Page 114 - TheRedSon_PrintInterior_430pp_5.5x8.5_9-22-2019_v1

creature and fell silent. The thing was little more than a
shadow standing before the great beam of light that shone
down upon my work. It paused to gaze upon the piece, but
again I wasn’t sure if my artistic effort was being admired or
admonished. I wanted to linger near the window to observe
the moment’s conclusion, but the creatures were closing on
me.
I decided to exit through the back. On my way out, I
encountered another creature and dispatched it as I had the
first, except this one’s body I stuffed into a nearby burn barrel.
As I disappeared into the backyard, I detected the presence
of other things moving through the night, far from the crowd
and its light. I froze, waiting for the invisible things to make
the first move. Within moments, a howl from something
both alien and wolf broke through the quiet, issuing from
the house I’d abandoned. They’d found the body I left in the
chimney. I was simultaneously impressed and disappointed
with the speed of the discovery—these creatures seemed to
excel at locating the dead. It was little wonder why.
I was already inside another dwelling when a second
spotlight burst to life from somewhere on the opposite side
of town. The lights began falling across houses and trees and
yards, hoping to find me blundering about in plain view—as
if the one who had made art of their alien hunters, secretly
infiltrated their town, and silently killed a number of their
kind would be foolish enough to fumble about in the open.
No, these creatures were not the smartest of adversaries,
though I knew they were only the vanguard of a much
deadlier foe—and I would be meeting her soon enough.
After several hours of fruitless searching, the creatures
finally decided to relax their guard, thinning their patrols
and once again renewing their apathy toward the occasional
flitting shadow. I was far from idle during this time, taking
great care to better understand my pursuers, stealing into
their guarded chambers and slipping away with increasingly
weighty insights. One of my more profound discoveries
The Red Son | 117