Chapter 20


    Bruin and Fitzpatrick got out of their cruiser. Standing at the entrance of the tiny church was Brice, who


    was shivering like an overstuffed popsicle with his hands lodged securely inside his pockets.


    As the detectives made their way towards the man, Linus couldn''t help but to nce over at the white


    man and woman who were staring down at a mutted cow on the ground.


    There was something inside of Linus that wanted so badly to veer off over to where the couple was


    standing behind an old rugged, wooden fence. But with as much restraint as he could amass, the man


    maintained his course towards the long-suffering Brice and the tiny church he was standing in front of.


    All three men entered the church through the double doors. Once they were inside, they caught sight of


    two, white officers who were conversing with an elderly white minister who was bundled up in a ck


    winter coat.


    Brice happened to look down at the carpet to find the same mammoth paw prints that he examined


    earlier, while Linus and n surveyed the freezing church.


    "I sure hope to God no one was in herest night." Linus'' teeth chattered while kneeling down to pick


    up even more strands of fur from off the floor.


    "Guys, take a look at this." Brice said, pointing to the floor.


    Linus and n made their way over to Brice''s direction to observe what looked to be a smelly heap of


    waste.


    "Is that what I think it is?" Linus turned up his nose.


    "Yep," Brice replied in a snippy sort of voice while taking out a pair of small tongs from his coat pocket.


    Linus and n looked on at the young man as though he were doing something wrong. They stood


    and watched as Brice poked and prodded at the dung like a science experiment until he was able to


    grab a hold of something.


    "Do I even want to know what that is?" n cringed, too afraid to step any closer.


    "You got it." Brice despondently replied as his tongs scooped up a partially eaten human thumb from


    out of the thickness of the feces.


    Trying not to appear jarred by the scene, Linus too stood back and asked, "What is that over there?"


    With his human body part still lodged in between the tongs'' tight grip, Brice scooted forward and


    examined what appeared to be a glob of clear mucus lying on the floor, just a few feet away from the


    altar.


    "Is it blood?" Fitzpatrick mumbled.


    "It''s blood, and then...some saliva." Brice answered.


    "How do we know it''s the saliva of the animal?" n questioned. "It did kill seven peoplest night. It


    could just be residue."


    "True, but this is the only saliva sample that I''ve managed to collect all morning long so far. It looks as


    though the thing vomited. Most animals regurgitate their food, and then eat the remains."


    "Excuse me, gentleman." The short, bearded minster approached the three men from behind. "Are you


    men police officers?"


    "Yes, sir," Linus replied. "This is Detective Fitzpatrick, Brice, and I''m Bruin."


    "Good to meet you. My name is Pastor Gabriel Longfellow." The genial man greeted, wiping the cold


    fog away from his eyesses.


    "Mr. Longfellow, how old is this church?" Fitzpatrick asked.


    "Oh my," Longfellow pondered in his head, "this ce has been around since 1883. It''s the oldest in


    the city. Why do you ask?"


    "No particr reason, I''m just fascinated with old things."


    "Tell me, does anyone know just what it was that left those kinds of tracks, or what killed the Franklin''s


    cow out there?"


    "We''re still working on that, sir." Linus seriously responded.


    "Hey, guys, look at this for a second." Brice stirred, crawling about on the floor in the direction of the


    paw prints. "The tracks seem to end...right here." He motioned.


    Linus, n and the pastor all gawked down at the muddy carpet in disbelief.


    "Hold on," Linus panted, "look here. It appears as if the thing crashed through the window over there,


    took a stroll down the aisle, then...look at that."


    Everyone looked to their immediate left to see a long, dark smudge streaked across the floor in an


    almost orderly fashion.


    "There aren''t any tracks leading out of this ce either." n noted. "Judging by the direction of the


    streak, it looks as though it were dragged away."


    "Who could''ve dragged something that enormous?" The pastor asked.


    "We have no clue, sir." Linus replied while kneeling down and rubbing against the smudge. "It ends


    right here. Now, unless our friend can fly, there is absolutely no way in the world it could have gotten


    out of here without leaving any tracks in its wake."


    "This church has only one floor, Detective." One of the officersmented. "We searched every


    corner. We''re the only people in here."


    Linus looked over at the pastor and asked, "Sir, was there anyone else in herest night?"


    "No, sir, Mr. Bruin," Longfellow scratched at his beard. "Last night we had our prayer meeting at six. I


    locked up around seven, and that was that."


    Studying the carpet with a sharp eye, Linus began to pace back and forth until he found himself face to


    face with the crucified Christ that wasnced on the cross down behind the altar.


    The detective then turned around and wearily exhaled, "Somebody, please kick me in the head."


    "It makes no sense trying to rack our brains over this, Linus." Fitzpatrick said while standing next to his


    exhausted partner. "The trail ends here. And we still got one fe that''s missing."


