Red Letter Day
Read all the pamphlets and watch the tapes
“It’s quite amazing what they’ve done with the space,” Gillian noted as they walked into the dimly lit museum wing. “It doesn’t even feel like we’re in a man-made environment,”
“They’ve somehow even got moisture dripping down those plastic stalactites over there,” Robb gestured with a rolled up map in his right hand.
All around, fellow exhibit visitors were murmuring with similar enthusiasm and appreciation. The curators had certainly outdone themselves in their effort to create the perfect cave-like atmosphere.
Cool, damp breezes drifted out of unseen vents, bringing to the fore, the faint and unmistakeable scent of sulphur. Small, blue LED lights in the ceiling imitated the flicker of real glowworms, while mechanized bats flapped their leathery wings in a steady rhythm from where they hung.
“I still can’t quite believe it,” Gillian shook her head. “I can’t believe we’re about to see a real life creature out of myth,”
“Myths have to come from somewhere,” Robb replied. “As a species, we’ve used stories as a means to comprehend all the things we might not have understood,”
“Imagine if this isn’t the last discovery,” Gillian’s blue eyes sparkled. “Imagine if we find out that more of these mythical creatures aren’t all that, well, mythical,”
“I don’t relish the idea of getting dragged to a watery grave by a Kelpie. Do you?” Robb questioned. “The notion of an organized faery mafia stealing infants from their cribs doesn’t particularly leave me comforted either,”
Huffing in annoyance at her companion’s practicality, Gillian spotted a sign above their heads. Elbowing him in the ribs, she pointed meaningfully up at it.
“Done and done. I mean, they did confiscate our snacks at the entrance,” Robb nodded, rubbing absently at his side.
“How much you wanna bet other visitors have tried sneaking food in?” Gillian asked as they joined a milling group of people standing before a carefully constructed enclosure.
Robb didn’t answer her. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the sight before him.
The creature was seated on what appeared to be a fallen tree trunk. Hunched over at it was, it was easy to see why people of old might have mistaken those things for piles of rocks. Indeed, were it not for the subtle twitching of muscles underneath grey, speckled skin, it might have been hard to quantify the creature as being alive, so to speak.
“Wow,’ Robb breathed.
“Wow indeed,” Gillian agreed with more than a little awe.
The creature had a face. Cold, dark eyes glared unblinkingly at the humans who had come to ogle, to gawk.
“This is inhumane,” a woman said aloud from behind the couple. “Do you know, I read that they won’t even feed the poor thing real food?”
Gillian could hear Robb rolling his eyes.
“They force it to eat rocks,” the stranger continued derisively.
“I don’t know if…” Gillian’s brow furrowed.
“Fuck this shit,”
Before anyone could stop her, the angry figure was pushing everyone aside. By the security railing, she pulled out a small package from some hidden compartment in her tote bag. Drawing her arm back, she flung what appeared to be a block of ham towards the hulking creature.
“Ma’am,” someone was shouting through the nervous crowd. “Ma’am step away from the…”
“I will not! This is wrong, what you’re doing here!” the woman shouted, turning to face the crowd and the approaching security officers.
Nobody was listening to her however. Everyone was watching, mesmerized, as the creature reached slowly for the meat that had been tossed at its feet. Lifting the ham, it hesitated only a brief second.
Razor sharp teeth glinted in the dim light. With one loud snap of massive jaws, the ham was gone. Almost as one, the crowd began slowly to back away.
Rooted to the spot, Gillian might not have retreated had Robb not yanked at her.
“Shit,” she could hear him saying.
The ranting woman who had done the deed, her back was still turned towards the enclosure. Which was why she failed to notice the way the creature’s shape seemed to expand, the way it’s cold, depthless gaze was sweeping hungrily over the thronging mass.
“Lady, get the fuck away from the railing!” one of the security guards yelled in frustration as he began loading the tranquilizer gun in his hand.
Something must have finally clicked in that silly woman’s brain. Turning on her heel, her gaze tilted upwards as the creature lumbered towards her. With stunning ease, it ripped apart the almost invisible electrical barbed wire in its way.
“Jesus fuck,” another security guard said aloud, sounding frightened as all hell.
With a roar, the hulking, monstrous shape reached for the woman who had thought to feed it. The hungry intent in those obsidian eyes was unmistakable.
Robb didn’t seem to want to stay for whatever was about to happen next. Not that Gillian could blame him. With their hands clasped tightly together, they turned to run as the screaming began.
By the time they reached the museum’s entrance, fire alarms were ringing loudly and incessantly. Everyone was racing for the tempered glass doors as panic filled the room like a noxious gas.
Spotting an emergency exit off to the side which no one else appeared to have noticed, the two of them barrelled for the outside world.
They didn’t stop running for a long while. By the time they made it back to their apartment, the city was in an uproar.
“Shit,” Robb shook his head as Gillian pulled her cell phone out. Opening Reddit, she scrolled for their local news.
“They managed to put that thing down. No fatalities but a number of bad injuries,” she breathed as she collapsed into their tweed couch.
“Man,” Robb shook his head as he settled beside her. “Why don’t people listen? I mean there was a sign up and everything, in big red letters,”
“That’s people for you,” Gillian leaned back. “Everyone knows — don’t feed the trolls. But they do it anyway,”
“I hate people,” Robb said with feeling.
“I know the feeling,” she smiled tiredly at him. “You’re not so bad though,”
“Right back ‘atcha,” he assured.
The End
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