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“These people are pretty strange, huh, Kino?”
“What do you mean?”
Walking down pristine cobblestone streets, Kino pushed along Hermes. They had just recently gotten to a new country, and it seemed rather cozy. The houses were well made, and they looked rather lavish. The streets were clean, and there were gas lamps decorating the side of the road. Overall, the town was very Victorean in aesthetic.
“They seem like they don’t like talking to people. I don’t think they trust you much, either.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Come on, Kino. I know you noticed it. They wouldn’t look you in the eyes. They were always looking away. They gave you short answers, too. They couldn’t give you the day of time."
“Time of day.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Distrusting strangers doesn’t make someone weird. If anything, I think that’s pretty normal, Hermes.” In reality, Kino did notice, and it did come off a little odd, but it wasn’t the first time Kino had seen standoffish people in their journey, so they didn’t think much of it.
“I guess, but then they start talking about not being outside at night. What’s that all about?”
Kino shrugged, eventually stopping in front of a general store. They needed to buy some supplies, anyways. Just some food for the road. The store had a heavy looking steel door at the front, and the windows had iron bars in front of it to prevent anyone from breaking in.
“I’ve heard things about this country. Apparently at night, creatures roam the street. They don’t look like animals, but they don’t look like people either. They scream into the night, and try to break into people’s homes.”
“And they believe in that sort of stuff?”
“I guess they do.”
“What about you, Kino?”
The traveler grew silent, closing their eyes for a moment. They leaned Hermes against the front of the store. “I’m going to buy some things real quick. I’ll be back.”
Kino stepped into the store, a chime from a bell accompanying their entrance. Near the register, there was a man asleep at the counter. When the bell chimed, he jolted himself away, eyes wide. “Woah! Okay, I’m up.”
Giving a small wave to the man, Kino walked through the store. Since they already had a general idea of what they wanted, they gathered their things quickly. Placing them on the counter, the man began to add up the totals.
“Do you know any inns nearby? Places that would take in a traveler for a few days?”
“Hmm?” The man looked them over, his eyes narrowing. After a moment, he chuckled. A tired, humorless chuckle. Now that they were close, Kino noticed he had bags over his eyes. “A few days?”
“Uh, yes. Two nights, specifically. I plan on leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“There’s a place just down the road from here. I’m sure they’d be happy to have you…but I don’t imagine you’ll stay for that long.”
“Why not?”
“The screams.” He answered it with an emotionless tone, like it was just a fact of life. “They keep you up at night, if you’re not used to them. Hell, even if you are…well, just look at me.”
He moved his hands up, rubbing at his eyes for a moment. “It feels like I’ve barely gotten any sleep this past week. Screams right outside my window…”
“From the creatures?”
“Yeah, at least, that’s what I think they’re coming from.” He shook his head. “They’re sounding different now, though. The screaming’s starting to sound like it’s coming from someone I know. Friends, family…screaming at the top of their lungs, like their lives are ending…”
“I can see why you aren’t able to sleep.”
“I’ll get some shut eye, eventually.” He shook his head. He told Kino the price of their goods, and placed them all in a bag. Kino paid, took the bag, and nodded a thank you before walking out the store.
“I found a place for us to stay, Hermes.”
“Do you think we’ll hear any screaming tonight?”
“Hopefully not, Hermes.” Hanging the bag off Hermes handlebars, Kino mounted the motorcycle. “If that happens…let’s try to ignore it.”
---
“Hello?” Kino stepped into the inn, pushing Hermes with them. The lobby was dark, uncomfortably so. As Kino’s eyes adjusted, they realized that there wasn’t even any potential light source in the room; no lights, no lamps, not even an unlit candle. Just from first impressions, the place felt abandoned. Despite that, Kino couldn’t help but feel a pair of eyes on them.
“I’d like to rent a room for a few days.” They stepped even further into the lobby, now in the center of the room. The feeling they were being watched didn’t wear off, and only became more intense.
“This place doesn’t seem very hospitable, Kino. I say we should get out of here.”
“Hello.”
A sudden voice from the darkness, coming from the right of them. Kino stepped to the left, away from Hermes, and put a hand on their pistol. Eyes still adjusting, they could barely make the outline of a person, standing behind a desk. It seemed to be a woman. A very tall woman, at that.
“You want a room?”
