Howl of the Heavens ch.16

     In Brooksville Samantha greets Sheriff Peter in the Brooksville Hospital, “The victim’s right in here.”

 

    He shows her to the emergency room where a man in his mid thirties with brown mullet hair and stubble is lying in the bed, the first thing Samantha notices is he is missing his right arm and from the bandages it was a recent injury.

 

    Sheriff Peter is the first to speak, “Dr. Samantha York this is Mr. Richard

Stevens and Mr. Richard Stevens this is Dr. Samantha York of the Zoological institute, we would like for you to describe your ordeal for her if you please.”

 

    Richard Stevens begins, “Well a few days ago I was woken up by the sound of my horses out at my stable making all kinds of noises. Well it was early so they shouldn’t have been up yet, and I had never heard them make such a ruckus before. Well I started to get up thinking ya-know like one of em had gotten loose or something. But then I heard something I hadn’t heard since my pa had to put a horse down for a broken leg back when I was little. A scream I heard a horse scream, so I think a cougar or a bear or something had gotten to them, so I grab my rifle to take care of the critter or at least chase it away. I headed out and saw around the edge of the stable a bit of a black ear and head so I think a coyote or wolf ya’know but what I saw weren’t no wolf or nothing I had ever seen. There were these two animals ‘bout the size O’ wolves but they looked more like giant foxes or something with dem big heads, ears, and tails, not to mention the legs were in proportion to a fox. After I got over dat I noticed they was eating my prized stallion Blacky. That reminds me one was solid black but the other one was black with this white spot on its chest, well anyway I raised my rifle and my god, oh my god two more ran out of the forest.”

 

    Richard Stevens stopped, sighed and took a drink of water from the cup on the table next to his bed and cradled the cup in his one hand just looking down.

 

    Samantha in a soft tone spoke to him, “Mr. Stevens I know this must be hard but could you please tell us what happened after the other two appeared?”

 

    Richard Stevens looked up and said, “ I still can’t believe it and you will both think I am crazy, the police already think I am crazy, but its true; all of it, well any how you wanted it so here it is. Well one was grey with a whiter underside and the other one was solid black, I figure they was the parents for the smaller two. But this is what you won’t believe they was huge, I mean huge. At the shoulder they was taller than my biggest horses and longer than a bus, I swear to god with those big fox tails they was longer than a damned bus! And then that grey one, my god that image will stuck in my head forever I swear it, she stood up or should I say she pushed off the ground with her front paws like a bear and stood up on her hind legs. She was so big she could have looked into the second story of my house. I raised my rifle to shoot it. I was just so scared I had to try something but she came down fast and sliced off my right arm with her claws.”

 

    He indicated his missing arm when he said it continuing, “I’m not certain, but I think I passed out soon after but I think my gun must have exploded because I felt this intense heat and the wound was all burnt up.”

 

    Sheriff Peter leaned to Samantha and said, “The wound was cauterized the doctors say it was the only thing that saved his life, other wise he would have bled to death.”

 

    “Yep” said Richard, “Now don’t think my wife slept through it all dat commotion, it woke her up, if you want to ask her what she saw she’s at the house right now. She’s the one that called 911. She can back up my story. She saw them things too. But you say your one them zoo scientists right well your going to want to know dis, the strangest thing about this whole thing to me was when that big grey bitch rose up she looked like she had big human breasts instead of lotso little nipples like it should have. That really stuck with me, because I have had dogs my whole life and have hunted down problem foxes and coyotes and they all had them little nipples on da bitches, not this one though just two big tits.”

 

    Samantha leans over to Sheriff Peter while whispering, “That sounds like the big female I saw in the cave, but when I saw her she was laying down in the shadows of the cave so I never noticed anything like that. However considering all the strange things I have found out about them this doesn’t surprise me. If those two Mr. Stevens saw were the only two cubs or pups, which ever term we decide to use, and if only a few offspring are common than there wouldn’t be any need for anymore than two mammary glands.”

 

    Richard Stevens had been drinking his water while Samantha was talking and heard every word. What he heard caused him to cough up his water and get wide eyed. He looked at Samantha then Peter with shock in his face before getting angry and yelling at them, “You people knew!? You knew the whole fucking time about these things and didn’t warn anybody?! Didn’t think to put it on the news or in the god damned paper?! Didn’t think to warn anybody?!”

 

    Peter stands up and says to Richard, “Now sir please calm down, we did put out a report to the local ranchers and farms owners, yourself included about a possible predator problem. However we didn’t know until very recently the nature of the predator that was causing the problems.”

 

   Richard Stevens yells out, “Possible problem? Possible fucking problem?! Look at my God damned arm you bastard! No wait ya can’t! Predator problem? Predator problem means bears, cougars, and other such critters not

some fucking giant monsters you ass hole! Now get out!”

 

    Samantha and Peter get up and leave the room with Mr. Stevens still yelling obscenities in his room at them.

 

    In the hall Samantha says to Peter, “We really should warn these people especially the ones on the out skirts of the towns about these animals. They clearly must be having some food problems, I got reports describing the increase of the various town sizes and an area once thriving with thousands of deer was cut down this last year, they have been cut off from there food supply most likely and are now being forced closer into the towns.”

 

    “Well this one got a rifle blast at point blank range they are likely gun shy.” stated Sheriff Peter with a dismissive wave.

 

    Samantha walks out into the noon day sun with Peter while saying, “I wouldn’t count on that Sheriff, from what I have found I doubt it even felt it.” Peter watches with a look of un-ease on his face as Samantha gets in her truck and drives out of the hospital parking lot.