The Pact
I felt the hairs slowly rise on the back of my neck. My knees wobbled and my flesh grew suddenly cold. I shut my eyes and counted to three backwards. Then I turned around.
The beam of my flashlight played across the stacks of boxes, old furniture, and broken picture frames. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. But something was not right. I moved the flashlight backwards and forwards, hoping to glimpse a movement. Still nothing.
“Jed?”
I kept my gaze focused on the ornate mirror to one side of the attic, its frame half hidden behind a rocking horse with terrified eyes and a horrified expression. The beam of my torch reflected back at me, a bright round orb in the semi-darkness. “What?” I called back, the sudden sound of my own voice strange and hollow in the cavernous space. Starr was still downstairs. I could hear his footsteps echoing on the bare floorboards below. “I’m up in the attic.”
“Find anything?” His tousled head poked up through the attic hatch and I swung the torch towards him. “Jesus, Jed. Don’t point it in my eyes.” He squinted in the beam and turned his head away as he pulled himself up through the small manhole. He stood up and brushed at his denim-clad knees.
We both heard it at the same moment. A slithering, sliding sound from behind a stack of cartons by the spider web-covered window. I put my arm out to stop Starr walking forward, towards the noise. “Wait,” I hissed. I slowly moved the torch beam towards the hulking shape of the boxes.
A pair of red-hued eyes caught the flash of the torch light, glinting malevolently at us before disappearing behind the faded cardboard exterior of an old canned beans box. A frantic scratching could be heard for a second or two. Then there was silence.
“Did you see that?” Starr’s voice was high with excitement. He pushed my restraining arm away and strode over towards the boxes. “Come on, there’s something behind the cartons. Help me get it.” His last command was muffled as he folded his lanky body over and began to disassemble the stack of boxes.
“Don’t scare it,” I said impatiently. I looked around for somewhere to set the torch down. “We’ve been looking all night for it. Take a bit of care otherwise we’ll lose it again.” I balanced the torch on the scratched leather saddle of the rocking horse, it’s beam aimed towards us, and I began to help Starr unstack the cartons.
As Starr lifted off the second layer of boxes, something large rushed up from behind the carton in a flurry of fur and feathers. I briefly caught the scent of decaying leaves and dog shit as the creature scrabbled past me and floundered across the room to hide behind the big oval mirror. The light of the torch blinded me as I tried to follow the myrmidon’s erratic flight.
“Wowsers. Did ya see it? It’s a bloody myrmidon, Jed!” Starr’s excitement was palpable. “We’ve actually found one!” He stood staring at me in wide-eyed wonder.
I walked carefully across the floor to pick up the torch, my eyes averted from the bright light. As I lifted the flashlight the beam flickered and died. “Shit.” I shook the torch, hearing the batteries thud against the casing. I flicked the switch on and off. The torch refused to reignite.
“Why did ya turn the torch off? It’s a myrmidon! After all these years of searching!” Starr’s voice was thick with emotion. “Turn the torch back on. We have to catch it.”
I shook the torch impatiently. “The batteries are dead.” I glanced over towards the open hatch, a bright yellow square lit by the ceiling lights on the floor below. “Do you have any more in your bag?”
“They can’t be dead. I replaced them yesterday.” Starr reached my side in two long strides and snatched the torch from my hand.
I struggled to see in the dim light. We needed a torch. I leaned over and pushed at the edge of the mirror. It creaked and swung on its stand, my shadowy reflected shape swaying as the mirror moved.
***
“I’m not sure exactly what happened next.” I cradled the mug in both hands, taking comfort from the warmth of the cup. I shivered, and someone pulled the blanket up more closely around my shoulders. I smiled at them gratefully.
“Take your time.” The police officer glanced at his companion and they exchanged a look. The flashing red and blue lights of the emergency vehicles lit up the darkness in macabre disco flashes. Over to one side a TV crew were setting up for a live cross. The paramedic who had assessed me circled, watching the cops warily.
I sighed and sat quietly for a moment, looking back at the house. Emergency tape had been stretched around the perimeter. Official looking people scurried in and out the front door. The fragrant scent of the coffee circled towards my nostrils as I held the cup under by chin. I could sit here all day like this.
“Mr. Evans?” The older cop prompted, bending slightly to bring his face closer to mine. He had a small scar below one eye that caused it to droop slightly, giving him a raffish appearance.
“Sorry.” I gave a small, sad smile. “I think I’m in shock. I can’t believe that Starr is gone.”
The paramedic stepped forward. “Please, don’t tire the patient. He has been through a lot.”
The cop held up an authoritative hand. He didn’t look at the paramedic. “Give us a few minutes,” he said shortly. “Someone lost their life here tonight. We need to get to the bottom of it.”
I allowed myself to take a quick glance towards the treetops outside the attic window. The myrmidon sat crouched on a high branch, backed up close against the trunk. It’s clawed feet were tucked in against its body. It stared back at me, its eyes unblinking.
“Can you tell us what you and Starr Montgomery were doing in the house in the first place?” The cop had decided to take charge again.
I shifted slightly. I looked back towards the flurry of renewed excitement around the door of the house. A body on a stretcher, carefully covered with a blanket, was carried out and pushed into the open doors of a waiting ambulance. “We had permission,” I said primly. “The owners had given us permission to be on the premises. Starr and I are, were, ghostbusters. We had reason to believe that a myrmidon was living in the house.”
“A myrmidon? What the hell is a myrmidon?” The cop was no longer able to reign in his impatience. “I’ve got no time for this crazy ghostbuster bullshit.”
“Harry, the house is supposed to be haunted. There are a ton of rumors around town.” The other cop finally spoke up, only to be quickly silenced by a withering stare from his commanding officer.
“Starr and I were called in at the request of the owners. They believed that they had a mischievous entity living somewhere in the house. After performing our own due diligence, Starr and I reached the conclusion that it could be a myrmidon.” I passed the empty coffee cup to the still-hovering paramedic, murmuring my thanks. “We’ve been trying to find a live myrmidon for many years.”
“Chrissakes, I’m in no mood for this kind of fantasy shit. Can you cut the BS and tell me how Starr Montgomery ended up dead?” A speck of spittle flew from the cop’s fleshy lips and landed on the back of my hand. I wiped it away in distaste.
“The myrmidon killed him,” I said simply. “Our batteries went flat and the creature took advantage of the darkness to commit the awful act. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you any more than that. It was dark.”
The cop bent at the waist again and fixed his eyes directly on mine. “You do understand that your story is complete and utter crap? You’d better come up with something better than that if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in the slammer.” He eyed me with repugnance. “You murdered your partner here tonight. Admit it. Were the two of you lovers?”
I pulled the blanket tight under my chin and crossed my legs. “We most certainly were not. Starr was my business partner, nothing more. And I did not kill him.”
“Right. I’ve had enough of this.” The cop stood up and inclined his head towards the cop car. “Put him in the back. We’re taking him to the station.”
I stole another glance at the myrmidon as the younger cop pushed me into the back of the car. It blinked its eyes at me, once, twice. I nodded my head slightly in response. We’d made a pact, the two of us. The myrmidon had required feeding and I’d offered up Starr. In the name of science and humanity. And in return the myrmidon had promised to provide me with life-long guardianship. Starr had not been quite so enamored with the deal, but this was a once in a life time opportunity that I simply could not pass up.
I settled back against the vinyl seat as the two cops climbed into the front. The car rocked slightly. I hid a small smile as I heard something land on the roof of the car, its claws scrabbling for a foothold. Yes, this had been an opportunity simply too good to let go.