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“Racoons?”
“I told you. They were two-legged and hairless. Also naked.” I grimaced.
“Male? Female?”
“Don’t know. I wasn’t looking between their legs on account their faces freaked me out. They had their teeth filed like sharks!”
“Mm-hm. Where did they go?” Perez asked next, and I could see by her expression she didn’t believe me. Hell, I had a hard time believing myself, and yet I couldn’t walk back my admission at this point.
“Not sure where their bodies went, but I do know they died. Some dude with a scythe came along and killed them. Maybe he took them their remains with him.” Yeah, I threw the Grim Reaper under the bus. Anything to deflect attention from me.
It only made things worse, as Perez raised a brow and drawled, “So you’re saying a male with a scythe killed the perpetrators.”
I nodded.
“And where is that person now?”
“Dunno. He took off when he heard your sirens. But he can’t be hard to find. He’s like really tall and wore a long duster, all in black. Had a hat with a brim.”
“And a scythe,” she added with a smirk. “Should be easy to find.”
“Actually, the scythe shrank, and he tucked it in his pocket.” My voice got smaller and smaller as my brain finally woke up and pointed out just how crazy I sounded. Never mind the fact it happened. I could see the cop didn’t believe it. Heck, I still had a hard time processing the events.
“You know what, on second thought, I don’t think you’ll need to come to the station. I’m sure we’ve got what we need.”
Perez dismissed me, making me home free, so why did my dumb ass blurt out, “I’m telling the truth.”
“Ma’am, this is a serious crime scene, and we don’t have time for your fanciful stories about creatures from the sewer and a man with a scythe who killed them.”
My lips parted, but I held in the words, I’m not lying. It was obvious she didn’t believe me. Hell, at this point, I began to second-guess myself. “Does this mean I can go home?”
“Yes, but just in case we need to follow up, I need your name, phone number, and address.”
The officer held out a pad of paper that got wet, and she frowned. “Let me find someone with a tablet who can take down your info.” She wandered off, and I glanced around, noting the growing crowd, as well as the arrival of more flashing lights as paramedics arrived to render aid. Not that anyone appeared to need any. Not a single body twitched or moaned.
A shiver went through me. I could have been one of those corpses given I’d stupidly stood there watching.
Perez didn’t return. I assumed she’d been distracted, and since the rain wasn’t getting any lighter I decided, fuck this. I walked away.
I headed away from the mess of lights and people, my feet squelching in my shoes. I usually avoided the subway at night, but I didn’t think they’d be sending another bus anytime soon, so it was my only option.
When it came time to head down to the station, I eyed the stairs and felt a moment of trepidation. Dumb, really. The sewer aliens literally crawled out of a sewer, and that system didn’t open up into the subway. Besides, if they were in the tunnels, people wouldn’t be calmly walking up the steps but sprinting while screaming. Or there’d be no foot traffic at all.
My prepaid Presto card let me through the turnstile, and I skipped down more steps to the platform itself. It wasn’t crowded this time of night, but there were enough people to make me if not relaxed at least not twitching. So long as I stayed behind a few, I’d get a head start if more of those sewer aliens decided to attack. I kept watch, staring left and right at the dark tunnels extending past the well-lit areas.
The train arrived in a rush of air that made my teeth clack as I finally reacted to the cold. My sodden clothes hung heavy as I embarked with everyone else, choosing a seat away from a door, where I could tuck against the window. Usually, I’d be reading or playing games on my phone, but tonight I just stared at the fast-moving concrete walls as we sped along. As it slowed for the next station, strange motion outside the window had me blinking and straightening.
Nothing there. Probably a shifting reflection in the glass.
When we neared the next stop, I stood and held the overhead bar as the train slowed. The doors whooshed open and I looked first before slipping out with the other folks onto the platform, a herd of us walking quickly for the exit. As I waited my turn to board the escalator, I glanced behind to watch the train leave and gaped, because riding atop the last car?
A bald, gray figure!
Gone in a flash, and so was I. I eschewed the moving stairs for the immobile version and pounded up them so fast I huffed, and my heart pounded against my rib cage trying to escape the cruel body making it exercise. A stitch in my side begged me to slow down and take a rest. Not happening. My fast-paced stride gave me shin splints but got me to my apartment building in three minutes instead of my usual lazy strolling five. Only once the security door latched behind me did I heave a sigh of relief.
My paranoid ass checked the elevator before getting inside just like I eyed the hall before stepping out onto my floor. I practically ran to my door, my jingling keys noisy, but at this point, I didn’t care. I just wanted my apartment.
I got in and quickly slammed the door shut. Locked it. Chained it. And then because it didn’t seem like enough, I wedged a chair under the knob.
