What Was That Thing

“What was that thing, how did you know silver would kill it, and who the hell are you two?”

Oxana took a piece of the apple pie and ate it quickly enough to suggest she was actually hungry, which — after finally meeting the thing that had apparently been crawling around my apartment lately, was not so true of me. She licked her fingers carefully before answering. “It called Nightmare Children. Silver not kill it, but does back-sending it.”

“Back sending?”

“Send it back,” explained Halyna. “To the place it is coming from.” She had better English than her roommate. “To the dark place.”

“Keep going,” I said. “Who are you?” I swept my hand around the room, indicating the mini-armory they had assembled. “What’s all this for?”

“Protect,” said Oxana. “We protect.”