making, the low groans, were
 71unearthly. Whatever it was, it had to be done away with. My finger
 72twitched on the trigger.
 73
 74
 75
 76``Don't do it, Mister.'' The weak voice came from my
 77right. My eyes darted between the veiled voice and the shadows in
 78front of me.
 79
 80
 81
 82``What the hell are you?'' I called.
 83
 84
 85
 86The voice didn't answer immediately. It just whimpered.
 87
 88
 89
 90``What are you?!'' I demanded again, pouring all of the
 91testosterone pooled my balls into my voice.
 92
 93
 94
 95``I'm{\ldots} hurt. Don't shoot it.''
 96
 97
 98
 99``Shoot what?'' There was a pause. ``Shoot
100what!''
101
102
103
104``Please{\ldots} I'm just a kid{\ldots}''
105
106
107
108Oh, hell. A kid. I bit the inside of my cheek to stave off the
109encroaching vomit. I could envision the bile on its rise from my
110ulcerated stomach. My hand shook. The figure groaned low again and
111my finger impulsively squeezed away at the trigger. Violence
112exploded once more, echoing through the tin-paneled warehouse. The
113figure received my bullet, still unsure of its identity, I watched
114its shadowed form waver in the shadows.
115
116
117
118``No!'' The kid cried, his pubescent voice cracking with
119pain and disgust. He had dragged his body toward me. My gun hand
120fell limply to my side; I looked down at the kid with pity and
121shame. A gleaming snail trail of blood darkened the cement floor
122behind him.
123
124
125
126``Why are you in here?''
127
128
129
130The kids eyes were pale with death. You could almost hear the blood
131draining from him in sick little spurts.
132
133
134
135``You shot the giraffe,'' he wailed, low.
136
137
138
139My attention snapped from the kid to the darkness in front of me. I
140squinted, deciphering the dark figure wavering before me. Its long
141neck gradually came into focus. I stepped closer to the beast. It
142was vomiting blood from its neck, muscular spasms shooting through
143the six foot long tube of meat; its long blue tongue drooped to the
144side flaccidly. Long eyelashes fluttered over its cow-like brown
145eyes.
146
147
148
149Woozy, the giraffe suddenly dropped to its knobby knees, its neck
150lolled dramatically to the side. The neck snapped over a row of
151container drums, folding thickly like a bag of sand. The sound
152reverberated through the hollow spaces in my bones. It wasn't
153likely to be forgotten, to abandon those spaces, any time soon. I
154clutched desperately at my stomach, trying not to vomit my liver
155and onion dinner all over the floor.
156
157
158
159I glanced at the kid. Exhalations escaped him in a long rattling
160breaths. He'd be a goner without help.
161
162
163
164``Ah shit,'' my chest heaved. ``Should've listened
165to the kid, Bavarius.''
166
167
168
169Sirens screamed toward the warehouse. From the wide doorway, the
170rain-slicked streets of the Empire City opened their arms to me. I
171pulled a Pall Mall from the emergency pack stashed in my pocket and
172lit it up, muttering to myself, the cigarette bouncing between my
173lips. ``New York. I ream her and ruin her, but the whore keeps
174taking me back.''
175
176
177
178Red lights whirled closer. Suddenly, I was sobbing. 
179
180 
181
182
183\illustration{lucifer chikken}{Gun / Warehouse}{art/lucifer_chikken-gun_warehouse.png}