Free Jack Kursed by Glenn Bullion

cringed. Kissing of any kind was
gross.
    Her mouth fell open when
she saw blood running down his neck. Paul screamed in pain, like
Miss Simmons had given him discipline. Then the strangest thing
happened. Paul looked like he was beginning to enjoy being bit,
even as more blood coated his shirt. The tall man made the most
disgusting noises Tiffany ever heard, sucking and slurping like
Paul was one big lollipop.
    She raised her camera and held it
steady. As her finger hovered over the shutter release, the tall
man turned and looked in her direction.
    Tiffany screamed.
    The tall man had large
teeth with blood dripping onto his chin. His eyes were black and
red. He held Paul easily with one hand around his neck. Paul didn't
move, and Tiffany could see his eyes looking up blankly into the
night sky.
    It wasn't a man, but a
monster.
    She took a picture, and
then turned and ran.
    She didn't dare take a
peek behind her. As fast as she ran, the alley didn't feel like it
was coming to an end. One car sped by, and then another. They
looked like they were miles away. She expected someone to grab her
from behind at any moment.
    No one did.
    Tiffany would have run clear across
the sidewalk into the street, had it not been for the man crossing
her path. She ran right into him, her nose crushing into his side,
and fell on the ground.
    *****
    Jack looked down at the
young girl at his feet, his eyes narrowing in anger. It had not
been a good night for him. His garden was coming along smoothly,
but his favorite all-night ice cream place had closed down. The
movie theater wasn't showing anything worth watching, at least not
at two o'clock in the morning. The beach was always nice late at
night, but a bunch of twenty-somethings were making idiots of
themselves, starting a bonfire that certainly would get them
noticed by the cops. To kill his boredom, Jack figured a walk
around Parkville would be nice.
    He didn't count on little kids
assaulting him.
    "You want to watch where you're going
there, munchkin? The last thing I need is mutant kid snot all over
my pants."
    The girl said nothing. She
had a look of pure terror in her eyes. Scrambling to her feet, she
ran down the sidewalk. Her backpack bounced on her shoulders, her
camera swinging as she moved her little arms. Jack laughed at the
sight.
    He took a step to resume
his walk, and then paused. The strangeness of what just happened
settled over him, and curiosity took over. What was a little girl
doing running around the alleys of Parkville at two in the morning,
like she'd seen a ghost?
    Craning his neck, he
peered down the alley. There was a single light, but no people that
he could see. He certainly didn't hear anything, except for what
sounded like critters running around, maybe rats.
    The little girl continued
to run ahead of him. He was maybe a full block behind her. She
would stop for a few seconds, rest against a pole, and run once
again. Jack laughed. She wasn't very fast, but she was determined
to get somewhere. He half-expected someone to sprint past him,
maybe an upset mother or father.
    Jack kept walking, not gaining ground,
but not losing any either. If he caught up to her, he'd ask her
what she was running from, to settle his own curiosity. If she got
away, he'd just have to press on with life.
    There were four men
standing on the street corner ahead, drinking beer and smoking. The
little girl moved around them and stood near the curb to look for
traffic. As she took a step, one of the men grabbed her under the
arms and hoisted her in the air. Jack was close enough to
hear.
    "Whoa, there. Where you
going, kid? You got any money in that bag of yours?"
    Jack smiled and shook his
head. They were just some young punks having fun. His smile faded
when one of them actually looked through her bag, and another tried
to grab the camera from her.
    "I need me a camera. Hey, Mitch, get
her camera."
    Jack didn't bother walking faster. The
girl held on to her camera with all her strength as he