How to Slay a Beast (Book 1)

Chapter 14

"All right, so let's go through this one more time---all of you were wandering around in the woods by Gilmer lake, with weapons you aren't allowed to have, because his kid ran away?" my day is not starting well, mostly because it started at midnight last night with these crazy, crazy stupid people. I shouldn't think that about them. But after ----I'm going to go with someone's---kid got eaten not a week ago, you'd think they wouldn't wander around after dark in the woods in little groups. You would think that.

"I was just wandering around in the woods," said the one with the Smith and Wesson Semi-automatic he wasn't supposed to have. He also had a black eye which he was holding a steak to.

"My son wandered off," said the too rich for his own good one with the Makarov he wasn't supposed to have. He had punched the one with the steak. Multiple times.

"I was helping them look," said the woman with the IEDs in her backpack.

"I was just messing around with my girlfriend," the boy who for no reason messed around in the woods with a switch blade and skinny girlfriend, said.

"I couldn't let anything happen to my brother," said the girl with the big ass sword.

"I was mad 'cause my dad got mad at me I didn't mean to cause all this trouble," the little boy with the weird name, said.

"Okay," I said, rubbing my head. This was going to be a bad day. I could just tell. "And why did he hit you?" I asked the guy with the steak on his face.

"I said somethin' I knew would make him hit me," the guy said.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know; I do stuff like that," he said.

"Can I have my sword back?" the girl asked.

"No---not just now," I said, standing up, "Okay, one at a time, in my office, the rest of you---sit here----starting with you." I pointed at IED woman.

**

"Yes, sir," I said, following the cop into his office. Gilmer is a small town, I know he's the chief of police he came out when Del went missing. Other cops came in from the other cities, then. It's usually just him and a couple of deputies.

"Okay," he said, closing the door behind me, "So, you get the phone call, from your---"

"Ex's new wife," I supplied.

"That her kid ran off into the woods, so you immediately run over there with your backpack full of bombs to go find him?" he asked, tiredly.

"I had it ready," I said, looking down, "In case."

"In case what?" he asked.

"That thing killed my son," I said, looking back up, my eyes burning, "I had to have a plan to destroy it."

"So you cooked up some bombs in your kitchen, in case---just in case---you had the opportunity go out into the woods and find the bear?" he asked.

"It's not a bear, it's bigger than a bear. Much. Much bigger," I said.

"Okay," he sighed.

"Is it illegal?" I asked.

"To make your own bombs like that? Shit, yeah," he scoffed.

"I'm sorry. I just had to keep my children---my child, safe," I said, my voice cracking. I only have one child now.

"Okay," he sighed, "That it? You don't got anymore at the house?"

"No," I said. I had things to make more, though.

"Okay, okay," he sighed, looking skyward, "That your daughter out there? The one with the sword?"