Kino hesitated for a moment. Until, that is, Hermes began to fall over. Kino didn’t put down the kickstand, and Hermes was threatening to take a dive. The traveler moved forward, quickly catching Hermes before he hit the ground.
“Yes, a room would be nice. I’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s fine.” The entire time, the woman was sitting in the corner, where the shadows covered most of her body, but as she spoke she stepped into the light, closer to Kino.
She was well over six feet tall, and would absolutely tower over Kino if they were standing next to each other. Her hair was red and disheveled. Bangs came down and covered her face in messy strands of hair. Kino could just barely make out that under her eyes, like the storeowner, she had bags. Limbs were long and lanky, befitting of her height, and she herself was skinny to the point she came off as malnourished.
“I can take you to your room. Follow me?”
Kino looked her over, and gave a silent nod. She shuffled out from behind the desk, revealing that she wasn’t wearing any shoes. She walked down a nearby hallway, not even making sure Kino was following.
“I really don’t like this place,” Hermes muttered, having no choice but to follow as Kino pushed them down the hallway. “Can’t we just skip over this town.”
“No, I don’t think so, Hermes.” With a shake of their head, Kino continued to push the Motorrad. “We need to stay a night, at least. If we still feel uncomfortable, we can leave.”
“Okay, so we’re leaving tomorrow then!” Hermes exclaimed. “I doubt this place is going to get any cozier.”
Once more, Kino grew silent. Though they didn’t want to admit it, part of the reason they chose this country in the first place was that they wanted to see if the rumors were true. Even now, they were finding it hard to believe that so called monsters roamed the streets at night. Just a night or two to see if it was actually true was all Kino wanted.
Though their thoughts were taking them out of the moment, Kino snapped back to reality the moment they caught up with the woman. They were in front of an old looking wooden door, with faint cracks along the material. Some of the wood had been chipped off, and splinters poked out of the material. The woman unlocked the door, and pushed it open, the door emitting an ominous creak.
“We don’t get many visitors nowadays. It’s nice you’re here.”
“I wonder why that is,” Hermes muttered, and Kino responded with gently kicking them in the back wheel. “Ow!”
The room itself had a dusty look to it, like no one had opened the door in months. The bed was simple, fit for a single person, with a black blanket draped over it and two pillows, with yellow pillowcases that were likely once white.
“We have a few house rules. Not many, but…”
“Of course. What are they?” Kino turned to face the woman, only to be taken aback by their eyes. Though originally half opened in her tired state, they were now as wide as could be, leering down at them with this intense stare.
“When the sun sets, never pull back the curtains.” Her eyes, for a moment, shot to the nearby window before looking back to Kino. “When the sun sets, keep the door locked, until it rises again. The inn doors close an hour before sunset. Be inside before that.”
“Anything else?”
The woman kept that intense stare for a few more moments, before she relaxed, growing slack once more. She shook her head. “No. That’s it. If you need anything, just tell me. I sleep in a room behind my desk.”
Before Kino could respond, the woman walked back down the hallway, her steps causing the floor to creak loudly.
“She seems pleasant, Kino. I’m so glad we’re spending a night here.”
Kino looked to Hermes, staring at them with a neutral expression, before sighing. “I must admit, it’s not ideal. It’ll only be two nights, Hermes.”
“Two sleepless nights.”
Kino shook their head, looking to the window. Like the store, there were steel bars over the outside of the window, ruining the view, but still letting sunlight leak into the room. A few hours left until sunset…
“It’s late in the day, but we still have enough time to look around a little more. It’s better than staying here, right?”
“At this point I’m not too sure, Kino.”
“Well, I want to look around more. Would you like to come with me, or stay here with the innkeeper?”
“Are you kidding? Stay here with her ?” Hermes couldn’t shiver, but Kino imagined that’s what he’d be doing right now. “I’m going with you. Make sure no monster jumps you.”
“How brave of you, Hermes.”
---
The day passed by without anything else eventful happening; Kino instead busied themselves by checking out the other buildings. They all had metal bars fixed to the front of their windows, and elaborate locks fixed onto their doors. Everything from the cafes to the average home had been turned into something akin to a makeshift fortress. It turned the cozy vibes into something a bit more sinister, something that would make a traveler feel weary.
