Chapter 2

Dull grey morning light pours in through the window of the small room. Emily awoke after the first pleasant dream in a while. It was earlier than the usual time she got up. Gertrude was usually out on her morning errands around this time. Wrapping herself in a robe, pain gray color with wide sleeves and a waistline that imitates a dress, she goes downstairs. As she’s descending there comes a sound from the front door. Somebody is knocking. Emily goes to open the door. A man she has never seen before stands there. Brown hair and eyes, uneven beard, worn clothes and shoes. He doesn’t seem offended by her inappropriate attire but does look surprised to see her.

“I’m John Grant, here to see Mr. Dalton.” He says with an American accent.

“Funny, you don’t look like a John.” She says with a smile opening the door wider.”

He walks in almost timidly; looking around like the whole place is not what he expected.

“I’ll tell him you’re here.”

She goes up the stairs and turns to the right. Albert is just leaving his room, fully dressed for the day.

“There is a John Grant here to see you.”

“Unexpectedly punctual.” He says pleased.

“Why is he here?”

“For your protection. We’re going to Rochester tonight. Now get dressed and join us downstairs.”

He finds the man in the living examining the maps of India over the fireplace.

“Good morning Mr. Grant.”

He turns as if startled.

“Mr. Dalton.”

“Thank you for coming. Now have a seat we have much to discuss before tonight.”

Emily walks down now fully dressed, hair done up.

“Mr. Grant this is Miss Emily Watson.”

“Emily this is Mr. John Grant he will be your protection for this expedition.”

She looked over at the man and smiled. He gave her a warm smile back.

“How do you do, Miss Watson.”

“Shall I make tea?”

“I don’t supposed you have coffee.” Grant asked.

Emily smiled again.

“I’ll go make some.” She turns leaving for the kitchen.

“This expedition what is it?”

“Does it matter?”

“Not especially. Although if I am expected to murder somebody I feel like I have the right to know.”

“Nothing of the sort, Mr. Grant. Emily and I are going on a little hunting expedition. Word has reached me that there has been a rather nasty beast in the area that has been causing problems. If it were to make its way to London things would not end well.”

“What kind of beast?”

“We don’t know yet. All we know is that it seems to like the taste of human flesh. It has already killed several times.”

“ Miss Watson, what’s her part in all this? Why bring her?”

“Emily has certain talents that make her invaluable to this. Now, your job is merely to make sure no harm comes to her.

We leave tonight. Take this time to prepare however you see fit. “

“Since this is a nightly expedition, do you have a room I can stay in? I’d like to be well rested for the night.”

“Very well, I’ll have Gertrude prepare a room for you.”

Emily returned with a tray of coffee.

“Breakfast will be along shortly.” She announced

“Is Gertrude back yet?”

“She is.”

“Tell her to prepare one of the spare rooms for Mr. Grant.”

Emily gave a little surprised look but said nothing and went to tell Gertrude.

“If you require anything else don’t hesitate to ask the servants or Miss Watson. Now I have my own preparation to make if you’ll excuse me.”

Gertrude soon came up from the kitchen with a tray of food. Emily was close behind her.

“Care to join me for breakfast, Miss Watson?”

Emily smiled.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I’m afraid I have my own preparations to make. “

“Until tonight then.”

“Until tonight.”

Emily sat on her bed with the food barely touched on the bedside table. The cards were still laid out on the floor. There was a feeling in the air, something strange. Building up the courage she went to Daltons study.

“I have a bad feeling about tonight. There is still much in this we do not understand.”

“That’s precisely why I have hired Mr. Grant.”

“That’s not who he is.”

He lifted his gaze from the paper and looked at her.

“Yes, I know. He is a man with a gun who provides a service for money. Using a false name under the circumstances is understandable. “

“I wasn’t worried about me.”

“I assure you the moment Mr. Grand does anything untrustworthy I will take care of him myself.”

Her eyes grow stern.

“You know perfectly well what I mean.” There is evident fear and frustration in her voice.

“You have a link to whatever man or beast we are hunting; we cannot do this without you. Whatever happens tonight, we must go.”

“I know” she says solemnly.

Returning to her room she kneels and begins to pray.

Evening sets in over London. A carriage stands outside the estate. Emily sits next to Albert across from John Grant. Alfonse and the driver were still loading some things onto the back of the cab.

“I don’t suppose you have any more information about this beast?” John asked.

“Not much. Aberrantly there’s been cattle attacks as well as people.” He extended the paper clipping to the man.

The news was of several cows being ripped apart and half-eaten. It also mentioned a man found dead in a similar manner on the road to town.

“That is quite a beast,” John said handing the clipping back. “Cows can fight off a wolf or even a few if the herd is large enough. And there’s no witness? I imagine something like that must have made a lot of noise.”

“I believe we shall find out tomorrow if we do not encounter the thing tonight.”

“Whatever it is seems to be strong and fast.”

“I believe we shall find out very soon just what manner of creature this is.”

“You seem awfully calm about this.”

“ Have you ever been to India Mr. Grant?”

“No.”

