Heartless Shadows by Kevin McFarlane

"I say leave it down there and let the rats finish the job. Ain't no way it's coming

“You sure you hit it? We were pretty far away.” A glaring pupil of death centered on Marvin McPhee as his brother brought his rifle up.

“I hit it square on. You saw it go down.”

Marvin wasn’t so re-assured by Denny’s confidence in his own marksmanship. Being the older brother, even if only by three minutes, protecting the farm fell on him and he wanted to be certain the troublesome threat responsible for slaughtering their livestock and ruining the crops wasn’t still alive down in the darkness of the hole.

Almost a third of the cattle and two fields already lost, for over a month the brothers had been trying to devise a trap for the elusive creature, only to have their efforts continually foiled despite the diligent cunning put into each plan.

With little pattern to the attacks the brothers seemed helpless to stop the mounting losses. Sometimes they would find a stripped carcass with the noon feed, other times Marvin would bolt upright in bed, awakened by the spine jittering scream of a calf stolen from the pen.

After finding two fields of corn completely torn and shredded, the brothers decided it was time to hunt down the murderous critter. Free time wasn’t a luxury either brother could afford but what little there was Marvin spent with his rifle and he didn’t figure anything big enough to take down a full grown cow could hide from him. Methodically, he covered every acre of the farm but that night returned with nothing more than a migraine born from frustration.

The next day, after lunch, Denny took over the search after finding a fresh set of tracks outside the milking barn. While Denny followed the trail, Marvin took care of the chores. After finishing with the milking, he’d gone to repair a vein in the irrigation line of one of the remaining cornfields. A dry summer had already done its damage to the soil and seriously threatened the potential harvest; the last thing they could afford was some unknown threat wiping out what they had managed to cultivate.

Reaching behind for his shovel, instead he’d grabbed a furry head, no bigger than a kitten but still the coarse hair under his palm caused his heart to skip a beat.

Marvin screamed for his brother. Hollered loudly enough to be heard across the expansive acreage and into the hills beyond.

Something snickered behind him, a foul and disturbing sound of malice, moving for the edge of the field.

Harnessing his terror, Marvin forced himself to turn around. No rabid animal waited to shred him with razor-tipped teeth or spiked claws, no slobbering, raving-eyed monster hid behind the rows of corn. There was nothing but the gently swaying stalks, row after row, reaching up toward the heavens and by his foot, the shovel, snapped in half.

Despite the ripping and grabbing sheaths trying to slow him down, Marvin chased after the escaping creature, shoving past the stalks and calling to his brother to help cut it off.

Behind the corn field, was the grazing pasture they had pulled the cows out from to bring the herd closer to the house after the attacks started. By the time Marvin reached the tree line separating the two fields, the creature was almost a full field ahead. He couldn’t actually see it, the grass here stood too high, but he could clearly see the line where it had cut through.

And then Marvin did spot it, emerging from the grass, a nightmarish black bundle of spindly legs and....

A moment later the crackle of gunfire reached his ears. Marvin took off, racing across the field and following the path the hideous menace had left in the grass.

Arriving at the spot where the creature had fallen, Marvin found Denny stooped over, examining a wide hole in the ground. “Little bugger must have dragged himself in

there,” Denny said. “I say leave it down there and let the rats finish the job. Ain’t no way it’s coming back out.”

Denny McPhee brought his rifle up and centered his sights on his brother. “I hit it square on. You saw it go down.”

“I ain’t going down there, you damn fool. You best get stripped down to your skivvies cause Maude’ll have a fit if you rip your pants.”

Reluctantly, Marvin pulled off his boots, stripped out of his pants, and then carefully redid his laces up tight around his ankles before sticking his foot down into the hole. Barely wide enough to accommodate anything bigger than a jackrabbit, Marvin kicked away the packed dirt around the opening and managed to get his foot in all the way to his knee. He toed at the burrow, searching out a lump that didn’t feel like it belonged with the protected steel toed boot.

Marvin pulled his leg out and got down on his belly. “Did you bring a flashlight?”

Of course Marvin hadn’t. There hadn’t been time. He’d recovered from the shock of finding the creature in the field and then he’d gone charging after it.

At least Denny had the rifle. There was some comfort in knowing his brother was waiting, locked and loaded, ready to jump in should the need arise.

Above them, the last pinkish hues faded from the twilight sky to leave them in a gloomy dusk. Night wasn’t yet ready to envelope them but it wouldn’t be long before she wrapped her cool, blinding hands around the brothers.

Silence from the hole. Marvin strained to hear any sound, any sign the creature might still be alive and just waiting to tear his face off when he stuck it into the hole.

“What’re you waiting for?” Denny asked with a boot to Marvin’s rump. “Get moving.”

