Heroic Measures (continued)

Knowing that he would be little help on the chase, Walter made his way deeper into the wide alleyway. Spotlights from the squad cars filled the space with harsh swaths of light. He made the mistake of accidentally staring into one as he passed and then spent several moments trying to blink away the dark spots that now swam before his vision.

He saw several people crouched over a dark shape sprawled along the ground. It seemed to be clad in a dark cloak, and then he realized, as one of the figures sealed it, that it was a coroner’s body bag. The brief glimpse he had gotten told him enough, though. Someone had been sliced into shreds, just like the bodies that he had found with Torino and, several months later, with Red.

Their murderer had returned.

#

Walter raced down the sidewalk. The scream had come from somewhere in this area of the neighborhood. He turned the corner on Fifth and Sampson, nearly colliding with a matronly woman pushing a stroller and trying to keep the hand of a young child. He offered his heartfelt apology as he sped by, once certain that he had not harmed any of them. The woman responded with something in what sounded like a rough, East European languages. Walter guessed that it was not complimentary, but he kept moving.

The shriek sounded like that from an enormous bird of prey. A sharp chill pulsed through Walter. Its cause, he realized, was probably as much instinctively primal as it was from the memories it evoked. Scenes of the corpses that he had encountered with Torino and Red snapped through his mind like a slideshow.

Another brutal attack?

At least this time, he was appropriately dressed and armed. He was, however, also alone. As far as he knew, no one had ever seen that creature that had shredded those bodies. His mind was more than willing to offer up images of what it might be. They did nothing to ease his growing apprehension.

He slowed as ran down Sampson, listening for a new occurrence of the sound. When it did not come, he began looking for alleyways from where it might have originated. He spotted three possible ones on his side of the street and at least two others on the opposite. Having no better idea, he decided to start with the first one.