Dead Night by Tim O'Rourke

searching for me.”
    “I don’t think they’re after you,” Potter said, staring down at the mass of cops below and at an ancient old woman wearing a nightgown.
    “Why would the police be after you?” I asked him.
    Then, as if in answer to my question, I saw the little old lady point up at the window and shriek, “That’s the pervert I caught sniffing my knickers!”
    “You did what?” I gasped, stepping away from him.
    “I’m not a pervert!” Potter barked at me.
    “Well there’s about five or six coppers down there who think you are,” I said.
    “And they’re not going to catch me without a fight,” Potter growled, spreading his wings.

13
    Potter
     
    “Empty your bag!” I shouted over the thumping sound of the cops charging up the stairs towards the flat.
    “Why?” Sophie – Caroline – said back.
    “Just do it!” I snapped.
    She pulled the letters, some clothing, and an iPod from her holdall. Holding out the rucksack towards her, I said, “Put the stuff in here.”
    “Why?” she asked again.
    “Because I need you to carry the rucksack. I can’t, remember?” I said, beating the wings that hung from my back.
    “Oh, yeah,” she said, understanding the point that I was trying to make.
    “Have you got any money?” I asked, as the cops started to pound on the door.
    “Not much,” she said, stuffing the rucksack with her belongings and my scarecrow coat. “Why do we need money?”
    “If we’re going on the run, we’ll need some,” I said, racing into the kitchen.
    I knew that humans often hid cash at home, usually in a cookie jar or something similar.
    When I’d been masquerading as a cop, I’d been to many burglaries where money had been stolen from such a place. I threw open Kiera’s kitchen cupboards, as one of the coppers started to order from outside that I open the door before they smashed it down. I pulled cups and plates from the cupboard and there, sitting at the back, was a small jar with “Cookies” written across the front. I ripped off the lid and tipped out the contents.
    “Bingo!” I shouted, seeing a roll of notes spill onto the kitchen counter. I snatched them up, put them into my jeans pocket, and raced back into the living room.
    Sophie threw the rucksack over her back and looking at me, she said “What now?”
    “We fight,” I said, flashing my fangs and claws at her.
    “But I thought you said no one should see you like this,” she reminded me.
    “Don’t worry, they won’t be around long enough to tell anyone about me,” I said. “Now get behind me!”
    No sooner had Sophie ducked behind my wings, the door to Kiera’s flat came crashing in.
    With my claws up and wings spread, I leapt towards the coppers who came pouring through the doorway. Whoever or whatever they had been expecting - it wasn’t me - and I saw the fear in their eyes for just a moment before I removed two of their heads with one quick swipe of my claws.
    The thump-thump sound of their heads bouncing away down the stairs meant nothing to me, but the coppers who watched them roll away began to scream. Bursting onto the landing, I pin-wheeled my arms and opened up the belly of the nearest copper. There was a plopping sound as his intestines burst out of him and spilt onto the landing. The cop looked at me, his eyes wide and mouth open as if he wasn’t quite sure of what had just happened to him. Then, realising that his guts were slipping out of him, he started to gather them up in his hands. I watched as the red and pink lengths of intestines slipped through his fingers like oily lengths of rope. He then staggered forward, his feet becoming entangled in his own guts, and he went sprawling down the stairs.
    Although the final copper was screaming, I realised that he wasn’t screaming in fear, but in anger. I looked at him and could see his eyes were burning a hot white-yellowy colour. The last time I had seen eyes like that was when I was staring into the face of a Lycanthrope.