Free Misfits, Inc. by Holly Copella Page A

she stared at the
decomposing body of a young woman only inches from her.  The woman’s eyes were
open and there was a large amount of dried blood from several scratches along
her shoulder to her chest, slicing her tattered dress.  Her right arm was
missing, having been seemingly ripped from her body.  Hailey cried out and
scrambled to her feet, unable to take her eyes off the butchered woman.  To her
surprise, it wasn’t Amy, but she somehow looked familiar.
    Skyler ran toward her, saw the body, and
immediately clung to Hailey from his own fright.  Hailey stared helplessly at
the dead woman, and was suddenly aware that she was missing the lower half of
her body as well as her arm.  It looked as if something had been feeding on her
decaying corpse.  Skyler also stared at the body and alternated clutching
Hailey’s arm and pulling on her shoulder.  She was almost certain he wanted to
jump into her arms, so she’d carry him.  There was more growling from the
nearby woods, causing them to freeze in place and stare at the woods’ edge.
    “Did you, uh, hear something?” Skyler asked without
taking his eyes off the woods.
    It was possibly the first time he remained
motionless for more than a second.  Something large and black jumped from the
dark shadows for them.  Before either could get a good look at it or even react
to the animal leaping for them, it was tackled into the tall grass by a black
panther.  Skyler grabbed Hailey’s arm and pulled her to his side, possibly due
to his own fright more than attempting to protect her.  They could hear loud,
vicious snarls as the panther and creature fought in a massive, black ball
mostly hidden within the tall grass.  Hailey had no idea what she’d just
witnessed, but she was certain the creature wasn’t any animal she’d ever seen
before.
    Both watched the grass sway beneath their fighting
bodies.  Hailey was almost unable to move, wanting to know what sort of creature
had come close to attacking them and the fear of it chasing them if they ran. 
Skyler had ideas of his own.  He grabbed Hailey’s hand and nearly pulled her
off her feet while hurrying her back for the path.  She had little choice but
run behind him with his hand nearly crushing hers.  She found it difficult to
keep up with his long, fast strides, but he wasn’t about to release her hand. 
She could hear the vicious sounds from the fighting animals in the clearing
growing faint the further they ran.

Chapter
Eleven
     
    T he lounge was practically empty and void of life during the
popular dinner hours as most guests were in the dining room.  Logan played a
soft ballet on the piano while keeping his attention focused on the small
group, who had collected at the bar.  Tam leaned on the bar, listening
intently, with her mouth partially opened.  She watched Hailey and Skyler, who
sat across from her.  They attempted to hold their drinks in trembling hands
while they recounted what happened to them in the woods.  Lucinda sat on the
other side of Hailey and stared as well.
    “What sort of wild animal was it?” Tam asked.
    “It wasn’t any wild animal I’d ever seen,” Hailey
insisted while glancing at the bartender.  “It was hideous; some sort of
beast.”  She shook her head defiantly, not believing her own words.  “I didn’t
get a real good look at it, but it sounded nasty.”
    “All I saw was a black blur, but I heard it,”
Skyler quickly interjected, talking almost too fast to be understood. 
“Whatever it was, it was larger than that panther that attacked it.”
     “And you think either this creature or the panther
killed the girl?” Tam asked.
    “I don’t know,” Hailey replied while taking another
swallow of the special cocktail Tam created for her.  Despite its potency, she
took large swallows.  “She had slash marks across her chest.  Something had
been eating her body.”
    Tam and Lucinda stared with horror in their eyes
then simultaneously made faces.