Chapter 3 of "To Follow Closely"

Chapter Three

Afternoons could not get any better than how this one was turning out right now. A free sandwich, new shoes, a girl actually flirted with him; what more could you ask for? Maybe for lightning not to constantly strike so close to your feet? Yeah. That would be nice. Of course Tucker had be paired with the Guardian of Good Luck. The Spanish guardian was always a meter from death, too close for comfortable conversation. Sun filtered over the urbanite trees with their metal skirts protecting their bark from everything but the small critters that gnawed at their young branches. The brick sidewalks stretched past large apartment buildings, each numbered accordingly. It was a nice neighborhood. Quiet, calm, mainly young families and the elderly and one elderly gentleman having a smile on his porch. Not really a place you would expect mayhem, but this was where they were called to go, so here they were. The house numbers reached 324-334. This was their stop. Tucker sprang up the steps to the third level and knocked on door 328.

"Hold up, Tucker," shouted the Spaniard. He ran up the steps, "You're too tall."

Tucker's spine flopped backwards. He sighed and then slumped forwards as he turned around, "Dude, we've taken enough time getting here! It might be already gone at this point; Enya's going to kill us, and I won't get anywhere trying to convince her to give me a week off…" Tucker paused and waited as the shorter guardian climbed upwards, "Move it, 1905!" 

The Spaniard stopped in his tracks, offended, "Are you going to start yelling at me in a residential area, Tucker, because I do-"

"Good job, Ricardo!" Tucker danced, "Way to stay focused. That's exactly why we are here! It's a residential a-!" Crashing from inside the apartment stopped Tucker mid-sarcasm. Focused, he pivoted cautiously towards the door and pressed the side of his face to the wood. Rustling noises emitted from its surface. Tucker pulled away and prepared to break in when the door creaked quietly inwards. The lanky German relaxed. An old woman stood at the door, her apartment was a mess. On the bridge of her nose were embedded thick coke bottle glasses that made her eyes bug out, "Hey, lady. Are you okay?" Tucker bent his knees and lowered his head to the little old lady as Ricardo came to his side. Getting a good look at her wrinkles, he grimaced.

"Where did you say you put the remote, Charlie?" cooed the old woman to Tucker, "I can't seem to find it in the mess you made." Tucker stood up, stumped. A moment passed before Ricardo chimed in, "When was this mess made?"

The woman paused and looked behind herself at her living-room, "I'm not quite sure what you are talking about, now." She shakily observed her home.

Tucker's attention snapped to his pocket and he ripped out a paper. His thumb smoothed out the soft crinkled paper as he read the faded pencil. Ricardo leaned in, "Is this even the place?" He paused, disturbed by the notes, "How can you even read that?" He growled. Tucker flicked his wrist at the Spaniard and peered deeper into the paper.

"Oh, forget it!" Ricardo, exasperated, pulled out his phone, "I'm calling Enya."

"Wait!" Tucker tensed and raised his finger. He then proceeded to walk to the elderly woman and present her the note, "Ma'am, is this your home address?" The woman shakily took out another pair of glasses, these for reading.

Ricardo grabbed Tucker, straining not to kill the man. He stuttered momentarily before realizing that Tucker's blank expression turning to a smirk as he and the Spaniard locked eyes was the only indication to any sort of thought rattling around in his head. Breathing, Ricardo released Tucker and made a face of hatred. Tucker smiled back, "would you two boys like some cookies?" 

Tucker's eyes remained on Ricardo, "Why, that would be wonderful, thank you."

Ricardo sighed, "No Mrs. I believe me and my accomplice are just fine." 

Mock horror filled Tucker's face but before he could even say anything, he was rammed into by a large creature and slammed off the terrace. Ricardo's surprise bounced off the railings. Tucker hit the ground and lost consciousness for a few measly seconds. He tossed himself upwards. What was it with him and getting wrecked into this week? The world's fuzziness halted after it finished it's drying cycle. Above him Ricardo fought loudly. The sound of struggle was obvious. An abyss coloured creature. An Omit. Focus. Tucker scrambled up the stairs, out of breath and on his hands and knees, a shining frying pan in hand. Once there, his eyes and mind went to work.

"Its left shoulder is really weak, but you should aim for the base of its tale. That's its weak spot!" Ricardo shot at its shoulder and the creature reared in pain. Its roar shattered their ears. Tucker's eyes swiped a glance at the dark downward facing tusks, "Damn! Stay away from those teeth!" He shouted.

"No kidding!" Was Ricardo's reply as he was stricken by the tail. The creature charged at Tucker, breathing scratchily, "We need to get it away from this place," 

Ricardo shot at it from the ground."Tell me something new, you're supposed to be good at this."

The creature lunged and bared its teeth. Tucker rolled for cover. As it missed, the creature quickly adjusted and threw its weight at the German who was still struggling to his feet.

Ricardo ran over and shot at the Omit, "How do we defeat it?"

"I'm working on it!" Shouted Tucker, struggling to keep the tusks wrapped around his pan rather than his head. Focus! As it fought to snap the pan's round surface in half, Tucker noticed something strange. A burn mark charred the inside of its neck. Tucker squinted his eyes as he listened to the creature's raspy breath. The pan's metal began to groan and Tucker took it as a sign that it was time to get out of reach. Tucker rolled out of the way and threw himself onto the ledge of the fourth floor. He swung over the railing and checked through the bars the Omits actions. It had turned its attention back to a very surprised Ricardo. His eyes immediately went to his pan. Concern soaked his expression as he ran his palm against the abrupt curve of abuse that bent the metal.

"My poor baby," cooed the German, heartbroken.

