Just Beyond The Light: A Short Story Collection

Something is Approaching

The odd thing about this case wasn't that practically everyone in town saw the killer in plain sight as it was happening. No, that would just be too easy of an explanation. And if I've learned anything recently, it's that nothing around here can be chocked up as easy to explain. You see, despite the fact that everyone had seen the killer doing his dirty work, no one can agree on who or what the killer was. One man claimed he saw a massive ape come out of nowhere, and slam the poor guy into the ground, crushing his skull and spreading his grey matter all about like jelly. Another said he saw some kind of sentient shadow, one that slithered up to him, wrapped around his neck, and crushed him to death. And yet another said they saw a giant praying mantis grab him, and bite his damned head off. I have no idea what I might have seen if I was there, but it's likely to have been something just as outrageous, and impossible to track. So I'm left with no leads, besides what any random freak on the street can tell me, and what I can make out from the corpse itself. Well, if I'm going to start with anyone, it might as well be someone I can trust.

"Nolan, stop eying the Chief, and get over here. I got to interrogate someone, and it might as well be you." I yelled.

"Sure thing, Vic." He answered.

Nolan Hobbs is a pretty good cop, and one of my better friends. He's been by my side ever since I joined the force. We've seen it all. From triple homicides, to mass murder, there's little we haven't been able to handle around here. Now, nothing like this has ever happened in all the time I've spent here, I can be sure of that. It's all so bizarre, what with the fact that no one can give us a clear, let alone sensible description of the perpetrator. Maybe it was all due to some kind of mass hallucination, or hysteria. Small towns like this, you never know what might happen. I took out my phone, and set it to record.

"Alright, you know how this works. Start talking." I said.

"Heh, never thought I'd be on the receiving end of one of these things. Okay, so I was talking with some of my buddies over at that coffee shop across the street." He pointed over to a dinky looking place on the other side of the road, now closed for the day.

"We were shooting the shit, doing what we had to, to pass the time around here. While we were in the middle of something, I heard a scream, and looked for where it was coming from. I saw him standing here, pointing at the leg of this massive thing, probably two stories high. I was terrified, and nearly ran, but had to see how it was all going to play out. The thing lifted its leg, and crushed his fucking head. Then it ran off. I don't know how it got away so fast, but it was off like a shot. Everyone else freaked out from whatever it was they saw, and I called for Benson. It was kind of funny, really. Just as I was calling her, she ran up to me from where the thing had run off, and ordered me to get you. I'll never understand that woman." He explained.

"Thought that was the case with any woman for you." I teased.

"Maybe, Vic. That enough for you?" He asked.

"Yeah, that should do for now." I said.

It was going to have to, unless the corpse had anything to say for itself. I walked over to the body, and kneeled next to it. His name was Kyle Summers. A college student majoring in the history of the Middle Ages. I forget where I heard this, but it seems like some decent information. I never knew the kid well, but I've seen him in passing. Real unfortunate to see this happen to him. About time I began, then. I examined the boy's head, which seemed to be what took the brunt of the thing's attack, according to most accounts. It was flat as a pancake, with bits of bone shards scattered about, pasted to the ground by bits of brain and blood. The brain itself, probably considered his greatest tool, was busted. It was smeared across the sidewalk, radiating from his head like a corona. It was already dry, but a sample wouldn't hurt. I took out a scraper, and a plastic bag, and removed a bit, placing it in the bag, and in my backpack. Back to the body. Further investigation isn't revealing much. So what the hell happened here? If one were to accept the more outlandish sightings, like Nolan's, it would still make no sense. The head was crushed by something, but nothing that large. Something roughly man-sized, maybe. It would still have to have been immensely strong, but this at least narrows things down. Not that it helps much. All of this is based on the idea that anything that has happened today is based even remotely in reason. Which it certainly is not. But despite all of this, it's all we have. So it'll have to do. But before I begin to pursue this, I must finish this little search. Not that there could be much more to find. I stuck my hand into each of the corpse's pockets, revealing nothing but a wallet with a few bucks, and a piece of gum. Lastly, I grabbed the backpack, which slipped off with ease, and seemed awfully light, except for a single book. I opened it up, revealing a leather-bound tome, with no title, or image. It looked oddly familiar, but I wasn't sure why. The feel of the leather seemed so familiar, but whatever memories may have been linked to it, were gone. Probably just some kind of Déjà vu. I opened the book, and began to turn through the pages. The writing was spidery, but readable. The first hundred pages seemed to revolve around the idea of resurrection, while the final hundred seemed to speak of illusions and shapeshifting. Judging by the age of the book, the short hand it was written in, and the general subject, it was some kind of ancient spell book, probably the kind of thing that inspired the likes of Merlin in the King Arthur legend, or maybe some ignorant alchemist who was centuries away from having any real understanding of the world. Whatever it was, it seemed to have some kind of connection.