“Because I don’t like people, that’s why.” Luke said with a sigh before switching his phone to speaker and setting it on top of his Snap-On tool chest.

“Come on Luke,” Emily replied, “you need to get out more. Socialize. Find a girlfriend. There will be lots of girls there. I’ll introduce you to one, or twenty.”

Luke spit. Some of it had gotten into his mouth. He grabbed a shop towel off the bench and started wiping down his face and beard. “No thanks. You know I don’t like new people.”

“But how else will you find ‘the one’? You have to meet her first! Then you can settle down. Family life will do you good. You know I can’t always look after you. Even Tom is worried about you.”

“Darn it sis, I don’t need your meathead husband watching out for me. I can take care of myself.”

“Then come, that way I can quit bugging you. Show up, be present, at least for a little while. Its not like you have anything else going on.”

 “You have no idea Em,” Luke replied. He switched to wiping down his hammer. There were days when Luke found his sister to be insufferable. She always had a penchant for finding the worst possible timing. Luke glanced to the mess on the floor.

“Please? If you get married, I promise to never ask you for anything ever again!”

“Fine,” Luke replied. “I’ll go, but I can’t promise anything else.”

“Great! I’ll pick you up in fifteen.”

The phone clicked off, leaving Luke in the quiet of his workshop. He stared at it for a moment, then went to fetch a dustpan. He should have probably told his sister. She was the brains of the family. She would know what to do. She would know who to call. But at the same time, Luke didn’t want the hassle. There’d be cops, governments and investigations.

He crouched down and scooped up the small body in the dustpan. It was a tiny little thing, no bigger than his hand. It looked thin, almost emaciated, with long boney arms that ended in clever fingers with sharp claws. It was naked except for a loincloth around its waste. The head was a size bigger than it should have been with large dark eyes. Its chest flattened in the distinct shape of a ball-peen hammer.

Outside, the cool air hit his face as he grabbed a shovel from the side of the building. His yard was just a narrow strip of grass before the tree line took over. It didn’t take long to dig a small hole and drop the creature in, covering it with dirt unceremoniously.

Luke had washed his face and was pouring kitty litter over the puddle of blue blood when Emily’s car pulled into the driveway. He barely glanced up as she let herself into the garage, her heels clicking sharply against the cement floor. She was tall, skinny, beautiful, social and successful. Everything Luke was not. He sometimes wondered if they were even related.

“You’re not going wearing that?” Emily asked, her perfectly manicured eyebrow arching in disapproval.

“Hello sis. Been kind of busy.” Luke replied flatly.

“I doubt that. Now hurry up and go put on something more presentable. Like that shirt with the stripes? The one I got you for Christmas.”

Luke didn’t even grumble. He knew it was pointless. He trudged into his small, cluttered house, hunting for the shirt she was talking about. It took a minute, but he found it, still with the tags attached.

“Why is it your shop is always immaculate, but your house is a complete disaster?” Emily called from the doorway, her voice a mixture of exasperation and concern. “Really, Luke. How can you live like this? What would happen if you invited a girl over? She’d run away screaming.”

“That’s the idea,” Luke muttered, tugging off the tags and pulling the shirt over his head. The collar was tight, and the seams strained against his broad shoulders. He wasn’t fat, but his years of manual labor had left him with a stocky build that didn’t exactly lend itself to trendy clothes.

“See, you look much better,” Emily said, ruffling Luke’s dark hair.

“Stop it, sis,” Luke grumbled, as he ducked out from under her hand.

“You know you like it. Now go wash the grease off your hands. And be sure to scrub under your fingernails. Girls like a man with clean fingernails!”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

A few minutes later, Luke found himself in the passenger seat of Emily’s Outback. The glittery ornaments swayed from the rearview mirror, and the overpowering scent of a tropical air freshener made his nose itch.

Luke stared out the passenger’s side window as Emily pulled out of the driveway, his mind already wandering back to the mess he’d left behind.

They were headed down the highway that also doubled as the main drag through Sweet Home. It was a small one DQ kind of town with more feed stores than grocery stores. It had that aged feeling of smalltown America that Luke loved. Lots of old farm equipment to work on, and every house seemed to have a story of its own.

The roads, the houses, the town all held that familiar comfort of home. But something was slowly itched at the back of Luke’s mind. A slight rattling, that was so faint that he couldn’t be sure if he had truly heard it. It could have just been the vibration flowing up through the floorboards.

“Hey, I love that song!” Emily said as Luke turned down the radio.