Usually, Marvin could draw the needed strength from his twin brother. Deep down he knew Denny would never allow anything to happen to him, but still, looking down into the dark pit, Marvin was terrified of what could be waiting down there. He’d been expecting some sort of evidence they had at least wounded the creature. If not blood, then some type of pus or gore, something to reassure him they could actually injure it.

“Evil thing probably don’t know how to bleed. Now get moving before it gets dark and the girls start to worry.”

Maude and Dorothy had probably heard the gunshot and Marvin could well imagine they were anxiously watching the field from the back porch for their men to return.

He reached down and scooped out a couple armfuls of dirt to widen the opening. It would still be a tight fit, with very little room to move about; but with one last look to his brother, Marvin stuck his face inside the hole.

Wiggling in on his stomach, the cool earth scrapping against his bare back, blind, with only his hands to search out the small confines, Marvin was surprised at just how deep the burrow went down.

His hand touched on something warm and oily. A faint huff against his cheeks. It could easily have been a cross draft, but the air around him was cool and smelled of fresh dirt. The brief breath against his skin was hot and reeked of death.

“Denny! Get me out! It’s still alive!” Strong, razor-tipped talons fastened to his wrist, biting the flesh. Before he could pull free, the back of his head was seized and he was pulled further down.

The creature cackled excitedly, a deathly sound that caused Marvin’s stomach to roll in terror. He lashed out with his free arm just as Denny got hold of his boot and gave a mighty yank. Missing the mark, the punch grazed harmlessly just below where Marvin figured its chin would be.

With an angry shriek, the beast yanked back, refusing to let go, driving its claws deeper into his skin. A searing-hot flash stabbed at both his wrist and the back of his head as the skin tore and Marvin’s howl matched that of the creature’s as his arm was yanked out of its socket.

The pained squeal delighted the creature enough that it loosened its grip, only for a moment, but it was enough for Marvin to pull free. He shoved the demon away as Denny grabbed hold and pulled him clear of the hole.

The creature scampered after him. Up, up, and out....Denny had his rifle ready when it stuck its ugly head out. For the briefest of moments, Marvin wasn’t sure what he was looking at, saw only angry glowing eyes and sharp-pointed fangs bent for evil.

And then the sharp retort of the gun shattered the malicious hate right off its face. Denny lowered his gun but instead of relief, his features perfectly conveyed what Marvin was feeling inside. Confusion. Shock. Uncertainty over what they had just done.

Marvin’s wrist throbbed where the devilish critter had dug its claws in; his shoulder ached as though he’d been tossed around by one of those women wrestlers he sometimes saw on the television. A trail of blood dripped down to his bare leg as he cautiously approached the hole and tried to peer over the side.

“Careful now,” Denny said. “Maybe we better wait and come back tomorrow when there’s more light. That thing ain’t going anywhere now.”

Marvin was thinking the same thing but after the brief glimpse he’d caught when the creature stuck its head from the ground, curiosity had taken hold and driven him to the edge for a better look. Luckily, Denny’s good sense was still watching over him. He was right; it was too dark to see anything. They could come back in the morning.

Besides, the cut on his wrist was starting to itch up along his forearm and a tingling prickle was working its way down his spine. He felt light-headed and off-balance, as though he were being pulled into a dream and he almost tumbled over as he tried to step into his pants. He managed to hold his balance but thought he might throw up on his way back to the house.

Back home, their victory celebration was put off while Maude hen-pecked over his carelessness and cleaned his cuts. A tense silence drained the flavor from supper. After the dishes were cleared, the two couples parted company foregoing the usual wind-down in front of the television for an early retreat.

Later, with Maude snoring gently beside him, Marvin lay stiff in his bed, listening to the terrified bawling of the cows as an army of death descended upon their pen. Heartless, vile shadows riding the wind and hiding in the darkness.

So many of them. Marvin could feel their burning hunger, could hear the hideous hissing of the swarming cloud of death. Not just one, as they had suspected, but hundreds, converging on the farm and then circling in on the defenseless cattle.

And when the herd was gone, consumed in a frenzied feast, would the swarming creatures be contented with their destruction or would they then turn their ravenous appetites toward the house?

An itching burning at the back of his neck warned Marvin he didn’t really want to know the answer. He would be safe enough but there would be no protecting Maude. Or Denny and Dorothy. Marvin would only be able to lie helplessly as his wife was devoured in their bed, didn’t figure the distance separating his room from his brother’s would be sufficient to keep the torturous tearing of skin or sickening smack of feeding lips from his ears. They would be destroyed just as the cattle and the fields had been and Marvin would suffer through it all.

The poison, from razor-tipped claws, coursing through his veins had fouled him and he would be spared. He was one of them now. A shadow emerging from the darkness.