Wanting to follow the rules of the inn, otherwise they’d get locked out for the night, Kino returned to the inn two hours before the sun would set. With little else to do, they began to settle down for the night. Their room was connected to a bathroom; an equally dusty room with grout in between the shower tiles, and a mirror with cracks in it. It wasn’t pleasant, but Kino has had worse when it comes to sanitation.
As the sun began to set, and the day was coming to a close, Kino stood in the center of the room, closing their eyes. Today, they would see if those rumors were true; if something really did haunt these streets at night. Kino could only speculate what they’d experience tonight, but they’d be lying if they said a part of them wasn’t morbidly curious.
“Sleep well, Hermes.” They said after a moment, pulling their revolver, Canon, out of their pocket and placing it under their pillow. A habit they had no intention of breaking. They fluffed up the aged pillow, and laid down on the bed. “Try to get some sleep, at least.”
“I will, as long as there’s no screaming tonight.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.” Pulling the blankets up to their chest, Kino closed their eyes and let themselves drift off to sleep in a less than welcoming environment.
…a peaceful slumber could only last so long.
Kino was awoken by the sound of something crashing against the ground. They gasped, sitting upright in the bed as they looked around the room. It was pitch black, and it took time for their eyes to adjust. There wasn’t anyone in the room, nor anything out of place, but they definitely heard something. Could it have come from outside?
Kino reached under their pillow, feeling the handle of their revolver, fingers trailing over the smooth, laminated material. Slowly, they pulled it out from under the pillow, and hopped out of bed.
Suddenly, their eyes moved to the window. They had followed the woman’s instructions, and covered the window with curtains. The curtains themselves were black, but unnaturally so. It was like someone had taken a void and stitched it into a fabric.
They knew that one of the rules explicitly stated not to pull back the curtains, but that didn’t stop Kino from staring at them. It didn’t stop them from slowly stepping towards the window, widened eyes fixated on the drapes. There was a part of them that was curious, far too curious, in fact. Part of them wanted to rip away those curtains and see what made those sounds outside. After all, there wasn’t any screaming, and for all they knew it could have just been a raccoon. Maybe this could all be explained away by some strange animal.
More confident in their decision, Kino took another step. Still waking up, their body felt a bit sluggish, feet heavy they stepped onto the carpet. Reaching out, their hand closed in on the curtain, and grabbed a fist full of the material. The texture was similar to felt, rather than cloth or wool like they expected.
Just as they were about to yank the curtains away, there was a scream. Not a scream of fear, but some guttural, aggressive hollering, coming from right outside the inn. It sounded like it was mere feet outside the window. It was deafening, and sudden, shattering the quiet night.
Kino gasped, and stumbled backwards, only to trip over their own feet. Kino was sent plummeting to the ground, landing in a sitting position. They scrambled away from the window, eyes wide as all they could see was that pitch black curtain.
“Wh-What!?” Hermes’ voice, now, just barely audible over the screaming. It hadn’t faltered for even a second, let alone lower in volume. If anything, it might be getting louder. Perhaps a roar was a better way of describing it, because it didn’t sound entirely human. There was something primal about those noises.
“Kino, what’s happening!?”
“I don’t know.” Kino couldn’t even raise their voice, instead just muttering to themself as they continued to stare at the window. It took a moment to realize that their hands were shaking, and when they tried to push themself back to their feet, Kino’s arms almost gave out from underneath them.
The screaming continued, and now it was accompanied by something else. A loud thud, coming from the wall. Whatever was on the other side of that window was now trying to break in, and it must have been slamming its full weight into the metal bars that blocked the window. Kino could feel the ground beneath them shake with every thud, an indicator of how strong the unseen creature was.
“Make it stop!” Kino could hear Hermes shouting, and it was only then did Kino remember what to do. Make it stop. Right, they had the gun, they could make it stop. They looked down at their revolver, only to see how shaky their hands were. Would they even be able to fire the gun in this condition?
Not like they had much of a choice. The screaming became louder, the pounding got worse, and it felt like the entire wall was about to break down at any moment. They had to take the shot, or else that thing was going to go the entire night.
“Enough!” They shouted, aiming and firing the revolver in less than a second. There was a loud bank, a flash of white, and the pungent smell of gunpowder. With their hands shaking so much, the recoil was enough to knock the gun out of their hands. They could hear it clatter to the ground beside them.