"Tucker!" Stressed the loud spaniard as he plummeted for cover behind a large trash can, "What is it's weakness?"

Tucker sat up and peered darkly over his shoulder at the large beast. A sharp smile stung across his face.

Focus! Three feet from death's jaws, Ricardo was cornered in the worst way. He pushed himself further and further into the corner behind the trashcan, "Tucker!"

Tucker's eyes flickered up and down over the creature's physic and its surroundings. His dark open smile closed as his sharp eyes caught a dead wasps nest inside the large trash can and a small one underneath the balcony railing.

Tucker rolled away from the edge of the balcony, "Stay alive!" he called as Ricardo threw a lid at the creature.

"WHAT?!"

The German scrambled to the women's apartment. She looked up to him from the doorway in horror as she sputtered in fear. Tucker paused looking down at the little woman who was blocking his path. He picked her up and moved her to the side, wiped off his hands, and immediately ran into the apartment. He tossed through the items that were all over the floor and finally came to a closet. As he haphazardly shifted through the items collected on the shelfs, a bottle of wasp spray rolled off the edge. He caught it and turned around. Abruptly, two cold hands with loose skin grabbed onto his arm and he froze uncomfortably.

"Charlie?" She looked up with tears in her eyes. Tucker couldn't stare at her folded skin and white thin bowl of hair. She looked like death. Focus! He pulled away and immediately went for the door.

Scrambling out, he came across Ricardo who was somehow climbing a flagpole. Amazed, Tucker tipped his head and watched the guardian ascend the improbable height. The creature's tail had been ripped apart from the gunfire but its eyes still hung wild as it leveled it's large body against the skinny pole. The metal shook violently and Ricardo slipped down a foot, inches from the mouth. Focus!

Tucker was pulled back into reality with the additional reminder of the danger at hand. He flew down the steps and tossed a rock at the creature once he was a good distance away, "Ricardo only pole dances for me, amiga!" Ricardo's horror mixed anger was priceless. Focus!

On all fours yet again, the dark terror stole quickly to Tucker's direction. The German sprinted down the street and over a car. He landed clumsily, bumping against a pedestrian and his long sprig-like limbs flopped for balance. A hefty weight crushed him to the ground and the sky ripped away the air he borrowed. Had he miscalculated? The creature was too far behind him. It couldn't have caught up yet, there was no way. 

Silence broke as the weight shifted and his lungs forced air to fill them till his chest itched violently. As he struggled for air, he made eye contact with an old gentleman who was on the ground staring in shock at the German man. Tucker struggled and felt something hot breach his neck. A shiver took him by surprise. This was not the same kind of umbral monster that they were hunting. This monster's breath was warm with life. Hot sticky breath.

Three shots rang out and the sharp shifting of weight scraped Tucker's chest against the concrete. He wheezed and rolled onto his back in a heavy daze. The blue sky vibrated as he breathed heavily and, as the pain ebbed away, he heard the sound of uneven running. Ricardo and him should not be the only guardians working on this at the moment.

He peeled himself up. Ricardo was trapped between the omit behind him and the strange beast that was between him and Tucker. Tucker jumped up and turned around to the older man who was trying to get away with a hurt knee. The German flew at the man and quickly searched his pockets. The surprised victim of Tucker's social indecency struggled until Tucker's hands pulled out a lighter. "Don't smoke," Tucker pat the old man and dodged underneath the large brown and yellow beastie. Focus!

"Duck!" Ricardo ducked as Tucker's voice gave way to the sound of the wasp spray shooting at Omit.

Ricardo pause, confounded. "Tucker! Damni-" his voice was cut off by the sound of combustion as the lighter lit the spray. The omit screeched as the flame licked it's body ravenously and the larger furred creature busted it's way backwards in fear.

Tucker laughed excitedly. His voice started as chuckling but then it cracked into a blood curdling cackle. Ricardo pointed his gun at the German and Tucker paused, confused. That wasn't something Ricar- BANG! Tucker tuned to see the brown monster backing away again.

"You go after the Omit. and I'll take on this thing!"

"But I want to take this guy!"

"Tucker!"

"Fine," he hobbled to his feet and twirled the wasp spray, slipping it into his jacket pocket with a flick of his wrist. The umbral quadruped had ripped it's way back to the apartments. Just as he thought. It was susceptible to fire. Could it have encountered Daniel or Judas in the past to get that kind of "wound" inside it's throat. Oh, but he wanted Ricardo to handle it. He wanted to be alone with this magnificent new friend. It had the bulkiest shoulders he had ever seen on such a slender beast, and that tail could hang off a two story house and still touch the ground. What kind of creature needed that long of a tail with such an unusual build? His best guess was that it could be some kind of cliff dwelling beast from another world. One in which Daniel had left a portal open to for too long. Focus!

There she was… or he… there it was, the large shadowy creature with a bad attitude was rubbing its face against the stucco walls of the apartment complexes. Tucker held up the spray and lighter and paused. His left hand was burnt at the top. How did he not notice that. FOCUS! He whistled sharply. The creature was too busy trying to get the liquid out of its eyes. It painfully yelped as it scraped too hard against its own face. Dumb thing, Tucker thought. Focus! KILL IT! Tucker let the flame launch at the base of it's tail where Ricardo had done enough damage, then, as the creature roared in agony, he took his pan and rammed it into the creature's temple. It dispersed with a short snort and was gone into fragments of smoke like darkness.

Panting heavily, Tucker turned his frying pan over and over again in his hands. The dent was a nice deep one. A dissatisfied sigh escaped him. Then a loud and hearty roar rang out from the park. 

He smiled, focused.

(Thank you for reading. If you would like chapters 1 - 4 let me know. elyse@elyseillustrations.com.)