Tribulation Road: A Red Hot Treats Story by Shyla Colt

 
     
     
    CHAPTER
ONE
     
    B righ Howell cut
the engine on her black sedan and surveyed the hotel. The beige building with
hunter green accents had decent cars in the parking lot, a clean exterior, and
prices in the fifty to sixty dollar range. When Richard called her in on a case
involving suspected ghouls, she set aside her research and hit the road. It’d
taken her six hours of driving while pushing the speed limit, but she made it
here with the sun still high in the sky. They would hunt tonight. She stepped
out of the car and stretched her arms above her head. Unlike the movies,
keeping a low profile meant having a nondescript vehicle.
    Rolling
her neck, she worked out the kinks and moved to the back seat. She hefted the
black duffle over her shoulder and walked to room 203. Rapping on the door, she
studied the neighboring rooms. Everything seemed quiet for a town plagued by
disappearances. The door swung open and she smiled at the olive-skinned man
with sharp brown eyes, long black hair, and facial hair that told her he’d been
living for this case for the past week.
    His
eyes lit up and he flashed the million-dollar smile that usually got him out of
sticky situations. “You got here fast,” Richard said, stepping back and
allowing her entrance into his room.
    “They
don’t call me lead foot for nothing. How’s it going, Richie? You’re looking
rough around the edges.”
    There
were shadows forming beneath his eyes and the tiny red lines on the whites of
his eyes told her he hadn't slept much. “You’re all heart, Brigh,” he quipped
as he rolled his eyes. 
    “You
wouldn’t like me if I was a liar.”
    “You’re
right.” He shut the door behind her and engaged the lock. 
    “You
want to clue me in on this?” she asked while studying the maps he had taped to
the wall.
    “Yeah,
I got called in by the local parish. They had a lot of Alzheimer’s patients
disappearing from the nursing home. Residents claimed to hear strange noises
and a few of them said they saw lights. The building borders the woods, so my
first thought was maybe it was puckwedgies or will-o-the-wisps.”
    “I
would’ve thought the same.”
    “I
set up some recon, and the next thing I know, I have a group of stumbling,
rotting, corpses.”
    Brigh
shuddered. Even after all this time, ghouls got under her skin. There was
something utterly disturbing about a monster that resembled a perverted version
of a human. Their yellowish-green skin drooping off bones, spindly fingers,
bulging eyeballs, and hideous stench could turn the stomach of an experienced
hunter. Her father, however, had trained her well. Members of her community
were known for being the best. Raised for the sole purpose of hunting, Noble was
a name well respected among inner circles of hunters. “I’m glad you called me.
You have a pension for trying to play hero.”
    “Yeah,
well, a pack of ghouls will make mincemeat of the best hunter,” he said.
    “Truth.
What can I do?”
    “Sharpen
your sword and help me come up with a plan.”
    “I
hope you aren’t expecting me to play bait.”
    “What
do I look like, an amateur?” he scoffed.
    She
opened her mouth to answer.
    “Don’t
answer that.”
    Brigh
smirked and he rolled his eyes. The mood lightened. Mission accomplished.
    “Smart
ass. I swiped some blankets from a newborn to wrap a realistic baby doll in.”
Richard walked over to his desk and lifted an eerily accurate facsimile of a
newborn. “I tampered with the vocals and have them hooked up to a remote
control. I figure we can use it to draw them in.”
    “Well,
no one ever accused ghouls of being the brightest bulbs on the tree,” she said.
    “Thankfully,
‘cause the bastards are like indestructible tanks. You damn near have to dismember
or roast them to make them stop. Not convenient when you’re trying to avoid
getting arrested.”
    “Yeah,”
she snickered. “Are we dealing with enchantment, or naturally occurring?” She
flipped through the