Interlude #1 – Carter

Carter was already having a horrible day. The first thing he woke up to was his wife screaming and yelling in the kitchen. His son, Liam, was somewhere out in the night, again! How many times was it? Three now? Four?!

The man ruffled his black hair and fumbled around in his pocket. It took him a while but when a small red carton and a blue lighter were pulled from the thing, Carter let out a sigh of relief. It took a few strikes to get the flame going but once the sourish smell of tobacco lit the air, a smile came onto his face.

Looking down at the crooked cigarette in his hand Carter thought Olivia would kill me if she found out I was smoking these things again.

Slowly his vice started to burn away as his family home came into view just down the road. Carter was walking there (of course! Gas was way too expensive these days anyway.) in his stuffy suit. As each of his feet impacted the concrete below a small thud was let out into the night.

Checking his watch Carter thought, Wow, only thirty minutes this time. Still better than trying to get through traffic.

The man checked his right then his left before throwing the burnt cigarette bud onto the sidewalk, not that anybody would really care. The bright red cherry impacted the white snow before quickly dulling down to orange, then black.

Carter looked down at the still smoking leftovers then stomped it into the ground with his foot.

He kept up his pace and finally arrived at the house's door. Surprisingly, after messing with the handle, it was unlocked. A small frown appeared on his square face before falling back down. "Unlocked?" muttered Carter while pulling the door open.

The man came into a long hallway with a knocked over coat-hanger. The piece of furniture was rather small for the rest of the things in this house, but that didn't really matter. Carter was the only person to use it. A little miffed he walked over and stood the wooden piece back up before putting his overcoat on one of the hooks.

Not thinking much of it Liam's father walked into the kitchen to get something to eat. Usually, Olivia would still be awake, but he guessed she was worn out from this morning. It made sense to him at least.

The kitchen wasn't much better than the hallway. It looked like a small tornado went through it. There was a single open drawer near the garage door while plastic plates and cups were strewn across the floor. It looked like a bull ran through it.

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All of the mess was heading to the stairwell that led to the second floor.

Carter's eyebrows pulled down towards the Earth before he said, "What the hell?"

Out in front of him on the wooden floor of the kitchen that led to the house's garage was a trail of bloody footprints. Carter could almost immediately feel his heartbeat start to pick up. Running across the kitchen he reached on top of the cabinets for something that's been in this house since the day he owned it.

Elmer Kieth would be proud, all he'd need now was one extra and a pipe. (1)

The weapon that Carter pulled out was his father's Ruger Redhawk. The front of the revolver was made of polished steel while the back had a matte red finish on the wood. The barrel had seven and a half inches of fun while the chamber held six rounds of .44 ready to blow whoever was in his house a new one.

Gripping the gun in his right hand Carter slowly pulled on the hammer with his thumb until he heard a click. Please let them be alright. Plead Carter within his mind as he stalked towards the cracked garage door.

Taking a lowered stance carter shot his leg forward in a burst of speed. His dress shoe impacted the metal door and with a loud "thump!" it moved to the right. What was in front of him would stick with him for days.

The first thing that came into view was blood, a whole hell of a lot of blood. The thick substance was smeared all around in a large pile around some poor creature lying dead center in the small garage. Carter's eyes stared at the thing before they quickly glazed over.

Much like his wife, Carter could see everything but the truth.

Claws, fangs, fur... thought Carter before his mind came to a decision.

The dullness fled his eyes as he struggled out a single thought.

"A Bobcat!" cried Carter as he stared farther into the mess.

With his mind racing, Carter's eyes followed the bloody footprints. The rather small footprints led up to the second floor. Pushing the hammer of the gun back down Carter bounded up the stairs with his heart beating furiously.

As he reached the top Carter yelled out, "Olivia! Liam!"

He'd find one of them up there at least.