Sirens

“Ow— shit!”

Bright beads of blood bubbled up on the pad of Jovi’s thumb. She pulled her hand back from the moving box she was digging through and observed the sharp slit. Jovi peered inside the box and saw the edge of a broken dish glinting with a tiny droplet of her blood.

She brought the wounded finger to her lips. Her blood tasted coppery in her mouth.

It was becoming a familiar taste.

As the painful memories threatened to deluge in, Jovi remembered what she had read about intrusive thoughts: redirection.

When something undesirable pops up, immediately divert your attention to something else.

The article said it got easier to block them out, the more you tried.

She hoped to God it was true.

With all her willpower, she forced out the noise, and zeroed in on her newest goal: locate a bandaid. She paused. Which box had the first aid kit?

Jovi drew herself up to full height and looked around the room. It was filled nearly floor to ceiling with boxes. God knew when she'd find the kit; she'd probably cut herself on a few more loose items before she got to it.

She returned her attention to the box that had cut her. Her heart sank when she identified the shattered porcelain as her mother's favorite dish.

The thought of her mother's smiling face made Jovi's stomach lurch with grief. She swallowed hard.

Looking at the cramped space around her, Jovi was stunned at just how much stuff they had accumulated over the last few years. Still, she’d cleared out the trailer in only one night, taking everything but the furniture. And Teo’s clothes.

She felt remorse for this but wasn’t sure why— she had bought and taken care of most of their things, anyway. Teo certainly wasn’t going to be needing them anymore.

Fuck. Teo.

Redirect, she willed herself. Redirect. Redir...how long until he gets out...

She couldn't stop it this time; the floodgates of panicked thought opened.

When would Teo be let out? Would someone post his bail?

Would he come looking for her?

He didn’t exactly have friends to phone. Still, she wouldn’t put it past him to wriggle out of this, too. His luck was always too good.

Perhaps that’s why she hadn’t tried to turn him in the first place.

And why the cop did.

“If you don’t press charges against him,” Officer Martinez’s tone was even. “I will.” Jovi picked absentmindedly at her chipped black nail polish. Her scalp still throbbed.

“Hey,” Officer Martinez gently grabbed Jovi’s chin and brought her gaze level. Jovi saw the eyes of someone who recognized this situation. Clearly not her first rodeo.

"He laid his hands on you, you have witnesses. That’s a crime in the eyes of the law. That bastard’s gonna pay.”

The eyes were so warm, Jovi wanted to stay in them. She barely even registered what the officer said. She still felt like she was deep underwater.

Jovi heard her own voice speak, softly, “It didn’t used to be like this.”

But Officer Martinez kept her word.

PLUNK.

Something splashed against the wood floor. Jovi looked down and gasped. Her whole hand was now engulfed in bright red, her thumb leaking in a steady stream on the floor. How long had she been spaced out? So much for a bandaid.

She ran to the sink and threw the water on.

It was crazy, she thought to herself, how much blood was produced by such a small cut. How humans could be so strong yet so fragile at once.

Jovi watched the sanguine swirl down the drain and focused on the sound of water.

After a moment, Jovi turned the spigot and relished the silence around her.

The forest was all she’d hoped for: therapeutic.

She found the place online a week before. Even through her shattered phone screen, the pixelated image of the small, gray cabin looked like the brightest beacon of hope. A new chapter, far, far away.

It was owned by a very short man in his 80’s. He wore a golf cap and smelled like pungent mothballs. He had been kind enough, though his thick Northern European accent had made conversing somewhat difficult.

The cabin was light and airy. It came with rickety wood furniture and tall windows that overlooked the backyard.

The place was suspiciously inexpensive— a measly $200 a month— but this didn’t eat away at her. She’d had worse digs.

Perhaps some foul play had taken place back in the day; a black oily stain waiting to be discovered on the floor beneath the worn woven rugs.

So long as the murderers weren’t still looming in the closet, Jovi could live in a house with a gruesome history; after all, her past was pretty grisly, too.

A dishrag now swathing her thumb, Jovi wandered towards the broad living room windows. The cabin sat on nine acres. Most of it was thick, thorny brush that encircled the cabin, but the property still offered a sprawling yard peppered with plenty of trees for shade.

It was almost storybookish, Jovi thought as she surveyed her new yard. Sunlight streamed down from overhead, there were even some bluebirds fluttering about.

Then, there was the pond.

It was a small pond, about a thousand feet from the back porch steps. It seemed to be 10 feet wide in either direction, but amorphous enough to not seem manmade.

She still wasn’t sure how it made her feel.

Her first time at the cabin with the landlord, she had pointed it out.

“Oh, I love the pond, it makes it so pleasant out here!” she had observed, overtly cheery that day. The once bleak future had started to seem exciting.