“There are tigers there. Some of them have developed a taste for human flesh. In some parts, there’s quite a lot of them. They know how to sneak up on you, hiding, moving without a sound. Both fast and strong. They are also good swimmers.”

“You think a tiger is responsible.”

“I think that could be likely. If got captured and brought back to be sold as some exotic pet. Perhaps it escaped.”

The cab took off towards Rochester. John Grant looked between Emily and Albert. Emily looked out the small window into the passing view of the streets. The fading light of the sun still lingered over the fields.

“So this tiger, how do we find it?” John asked.

“Tigers live in the jungle among the trees. It won’t be out in the open. We should start in the woods around Rochester.”

“In the dark?”

“ This one seems to hunt at night so we have a higher chance of running into it. “

“That sounds extremely dangerous.”

“We are armed. The animal is out of its natural environment. I don’t think it will be too difficult to deal with.”

The cab stops in the middle of the road through the woods. They get out, Albert getting his hunting rifle from the back. Other items in the luggage include traps, a box of meats, lanterns, ammunition, couple of other guns. The men begin setting up traps around the road. Emily stands by the cab. Occasionally Albert looks towards her but she just shakes her head. John observes the two.

The sun has set and the full moon rises above the trees. They wait. Emily looks up at the moon. It’s almost a clear night with tiny clouds. There is enough light to see pretty well. Then there is a shift, like a shiver in the air. Emily closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly. Her eyes open scanning the woods. Albert looks at her and she nods. She begins walking towards the trees on the right side of the road. They follow close behind her.

“Since it won’t come to us. We will have to go to it.” Albert says.

John stops and gives him a disapproving look.

“You know I think I finally get it.” He looks towards Emily” You’re using her as bait.”

Albert stops and turns around.

“And if I am? What’s it matter to you?”

“If that thing is as dangerous as you said we could have at least brought more people.”

“No. A large group would scare it off. It won’t attack when it knows it won’t be able to win. You merely have to shoot it before it gets to her. That’s what you’re here for after all.”

Emily walks in the front of the group. Her eyes are half closed, her left hand reaching ahead as is holding on to some invisible line. James walks behind her, gun at the ready. The night is dead quiet. The air feels heavy as even the crickets have fallen silent. The signs of something in the area scared them all into silence. Emily suddenly stops and tilts her head upwards. He follows her gaze. In the pitch-black darkness, there is a pair of golden eyes staring at him from high up in the tree.

“That’s not a tiger.” He whispers reaching to pull Emily away.

Before he can reach her the creature leaps out of the tree and lands before them. Standing on its hind legs- is a massive black wolf. It drops back to all fours and growls. Emily stands there in front of the creature, completely still. He grips his gun ready to shoot the thing but feels a hand on his.

“No sudden movements,” Albert whispers.

He wants to object but the air feels so tense that even speaking feels a risk. The wolf smells the air. It sniffs Emily, growls, and moves back. It looks like it’s about to walk back into the woods.

“Now.” Albert gives the command.

He has a riffle at the ready. James raises his pistol. They fire at the same time. Emily kneels on the grass, below the line of fire, hands covering her ears. The bullets pierce the flesh of the beast but it doesn’t fall. James had emptied his gun into the thing. Albert reloads his rifle. The beast turns around and it seems to notice the men now. Albert lands a shot at its chest.

“It’s wounded, it shouldn’t be long now,” he says with certainty.

James follows his lead, gun reloaded and ready. The wolf once more stands on its hind legs. James fires directly into its chest.

“Something’s wrong.” He says.

He can see the light of the moon coming down on the beast. The wounds they have inflicted on it are healing. Flesh stitched back together before their eyes.

“What the hell?” James stares at the beast with disbelief.

“Run!” Emily yells.

The danger dawns on them ­– the beast cannot be killed with bullets. Albert wastes no time. James looks back at Emily who still hasn’t moved.

“Miss Watson, it’s time to go.”

He moves to grab her but the wolf lunges forward. Something knocks out of the air. There is a sound of shrieking and growling. James looks at the two creatures wide-eyed. It looks like smoke in the shape of a human, he thinks he can make out wings and something else. Emily falls to the ground unconscious. The creatures vanish into the woods. He picks up Emily and takes off running.

“What the hell was that back there?” he’s out of breath, heart pounding in his chest. “You saw that! I know you did.”

“Calm yourself, Mr. Grant.”

Albert seems unfazed and somehow it makes James feel angry.

“You want me to be calm after what I saw?”

“I have seen exactly the same thing.” Albert stated,” There are some things in this world that human rationale cannot easily explain. Now we will be returning to London. You will receive your pay for the night. I suggest you give your further employment some thought because if you wish to remain here you might have to witness more things that cannot be easily explained.”

Emily lies on the seat still unconscious. James looks at her as if seeing her for the first time as the cab heads back towards London.

“What is she? The way that thing acted around her and she just led us to that thing.”

“Emily is special in certain ways. “

“You mean like a psychic?”

“ She seems to have a connection to the creature that neither of us entirely understands.”

“Which one?”

Albert gives him a questioning look.

“There were two creatures.”

The older man’s look turns to one of deep concern.