She waited for 15 minutes after the sliver of light beneath her bedroom door disappeared. Once she was sure her parents were asleep, Sadie slid the window up and stole down the trellis. The autumnal air swished down into her lungs — crisp, chilly, and delicious. She landed like a cat, crouched, hands on the floor. Sadie didn't need to jump the last of the way to the ground, but where would the fun be in not doing that?
Her ten-speed leaned next to the bins — where she'd left it. With a glance up at the droopy eyes of the house, she hopped on her bike and cycled off into the night. After half a minute, she clicked her torch on and plopped it into the basket. The beam sliced through the evening's ink.
The streets were empty at this time of night, save for the high school kids. They drove around, windows obscured with pot smoke, beers in one hand, steering wheels in the other. Sadie didn't bother to hide from these, but she did take caution to avoid collisions. If only her father — who grumbled about their poor driving skills — could see them now.
It didn't take her long to reach Lisa's house. Google Maps told her it was an 11-minute journey, but she always raced to beat the time. She usually made it in seven minutes or less. Not that she had her phone with her now. Her parents had installed a tracking app a few months back. Sadie left the blasted thing plugged in on her nightstand. Should they check in the morning, it'd seem she'd slept the night through. It never occurred to them that their modern child would leave the house without it. As far as they were aware, they'd succeeded in their attempts to curb their daughter's night time excursions.
She flashed her light at Lisa's window.
On, off. On, off. On, off.
First, nothing. Then, the curtains stirred and the window clunked open. Sadie caught wind of a sigh. The voice that whispered down to her was thick with drowsiness. "I thought you were joking about tonight, Sadie."
"I never joke about a hunt! Besides, your mom's working the night shift tonight, is she not?"
Lisa groaned. "Can't we just sleep? I'm tired!"
Sadie shone the light across Lisa's form. "Evil never sleeps, Lisa!" Sadie grinned. Lisa had not yet gotten into her pink pyjamas. "Mr Moore has been found dead in his home!"
"Really? Oh, God. Fine Just get that light outta my face, will ya? I'll be down in a moment."
Sadie clicked the torch off and waited. After a spell, the front door of the Brown's house opened and closed. Lisa wrapped her cardigan around her and shivered. "Mr Moore is dead?"
"And a good evening to you too, my fellow protector!"
"Sade?"
"Well, not dead..."
Lisa threw her head back and growled. "You always do this."
"But he did say that a bat tried to enter his home last night! A spectre of the macabre, I've no doubt. We should ensure the foul beast does not find any more prey."
Lisa watched her breath float away. "Why'd we have to go out again this week, Sade? We went out on Sunday."
Sadie sniffed the air. "Darkness lurks these streets, Lis. I can smell it."
"All I can smell is your bull—"
Sadie silenced her with an upraised hand. "Quickly. My senses are tingling. We must head off the leech before he leaves his enclosure!"
Lisa's shoulders slumped. "Fine, but no more than an hour, yeah? It's a school night."
Sadie nodded, hand over her heart. "Scout's honour. You got the stake?"
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom." She patted her rucksack. "Don't know why I've gotta be the one to store all this crap. If I get caught with it, people will think I'm a loony."
"'Cos your mom doesn't search your room, Lis. Now, hop on."
Lisa did as Sadie told her, but grumbled as she did so. "Maybe there's a reason your parents search your room, Sade. You're mental."
"If being labelled mental is the price I have to pay to ensure the safety of the citizens of Bridgemoss," Sadie said as she began to pedal with a grunt, "then so be it!"
Lisa took a deep breath. "You gotta grow up at some point, Sade. We'll be in high school next year. We don't wanna be labelled as the weird girls. Those chicks never get dates."
"And still you doubt my gifts! You should have learned by now that this world is darker and more mysterious than the grownups would have you believe."
"So you keep saying."
"Do you not remember The Wolf of St Wisnis?"
"...that was a stray dog."
"Ah, but did we not help the pound in catching a most evasive beast?"
"Yeah, all right. I'll agree we did some good there. We helped a homeless dog find shelter. I think Katy's family adopted him."
"And of the ghosts of West Wootbridge?"
"You mean the broken windchimes that Mrs Andrews had in her porch? That sounded like wailing?"
"And did we not put an end to such ghastly choruses?"
"We stole them, fixed them, then hung 'em up again."
Sadie sighed. "Ah, another citizen protected!"
Lisa chuckled. "Absolutely mental. So, where is it we're heading tonight? I don't wanna go trudging through dirty streams full of broken glass and needles again. My mum'll kill me if I wreck another pair of trainers."
"Tonight, my fellow protector, we must head the destroyer off before he even leaves his lair!"
"Oh, Jesus. I hate the cemetery."
