Too SpookTobery

93.

Gilbert had pulled into Mrs. Clausens driveway behind Clarissa's jeep. He was looking in the back of the van with his flashlight in his mouth trying to decide on the optimal way to open the front door. He looked around at the quiet neighborhood and was worried if he just blew open the door lock someone would call the police, but he didn't have time to just pick a lock especially if it was dead bolted or latched on the inside. He picked up a double barrel shotgun and an ammo belt with the rest of his bag of supplies and made his way to the front door. He loaded some solid shot into the double barrell and aimed at where he figured the hinges were on the door. The first shot knocked the door mostly off its frame, the second had it hanging by just the door chain. He moved past it reloading the shotgun with rock salt as he did.

"Knock knock."

The inside did look very seventies to Gilbert, but unlike Clarissa had seen it, he could see how broken down it all was. The Reeb was not trying to hide itself from Gilbert. It was dark aside from the light coming from the door way from outside. Gilbert turned on the head lamp he'd brought with him, he thought it looked ridiculous on the job, but he'd rather look stupid and live then try and juggle a flash light with the kit he'd brought.

Clarissa had said she was in the basement, so that's where Gilbert thought he'd start. He was mildly alarmed he had not heard her scream, but the creature probably had her gagged. Reeb's were a type of vampire, they liked their victims to feel fear to "sweeten" the blood according to the book Gilbert had. This the first one Gilbert had run into, but he recalled Larry telling him about them before, he remembered the name more than anything. The basement door was open, almost like an invitation, he knew the Reeb knew he was coming, he just hoped it didn't know he was exactly the type of exterminator that could kill it.

The basement had a smell to it. The kind of thing you almost swore you could see. Gilbert wished he brought a mask to protect him from the smell. He saw the photos Clarissa had noticed, he found Clarissa's phone, but he did not find Clarissa. Panic set in, Gilbert practically ran back up the stairs and cleared the rest of the house, no one was home. He emerged expecting the police having been called by the gun shot, but no one was there. It was only then he noticed no other house on the block had lights on. It was late at night but someone would have had a porch light or some kind of light on. Nothing, it was a like a localized power outage. He felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise up. The whole neighborhood was infested with Reebs.

****

"BE AFRAID OF ME!" The Reeb was now fully just what it was, a pale narrow faced creature with big black eyes. It had moved Clarissa to a nearby house and strung her up, she was next to the rotting corpse of someone. She couldn't even make out if it had been a man or a woman.

"Sorry I've just seen scarier." After the initial attack Clarissa wasn't really afraid of the Reeb, it was kind of a small pathetic creature.

"You're not afraid of me? I can drink your blood for months, draining you slowly until you'll be begging for death, and you'are not afraid of that?"

"I mean you smell bad there's that, but no? I guess not really you're just not that scary, kind of sad, like Gollum from Lord of the Rings." The rage building up in the Reeb was amusing to Clarissa, it let her keep from being too afraid knowing that's probably what the creature wanted. The Reeb through a tantrum as it left slamming the door, which caused Clarissa to laugh more. She wondered what the Reeb would come back with to scare her, maybe dressed as a clown, just the thought of that caused her to laugh more. Clarissa laughed so hard she missed the arguing in the hall until a shotgun roar sent the Reeb through the door into her room. Clarissa was relieved Gilbert was the reason behind the shotgun.

"What was that buckshot?" The Reeb's chest was open, black organs leaking on to the carpet.

"Rock salt."

"Good lord I'm glad to see you." Gilbert cut Clarissa down, and took out a squirt bottle from his pack spraying it on the corpse of the Reeb. The body started melting fully releasing a smell that caused Clarissa to cough.

"Acid?"

"Olive oil."

"Ok are we killing these things or cooking them?" Gilbert laughed

"Bit of both, I got some more shit in the van, the Reeb moved you down the street, but we should be able to make it back there with the stuff I got."

"We have more than one Reeb?"

"Whole neighborhood full of them."

"Beginning to hate October Gilbert."