Then after that…silence. The screaming had died down, and the only sounds Kino could hear came from within; the blood running through their body, their heart hammering in their chest, their shaky breathing as they attempted to calm themself. For a moment, the night had returned to something resembling normalcy.
Then, the screaming started again. This time, it was different. It wasn’t as guttural, and much more high pitched. It sounded more like someone screaming out of fear for their life. An ear piercing shriek that struck Kino like a knife to the brain.
Instinctively, they brought their hands to their ears, a vain attempt to block out the noise, but it made little difference. Kino might as well have not even bothered, the way it penetrated through their defenses and into their mind. For a moment, Kino thought about grabbing the gun once again, until they felt everything in their body go limp. The last thing Kino felt before drifting off to sleep was their body hitting the floor.
---
Kino woke up to the sun in their eyes. Squinting, they slowly sat up. It took a while for them to realize that they were on the ground, and not in their bed. For a moment, they were confused, until all the memories of last night came flooding back to them. Kino shivered, recalling how awful that scream had sounded.
Looking around the room for a moment, they looked to Hermes. Hermes seemed to still be asleep, since he wasn’t making noises. With a sigh, Kino stood up and began to get ready for the day. Well, that's not how they wanted to spend the night. They may have to take Hermes’ advice and head out of town a day early. Though, they rented the room for two days, and they’d hate to go back on their word…
With a shake of their head, Kino went through a quick morning routine, putting a brush through their hair and then getting themselves looking at least somewhat decent. After that, they slipped out of the room, past the lobby, and out of the inn. They walked along the perimeter of the building, trying to find where their room would be.
It didn’t take long. Eventually, Kino’s eyes fell upon a red patch of dried blood on the ground next to one of the windows, the window to their room, no doubt. They kneeled next to the puddle of blood, and noticed that there was a small trail leading away from the building, towards the outer part of town. Whatever was bothering them last night, it didn’t go away unscathed.
---
“So, what happened last night anyways, Kino?” Hermes asked, wheels rolling against well kept cobblestone streets. “I don’t remember a lot, besides the screaming.”
“I…don’t really know.” Kino shook their head. “I think we may have ran into one of those creatures they talked about.”
“So monsters are real, huh?”
“I’m not sure if it was a monster, but it was definitely something that wanted to hurt us. It’s a good thing I scared it off.”
“I just can’t believe people live like this! If there’s monsters around, why don’t people just move?”
“Maybe they don’t have a choice. It’s hard to move, and people have family and jobs here that…they…” Kino’s voice trailed off, looking down the street. Their eyes were focused on the store that they were in yesterday, but now there was a crowd of people around it, hovering around the front door and gossiping to each other. The door was wide open, and the store inside had no lights on.
“What’s going on over there?” Hermes wondered aloud. Before he knew it, Kino had pushed down Hermes’ kickstand and rushed to the store. “Wait, Kino!? What are you doing?”
Kino ignored it. They had a terrible thought about what had happened last night. That door was meant to keep a creature out, surely, so why was it wide open? What happened to the man who worked there yesterday? The one who looked so tired?
Kino pushed past the crowd, and hurried into the store. It didn’t take long for them to find the answer to their question. With widened eyes, they looked at a store covered in blood and mismatched pieces of gore. It covered the walls, floor, and even parts of the ceiling. There was hardly anything left of the unfortunate soul, and the entire building reeked of blood and death. A chill ran up Kino’s spine, as they realized that this could have been them last night, had that beast somehow found a way in.
Their mind felt like it was shutting off, and Kino was left in a temporary daze. They shook their head, muttering to themself for a moment, before walking out of the store. They maneuvered through the crowd again, making their way back to Hermes, still lost in thought.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“The man who worked there, he fell asleep. Forgot to lock his door.” They straddled Hermes, and put their helmet on. Pulling the kickstand up, Kino revved the engine. “He’s not going to be waking up again.”
“He’s not-? You mean he’s dead? Do you think whatever tried to get us last night did it?”
“We’re leaving, Hermes.”
“What? We’re-” Hermes cut himself off. The tone that Kino had wasn't normal. They were distant, not fully there. It wouldn’t be good for Kino to stay here much longer. “Okay, we’re leaving.”
In record time, the two drove out of town, speeding down cobblestone roads until they turned into the more rural dirt roads that the duo had grown accustomed to. They didn’t speak, instead allowing themselves to reflect on the time they had spent in a city whose people were hunted every night.