Squelch
by Debbie Behan
The full moon shines below on a deathly quiet spring night. In the shadow, Deccan Munro strains his eyes to see the profile of the thieving killer, he nicknamed Squelch. It’s always the same, the ear piercing sound before the vicious slash to the throat. Another of Decan’s prize Alpacas, dead, their blood is all that remains.
‘Maud,’ He whispers, ‘Hand me my rifle.’
A tired farmer’s wife with little, to no sleep over the past few nights yawned and rolled towards him. Her husband driving her crazier than his imaginary Squelch, that he insists is killing his Alpacas. ‘Come back to bed Dec love. We checked them an hour ago, they were fine then and will be fine now.’
‘Maud,’ he called her name in a high pitch hiss, ‘My rifle! Now!’ his tone cut through her and with a ‘humpf,’ she threw back her blanket. Bare feet on a cold floor, tip-toed to the closet and with a squeak of the door, retrieved the weapon.
A loud deathly squeal left her lips as a mouse rushed from the opened closet. Fright forced Maud to find comfort on the top of the bed. Her feet stomping with fear as she held the gun, cocked and ready to kill the vermin on site.
‘BOOM!’ Maud was in no mood. The furry mess of an exploded pest complete with a hole the size of a football remained from her hostile reaction. ‘Got you!’ She jumped up and down on the bed excited by the death of the pesky-rodent who had given her hell for days. It’s appearance each time was frightening and forced her to heave tired limbs onto the nearest chair or table. Joy and devils kill gleamed in her eyes.
Deccan stunned at his tiny, gentle wife’s victory dance shook off the vicious attack on the small invader and moving over to her, snatched the gun from her hands. Once he felt safe again, he looked through the floorboards and there were his three prize Alpacas. Their remains on the floor below, the shotgun had blown a hole right through to the cellar. ‘Maud, you did this!’
She smiled. Her eyes glistened with evil as they squinted at him, her lip curled up. ‘You kill the Squelch and you kill me.’ Her laugh was hideous and he knew this vision before him was an imposter.
‘Maud,’ he gasped with shock at the discovery. ‘The moon has taken you over too,’ He turned the gun on her and fires the weapon; Maud turned to dust and disappeared.
‘Goddamned werewolves, just as well I never liked her much anyway.’
Tell us three things about yourself Debbie.
- I write because ... Left my job after 30 years and looked for a change. Always wanted to write a book however was time poor. This was the opportunity I needed. I wrote 10 novels before I published one. Now I write for relaxation, enjoyment and because I now love it.
- If I was a character in a book I would be ... a goddess that is not loved by all so have something to write about.
- My super human power would be ... to repel evil until I could find a way to either destroy it or make it change for the better.
To connect with Debbie and learn more ...
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