5. "Er Gui" (Ghoul Story)

“Er gui? What’s that?”

“Chinese spirit,” muttered Lock. “Means ‘hungry ghost.’”

After a pause, Kate said, “so, it’s a ghoul, basically.”

“Basically.”

The two stalked through the ancient cemetery. Kate thought that the Chinese graves looked like miniature versions of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but she knew better than to break the silence. Or possibly sound racist.

Lock froze.

“Hear that?” he said.

“Yeah,” whispered Kate. "Like thick, dried rope tearing."

Lock pointed to a mausoleum in their path, and moved to its front. Kate watched him, and saw his shoulders fall.

“Hey,” he said, holstering his pistol. “Look.”

The iron gate had been knocked off its hinges. Inside the crypt Kate saw a small, rotund creature with pearly white skin crouching in the corner. On the floor around it were bones and shreds of dead flesh.

“Caught in the act,” Lock muttered.

“Like a cat in a dumpster,” Kate agreed.

Lock kicked at the gate.

“Go on!” he shouted. “Get! Take off, buster!”

The spirit garbled at them angrily and ambled out of the chamber. Kate watched it flee on its crooked legs.

“Kinda looks like a blob of mercury,” she said. “You know? The way that it catches moonlight?”

“Hm,” said Lock, sitting down heavily on one of the tombs. He gestured to the dug up bodies around him. “Well, eat up, kiddo. Guess we won’t have to worry about it hoarding in any longer.”

Kate smiled. 

Lock thought her fangs looked beautiful.

- CRC

248 Words.