12 Days of Misery

Day 6

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me

Six gruesome killings

Five vicious felines

Four cold shoulders

Three silver bullets

Two motel beds

And an old friend in university

The Yule Cat yowled as Eric shoved it into the furnace... and yowled and yowled and yowled.

"Oh my God, why won't it just die already." Cassie was getting very bored of this.

"I told you," Eric said, fastening the grate. "A Yule Cat only truly dies when it gets killed for the ninth time."

"And putting nine bullets in it would just be too easy."

"Nine different ways, Cassie. Them's the rules."

"Why does it have to be you who does this?"

The horrible sounds from within the furnace began to subside.

"Well, it has to be someone, and that someone is me."

"What a dumb fucking answer."

"It's really not any more complex than that."

"Come on, that's bullshit, and you know it. You got pulled into this world somehow. You weren't born a monster hunter. You could be doing something so much more rewarding with your life, like being a janitor."

"I happen to find this very rewarding."

"Piss bottles and all?"

"Not gonna lie – I wouldn't turn down a paycheck."

"So then what keeps you doing this?"

"Because I have to. Cassie, this..." Eric paused, evidently thinking over his next words very carefully. "This is personal."

"You got touched in the naughty bits by Bigfoot?"

Eric didn't laugh nor crack a smile.

"What? Too soon?" Cassie tried.

"Remember Aaron?"

"Uh..."

"You've never met him, but I've told you about him. Holmesbrook."

"Right, right, the security guard you work with sometimes and go on man-dates with."

"Worked."

"Of course, you resigned from Holmesbrook to become a hobo-by-day, gigolo-by-night."

"No, Cassie, he's dead."

There was a moment of silence as Cassie shuffled her feet, before turning toward the furnace. "You think he's dead?"

"Yes, Cassie, I watched him die. He died in my fucking arms."

"I meant the cat."

"Oh, yeah, he's toast."

*

Cassie bounced in her seat as the car rattled mercilessly. If she didn't know any better, she'd have said they were driving down the worst dirt road on the planet. But she did know better.