“Quiet, Em,” Luke replied as his ears strained. “I think I hear something… With the engine?  Yeah, it doesn’t sound right. I think… I think… the engine mount on your side is lose? Let’s go back and I’ll check it out.”

“This had better not be some sorry attempt to get out of going,” Emily said. She had cast a long glance at Luke with a knowing look. Luke, to his credit, had never made a habit of lying to get out of things. At least not when his older sister was involved. He would complain a bit then just give up, the confrontation always made him uncomfortable, and it was easier to acquiesce than push for his desires.

“Serious, Em, I think there is something wrong. I mean, it’s not critical at the moment. But I need to check it out.”

“Are you sure? I don’t hear anything.”

“Yeah, the more I think about it, the more certain I am. It is the engine mount. Your side. It’s loose.”

“Okay, I’ll believe you for now. I’ll have Tom check it out when we get there.”

“I can do it, I know what to look for,” Luke replied. And he did. A picture of the 10X46 bolt, rattling in the frame with vivid clarity.  It was strange, how we could visualize it so clearly. As if…

Luke always had a knack for mechanics and fixing things, from the time he took apart the toaster when he was six. He could see how all the parts fit and moved together like some sort of grand puzzle. But this was different. This was more than just interlocking pieces, this was a vision with brilliant detail of a 10X46 bolt, rattling gently in the frame.

Luke watched it play in is mind with fascination. Then the warning bells started to go off, this was new, and new usually meant something was wrong. He thought back to the… thing he killed earlier. Maybe its blood was poisonous. He really should tell Emily.

Mark Scraped his tongue over his teeth again.

“Tom will look at it,” Em said with a tinge of finality. “You are not going to be getting dirty, you are going to mingle.” Luke knew that tone. It was one that said you are going to do this for your own good or suffer the consequences.

They pulled off the highway and onto a side road. Thick old pine trees lined the road, the gravel crunched under the wheels. Luke could hear the music before he saw the house.  It was an old log cabin style mansion. It was one of the first houses built here, originally in the old German hunting lodge style.  it has been expanded and remodeled several times. Luke had even worked on it himself, installing new drywall after something punched a hole in it. There weren’t many places in town he hadn’t worked on.

The large wooden door was propped open, and the sounds loud conversations and country music poured out and trickled down the steps.  Tom was leaning against the doorframe, cheap beer in hand. Obnoxiously enough, he was a perfect match for Emily. Tall, successful and handsome enough that you couldn’t stay mad at him for long. He was wearing flannel with top button undone.

Tom cracked a wide grin, and headed down the stairs, his cowboy boots clicking on the stairs. He managed to find the one sunbeam that drifted down from between the pine branches and practically glowed in the light. “Hey, the Handyman-Can, I can count on your vote, right? You know when you see the light, you will vote for Night.”

“You know Tom, that’s not as funny as you think.” Luke said, refusing to meet his eyes, and completely sidestepping that other issue.

“Sure, it is buddy,” Tom said before slapping Luke on the shoulder. It stung.

“Um, I heard something with the car on the way here. I think it sounds like the engine mount on the driver’s side. Em said you’d look at it, but I don’t mind if you’re too busy.”

“No, Tom will look at. Right honey?” Emily said before leaning in and kissing him Tom the cheek.

The couple exchanged glances. Emily was giving Tom the same look she used on Luke earlier that day. The one that screamed you will do it, or I will make you suffer in ways you couldn’t imagine.  

Judging by his reaction, Tom knew that look too. He instantly straightened up and gave his best politician brand smile, the one reserved for when it was a promise he’d actually keep. “Of course, darling, what was it I’m looking for?”

Emily glanced at Luke. “Um, one of the driver’s side engine mount bolts sounds loose.” Luke said while pointing at the Outback.

“And you can tell that, by sound?” Tom said. Luke thought the tone was a bit more accusatory than necessary. But for some reason he just couldn’t let this go. He knew something was on the verge of causing problems. He could feel it. Although he didn’t know how. It really didn’t make sense.  He scraped his tongue over his teeth again.

“Just check, for me?” Emily asked. “You know, Luke isn’t ever wrong about these things.”

Tom gave a long hard glance at Luke. His face shifted for accusatory to blaming. As if the upcoming troubles were all Luke’s fault. “Sure, it’s my job to keep you safe.”

“Thanks Tom,” Emily said. Tom smiled back. His entire face seemed to change as he looked back at Luke.

“Emily!” A shrill voice shrieked from the doorway.