Chelsea settled against her car, bottle of beer in hand, and watched the sun head for the horizon as she waited. Out here in the desert, it was quite the production. While some trees had been planted around town, this was big sky country. Different from her beloved South Dakota, but still breathtaking.
The setting sun reddened the mountains in the distance as Chelsea raced down the open road. The gas pedal wasn’t quite flat against the floor, but she was ready to speed up if need be.
This is a series of short stories, detailing the adventures of Chelsea Childling. You can start with her origin story or pick something from the index.*** Beer and fists flowed around her, but Chelsea barely noticed. Oklahoma City’s haunt could have been anywhere. Small, dirty, and full of the usual brawls; it felt like home. […]
Twilight brought twinkling lights and absurdly suggestive slogans at the roadside attraction. The place was famous for its risque name, and fudge, and lived up to the touristy promise of the billboards. All of of four stores and bawdy signage; the sheer over-the-top nature of the “town” overloaded Chelsea’s sense of maturity and she giggled as she contemplated buying a t-shirt.
“Like we said back at the bar, winged, flying spiders. Guess we forgot to mention the barbs that shoot a paralyzing agent that can stop your heart. And there’s at least five of them down there.” He rolled his eyes and snorted. “Some idiot wanted ‘real fairies’ for his daughter.”
“That’s so… stupid.”
“And yet, it happens every few months.”
He sipped on his coffee. “Where you off to?”
“Not sure yet, but I need wide open spaces. Might be headed back to South Dakota.”
“And Amber?”
She forced back the tears. “She has my number, and she’s hunting again. I’m more likely to find her on the road than stuck here.”
“Stuck?” A single eyebrow raised at her.
“I hate this city. Always have.”
Andy looked between them. “You got a hunt without me?”
Amber shrugged. “I heard something at that shithole restaurant. I just didn’t act on it. Figured we could do some recon. See if there’s any there there.”
They both studied the darkness between apartment buildings. The wet autumn had driven most of the denizens to warmer and drier spots. They’d paid for a hotel for the old woman they’d found here earlier in the night.
Their banter got sharper with the wine, but Chelsea bathed herself in the warm moment. Her last few months on the road had been lonely.
“Most banshees are pretty harmless since they don’t actually kill with screams. This one, however, has been credibly seen at several suspicious deaths.”
“How do we kill it?”
“My, aren’t we blood thirsty?”
She grinned at him, showing more teeth than was friendly.
Words That Burn Like Fire 