Page 19 of Across Space and Time

Hugh glowered, his cheeks going red again. “You can’t just walk into my building like this.” He gestured to Jack’s horns and his lack of proper attire. The white oilcloth left very little of his chest to the imagination.

“Which window is yours?” Jack asked.

Hugh motioned around the building. “Fourth floor, second from the right.”

Jack nodded. “Excellent. I shall meet you at the window forthwith.”

“Don’t let anyone see you!” Hugh hissed. He could only imagine what that headline might be, and the last thing he needed was to draw more attention to himself.

“I shall be as sneaky as a lamb’s tail!” Jack declared, and then he turned and vanished around the side of the building.

Hugh hoped that a lamb’s tail was very sneaky as he made his way inside the building, nodding at a few of the residents who were up and talking. Even in the middle of the night, there was always someone up; London was never fully asleep. He headed up the stairs to his rooms on the fourth floor. He unlocked the door and lit several candles, then turned on the gas lamps to illuminate the space. His front living room and kitchen were small but clean, furnished with second-hand furniture. He moved over to the fireplace grate, bending to stir the embers back to life. The little room was fairly cold, as it usually was. He fed several pieces of wood and paper into the fire to help build it up. Then he headed into his bedroom. He pulled back the curtains and found Jack gazing back at him through the window. Hugh jumped, clamping a hand to his mouth to stifle a yell of surprise. He threw up the sash, and Jack slid inside with ease, despite his height.

“If you do that in other windows, it’s no wonder you are frightening people half to death!” Hugh scolded as he closed the window and pulled the curtains again.

Jack rolled his eyes, glancing around the small bedroom. “I am no snoop. This is your abode?”

Hugh nodded. “This is my bedroom. The kitchen and parlor are here.” He gestured through the door. “It’s warmer in there too, I got the fire going.”

“Please, do not go to trouble on my account,” Jack said, giving a slight bow before heading out into the main room.

Hugh looked around, realizing with consternation that he had very little in the way of seating for guests. He so rarely had them, there had never been the need. He gestured to his own comfortable armchair in front of the fireplace. “Please, sit.” Jack glanced at him, and Hugh nodded encouragingly. “Oh, may I… take your cape?” He glanced at the almost batwing-like cloak around Jack’s shoulders.

Jack smiled and removed his cape with a flourish before handing it over. Hugh hung it on the hat rack by the door as Jack moved to sit in the armchair. Hugh bustled into the kitchen, beginning to prep things for tea. He glanced over at Jack to see the man looking curiously about from his spot in the chair. He smiled a bit when Jack stood up again and crossed over to the mantle to look at a photograph there. “Who are these?”

“My mother and father,” Hugh said as he grabbed china from his cupboards, giving them a cursory wipe to ensure they were not dusty. “They both passed away a few years ago.”

“I am dreadfully sorry to hear that,” Jack said, his fingers brushing lightly over the corner of the frame as if caressing a loved one’s cheek. “I am sure they would be proud of you being a police constable.”

Hugh smiled a little at that. “I would like to think so.”

“Do you have other family?”

“Two older sisters,” Hugh replied as he prepped the tea kettle. “Both of them are married and have children, so I don’t see them very often.”

Jack nodded, continuing to wander about the room, peeking into the washroom before returning once more to settle into the armchair. Hugh dragged one of his wooden kitchen chairs over to face the armchair before returning to the kitchen to fetch the tea things. He laid them out on the hassock in between them. “May I ask you questions now?”

“Yes, of course,” Jack said.

“What was that thing in the alley?” Hugh asked as he set down the tea pot and poured both himself and Jack a steaming mug. “It looked like it might have once been human.”

“It still was,” Jack said, as Hugh held up the milk, and he shook his head in silent response.

Hugh frowned. “It certainly didn’t look that way.”

Jack picked up his own cup, and Hugh was surprised that he took a sip straightaway of the hot brew without so much as a flinch. “It was human, but a twisted, evil aberration. A creature of vileness. Evil and cruelty brought forth.” His bonfire eyes flickered like the flames dancing on the hearth, his voice rising in both pitch and volume with each word until he was nearly leaning out of his chair with what one could almost say was excitement.

“But how?” Hugh asked.

Jack shook his head slowly as he sat back, taking another sip of his tea. “I wish I could say. I only know that something is causing this vileness to awaken within them.”

“Them?” Hugh asked in surprise. “You mean, there is more than one person like that?”

“Yes,” Jack said. “I am unsure what is causing the transformation. I am only aware that it is happening.”

“Have you seen more than the one we encountered tonight?”

“Yes,” Jack said.

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