Free Helens-of-Troy by Janine McCaw

she
said, softening her voice. “I just want to know what you’ve got in
your little bundle of joy there, and then I’ll be on my way.” She
remembered the courage her Nan had shown facing the coyote earlier.
She desperately wanted to summon up some of that courage for
herself. “Oh hi, Nan,” she lied, waving. “Am I ever glad to see
you.”
    The fake-out worked. The teenager
immediately turned around to see if there was someone behind him,
giving Ellie the opportunity she needed. She darted towards him and
pulled the blanket down from his shoulder in one fell swoop, her
hand brushing against his exposed neck as she did so. He was cold.
Icy cold.
    The sudden human touch startled him and
he accidentally released his grip on the bundle he was holding.
Ellie watched in horror as a young girl tumbled from the blanket.
She landed on the ground with a thud so hard, Ellie wondered if she
was still alive.
    The child let out a weak moan. Her
little gingham-covered arms reached out towards Ellie. “Help me,
Ellie. Find me.”
    “I’m here,” Ellie assured her. “I’ll
help you.”
    The teenager turned towards Ellie, his
red eyes glaring at her intently. He snarled at her again, and this
time Ellie could see two sharp fangs beneath his blood red
lips.
    “You bastard,” Ellie shouted, reaching
for the child. “Keep away from her.”
    “Leave my kiddie meal alone,” the
teenager screeched in an ear-shattering octave. He dragged the girl
out of Ellie’s reach.
    “What?” Ellie screamed in disbelief.
“You’re sick, you know that?”
    “A little salt, maybe a shake of
pepper. She doesn’t have as much meat on the bone as I like, but
she’ll do.” He looked at Ellie and licked his lips. “For starters.”
He continued to drag the girl to the edge of the foul smelling
water.
    “Nighty-night,” he taunted, as like the
biblical parting of the sea, the waters separated and the teenager
disappeared into its muddy bottom with the little girl.
    Ellie ran to the edge of the creek. It
was really too shallow for them to have disappeared, but they were
definitely gone. Ellie could only see her own reflection in the
moonlit water. She shivered.
    “He left the blanket behind,” the
Shadowman said, startling her as he reappeared beside her. “You
might as well keep warm.”
    “You’ve got a lousy sense of timing,”
she said to him, refusing to pick it up. “I’d rather freeze to
death, thanks.”
    “Your choice,” the Shadowman shrugged.
“You’re as stubborn as the rest of them.”
    “What do you want from me?” Ellie
asked, perplexed.
    “Sonnez les matines, sonnez les
matines, din-dan-don, din-dan-don,” he sang, leaning forward to
sweep a dark strand of hair from Ellie’s face. “You have been
summoned Ellie. The bell that tolls, it tolls for thee.”
    In the attic room on the third floor of
the old Victorian house, Ellie awoke from her slumber, sat up, and
let out a silent scream.
     
     
    Friday...
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Always an early riser, Helena left her
bedroom and crept down the stairs towards the front door, trying
not to awaken Helen or Ellie.
    “That was a night and a half,” she said
to herself, pausing in front of the mirror in the hallway to look
at her reflection. She gently fingered her hair, pushing her bangs
away from her eyes. “All things considered, I think I look
presentable enough to greet the world. The Maple Street portion of
the world, anyway.”
    Morning was her favorite time of the
day. She felt everything was so peaceful before the rest of the
world woke up. Stepping out into the quietness of her front porch,
she looked down the paved walkway that ran through the middle of
her lawn. The streetlight was casting enough light to confirm what
she had already suspected. The weekly local paper was not where it
should have been.
    “Now where did it go?” she
wondered.
    “How ya doing, Mrs. LaRose?” Ryan
asked, pulling his beat-up black Toyota in front of her house.