    "Can you tell me, detectives, did the kidnapper leave any survivors?" Longfellow desperately asked.


    "Yes, sir, we have two." Bruin sighed.


    "Thank the good Lord." The pastor graciously smiled.


    "Thank the Lord?" Linus smirked in a coy manner. "Where was the Lord when all of those kidnapped


    people were murdered? No offense, padre, but four little girls were eaten alivest night. It makes no


    sense whatsoever."


    "Sir, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I cannot exin it, but his love does endure forever. I can only


    hope and pray that the two survivors can pull their lives back together again in Jesus'' name."


    In silent rebuttal, Linus turned to n and whispered, "We need to get Mercer''s address."


    "Let''s get the hell outta here." n grumbled before turning back to Longfellow and smiling, "Thanks


    for all your help, sir."


    "I''m here whenever you need me." The pastor waved.


    "Youin'' with us, Brice?" Linus looked down at the young man.


    Standing back to his feet, Brice, with a stic pouch in hand, said, "I think I''ll hitch a ride back with


    some of the other officers. There''s still a wealth of info I need to collect just right here."


    Linus nced over at n before turning and walking out of the church. "Perhaps you''re right about


    that guy, Al." Linus whispered into the man''s ear.


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    "A wealth of what, poop," n asked with a snicker. "What the hell is wrong with that generation


    anyways?"


    As they made their way outside, still standing behind the fence was the couple who were still ogling


    down at the deceased cow in the snow.


    Linus'' once rapid pace back to the cruiser gradually slowed the longer he stared on and on at the


    couple before he eventually paused and made a direct approach towards their direction. The man just


    couldn''t help himself.


    "It killed ourst cow." The middle-aged, ragged looking woman said without even being asked.


    Linus stopped short of the fence before looking down at the animal that had its entire stomach torn


    wide open.


    "I was just wondering, do you two happen to live around these parts?" Linus asked.


    The woman turned her attention back to the dead animal while the man lifted his head to stare at Linus.


    His entire face was full of unshaven, silver fur that ruffled in the brazen wind. His brown eyes shot


    bullets at Linus like the question he asked was sinful. "We live around here." His scratchy voice


    answered. "Are you reporters?"


    Unfazed by the man''s piercing demeanor, Linus pulled out his badge and replied, "No, sir, we''re


    Detectives Bruin and Fitzpatrick."


    The man stared on at Linus for a bit longer before saying, "My wife and I live around here."


    "Can you tell us if you saw or heard anythingst night?"


    The man, with his hard stare still stuck on Linus, replied, "I was born and raised in these parts. I''ve


    lived here all my life."


    "Did you manage to see or hear anything?" Linus'' tone urged.


    The man turned his face away from Linus and pointed it behind him. "You see that field out there? Last


    night, I saw something that I''ve never seen before in my life."


    "Let''s get out of here." n whispered into Linus'' ear. "This guy looks like he''s about three sheets to


    the wind."


    "Last night, I saw it." The man''s tone turned suddenly methodical.


    "You saw what?" Linus'' attention perked up.


    "Last night, in that field, I saw it running around."


    "Was it a bear?" Linus asked.


    Shaking his head, the man said, "No, bears don''t look like the thing I sawst night. This thing had hind


    legs. A snout and eyes."


    "So it was a wolf." Fitzpatrick shrugged.


    "I never said that. I was taking out the trash when I saw it racing through the field. It didn''t look or sound


    like anything I''ve ever seen before. But it did look at me."


    "It looked at you?" Linus frowned.


    "It had these eyes. These glowing eyes that just nced at me for a few seconds before it took off


    again."


    "Wait a second, if you saw this thing, did you ever contact the police?" Linus questioned in an agitated


    voice.


    The man just kept his face pointed towards the snowy field. "Perhaps I should have, but I just


    remember its shining eyes."


    "You gotta be kidding me." n moaned. "We didn''te all the way out here for this Rod Serling,


    ''Night Gallery'' bullshit. Let''s get back to Cypress."


    Without another word, the mysterious couple meandered away from the detectives and plodded their


    way back across the field.


    Right then, the wind found it within itself to be even more stiff and rampant, but that didn''t seem to


    deter Linus who began his own jaunt over the fence, past the cow carcass and out into the field.


    "Are you crazy?" n hollered. "It''s 19 degrees out here!"


    Linus carried on and on until he managed to stop halfway between the church and the middle of the


    field. He stood and eyed the spaciousndscape from front to back and side to side before looking


    down to spot a set of tracksyered in the snow.


    Linus stuck his booted foot in the track and noticed that it was about five sizes bigger than his own.


    There was more fur lying in the tracks, but the man had no desire to gather any more evidence for the


    day.


    Instead, he remained in the middle of the sprawling field all to himself, just where he wanted to


    be.