Hythe and Beyond #EverydayinMayChallenge

Peuchen

Nolan ran. His sneakers skidded over the rain-slick stones, squelching with every step. He glanced back over his shoulder, pulling back his hoodie for a better view. Fear froze his veins. Dozens of crimson eyes gleamed from the shadows, bobbing up and down as their bodies wriggled.

He pumped his legs harder, fueled by a nauseous combination of terror and adrenaline. How was he supposed to outrun them? He'd never been very athletic and he wasn't like Helen and the others, graced with speed and agility. Nolan couldn't believe he let himself get talked into 

this—it had been a terrible plan from the start, and now he was paying the price.

Why was he the only viable option? Why couldn't Vane or the sisters be the bait? They could always fly away if the Peuchen caught up to them. What was he supposed to do? Ask a ghost to possess the Peuchen?

He stopped, struck by his own ingenuity. Over the pattering of the rain, he couldn't hear the tell-tale sussurating of the Peuchen, nor discern their rope-like forms through the downpour. If luck was on his side, he'd be able to cross the street without being devoured.

He hastened across the road to where a streetlamp broke the darkness. Nolan knew it was ridiculous, but under its glow, his fear ebbed. While he still had his composure, he called out for any spirits tied to the land.

There was a response within seconds. A woman torn in two materialized, her torso hovering a few inches above the rest of her body. Her image flickered from his divided concentration like an old black and white movie.

"What do you want?" She growled, unfazed by his summons. Raindrops fell through her but she didn't seem to notice.

"Help me!"

The ghost scoffed. "Help you? Why the hell would I do that?"

Nolan was at a loss for words. He'd never been rebuffed by a ghost before. "Because...because—"

"Because you summoned me?" She placed her hands above the area where her hips would normally be. "Oh, please. As if that's a good enough reason to waste my time. I've got better things to do than babysit you."

"Like what?"

"Like haunt the son-of-a-bitch who did this to me."

With that last scathing remark, she faded to oblivion, and Nolan lost his only chance of survival. "Shit!" He pounded his fist against the streetlamp, wincing at the pain. What now?

Sssssssss. They'd found him. He dove to the side as a Peuchen launched itself at the spot he'd stood moments before. It curled around the lamppost, black scales iridescent under the light. It hissed again, and he saw the shadows blink crimson.

Nolan crawled backwards. In his peripheral vision, he saw the Peuchen slither closer. He tensed in preparation of a hundred puncture wounds. However it was not the sting of fangs that met his skin but sparks of electricity as the streetlamp's bulb shattered, obliterating the Peuchen coiled around its base. Helen.