Lost in the Shadows

Chapter 20

'... been in a cave, for forty days, only a spark to light my way. I wanna give out, I wanna give in...' The jazzy tune, blurting out from some boombox, lured Marko further down the shorefront. Laughter, high and shrill, rolled out from beneath the pier where a gathering of about four or five people clustered around a dying fire.

It was a scene Marco had seen so often in Santa Carla, especially during the summer season. The threat of summer storms and the torrential downfall that often petered out just as fast as it began didn't seem to put guys like these off partying on the beach. Flickering flames licked lazily at the driftwood fire they had built just a little way under the pier, sheltered from the view above the shore path that wound around the rocky outcrop of Santa Carla's sea front.

Marko's eyes gleamed, the pupils dilated with excitement as the familiar thrill of an imminent kill shuddered through him. They boys didn't often hunt alone, usually they would attack in pairs or their pack, but the ache in his throat was burning as hot as the camp fire. He licked his lips, half a snarl on his face as his features hardened and elongated in the shadows.

'Mom, mommy...' The sudden whimpering caught Marko's attention and he frowned, distracted, and turned to the sound. 'My foot's stuck!' The little boy cried out, a little louder. Marko drew closer, glancing over his shoulder to note that the five dancing figures were too busy rocking out to the blaring tune to even hear the boy's pleas. He guessed the woman with the long hair, the only female he could see in the group, was the boy's mother. But she was too busy grinding her hips to much whooping delight to even hear the child as he struggled. Marko smoothed his face as best he could into a mask of human concern.

'Hey buddy, what's up?' he asked gently, crouching down on one knee in front of the boy. 'You shouldn't be out this late at night, why aren't you in bed?' Marko frowned, close enough now to see the boy could only have been about eight years old.

'My dad forgot to pick me up this weekend and my mom didn't want to miss the party.' The boy nodded over at the little crowd busily getting down beneath the pier, his brown bowl-cut flopping into his hazel eyes at the motion. 'She said I could come if I stayed outta the way, so I've been searching these rock pools for starfish – but I slipped and now I can't get my leg out.' He turned his face up to Marko, tear tracks on his chubby cheeks as he sniffed loudly and wiped his nose on the grubby military jacket he wore.

'Don't sweat, bud, I'll help ya out,' Marko smiled, motioning for the boy to sit down on the rock behind him to take the weight off his leg. 'What's ya name?'

'Laddie,' the boy said, sniffing again as he sat awkwardly down, wincing at the pain the motion caused his ankle.

'I'm Marko.' He glanced up again at the dancing group, the woman's shapely silhouette suspended now as she wrapped her legs around the nearest man. 'Does mommy party a lot?' he asked, frowning as he looked down to see why Laddie couldn't just wriggle his foot free.

'Yeah, most weekends. I don't mind though, her friends help her feel better. They give her medicine. Uncle Larry helps her with her injections – she must be awful sick to have to take so much medicine all the time.' Marko glanced up into Laddie's open, innocent face.

'Laddie why aren't you wearing any shoes?' The boy nodded over to where he'd tossed them earlier.

'I didn't want them to get them wet.' Marko smiled at the child's logic, but could see the problem. Without the sturdy leather boots – well-worn and a little down at the heel – his unprotected foot had become jammed between the smooth rock and a jagged shard on the opposite side. A sweet metallic scent reached his nostrils as Marko withdrew his hand from the water. Holding his hand up to the light he could see the blood diluted with salt water that now layered his skin. Marko could feel the sharp prick of his teeth as they elongated in his mouth but he clamped his lips shut.