When the landlord saw where she was pointing, his face fell.

“No go there. No go there. No safe.” He had said, his adamance clear, even in broken English.

He had said more words, like he was trying to elaborate, but they were too saturated in his native tongue for Jovi to understand.

One word he’d said, though, stuck out to her.

“Sieviete.”

Not wanting to lose the deal, Jovi had tried to recover, “Oh...okay! Got it, don’t worry, I’ll stay away from it.” She had, too. Even as the brutal sun caused sweat to pour down her back while she hauled boxes, she resisted the urge to dive in.

Jovi speculated why the pond was off-limits: thick vegetation that could ensnarl a swimmer, maybe brain-eating amoeba.

Her mind began to turn the wheels of the mystery again, when something brushed her leg.

Jovi shuddered back to reality as Shoko, her cat, snaked around her calf affectionately. He arched his back to look at her, and meowed politely. Jovi smiled and began obliging him with scratches.

“You wanna go sunbathe, bud?”

Jovi nudged open the storm door leading to the back porch, to tease him. His tail piqued curiously, as he stepped over the threshold. Then, he sniffed the outside air, hissed, and looped right back inside. He disappeared among the cardboard chaos.

“Alrighty then, Shok.” Jovi called, more to hear herself talk than anything.

It really was quiet out here. Almost too quiet.

Jovi’s stomach growled. The outdated fridge contained nothing more than a smattering of dead bugs. Excited to take a break from labor, she wrapped her keys in her fist and started for the door.

As she reached for the knob, something caught in her peripheral vision.

Through the back windows, something seemed to be stirring in the pond.

It was difficult to make out, but a small black mass— a head?— seemed to be protruding from the water.

She whipped around and squinted to get a better look.

Nothing. The pond glinted jovially.

She let go of the breath she’d been holding, and almost wanted to laugh. She continued out the door to her car. This place had to work. It had to.

A trick of the light, she assured herself as her car pulled off towards the highway.

Gently, the surface of the pond rippled.

Jovi found the nearby accommodations severely underwhelming. The cabin lay right outside a small community of about 2,000. The town only offered a fast-food chain, a dimly lit grocery store, a gas station. A bank and a few churches.

She satiated herself with some overly salted tater tots from the drive-thru, and let her car idle in the stall as the radio hummed softly. The sun was setting, and street lights began to buzz on. A soft breeze blew.

Jovi rested her head on the back of the seat and inhaled deeply.

For the first time in a very long time, she felt like herself.

She surveyed the world around her: a group of teenagers chattering at the tables outside; three stalls down from her, a minivan with kids dueling over fries; four stalls down on the opposite side, an elderly man in a Buick eating a sundae. He reminded her vaguely of her landlord.

“No one go.” Her thoughts circled back to her landlord. “No safe.”

The word rang in her head again.

Overwhelmed with curiosity, Jovi pulled out her phone. The screen was so shattered she had to type very precariously for any of the letters to register. Slowly, though, she fed her search into Google.

After a lifetime of loading, she got an answer.

Sieviete. Woman.

As Jovi started for home, her gas light dinged on, and she turned into the gas station right before the turn out of town. Jovi pulled up to the pump. Inside, the linoleum floor was cracked and stained, and long florescent light bulls droned overhead.

As she approached the counter to pay, the tarnished bells above the door jingled.

In walked a man, accompanied by the scent of dog piss and burnt plastic. He looked prematurely aged, with wiry hair and tense eyes. Sores dotted his face.

When his eyes locked on Jovi, he grinned with blackened teeth.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” he crooned. She nervously tucked a strand of her soft black hair behind her ear and gave a tight-lipped smile.

The man saddled himself in line right behind her. A brief pause, and then it began.

“Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?”

Jovi kept her eyes downcast. “Um, probably not. I’m new to the area.”

It already felt like too much information. She willed the man to keep his mouth shut.

No luck. “Yo, you seem really chill, you wanna hang sometime? You’re really gorgeous.”

Jovi burned with discomfort. Before even letting her reply, the man continued with a barrage of questions.

Finally, the gas station clerk interjected, “Hey dude, step off. You’re making her uncomfortable.”

The wide smile faded off the man’s face. He stiffened.

“What? Are you uncomfortable, girly?”

“I- um…” FUCK. Why did she always freeze? She felt paralyzed.

He let out a bitter laugh.

“I thought you were different than the others—” he started, his voice rising. “I thought maybe I'd finally meet someone who—”

“That’s it, get the fuck out.” The gas station clerk stormed from behind the counter— much taller now — and started to force the guy outside. The man yelled objections and profanities, but ultimately gave in and disappeared into the dark parking lot.

The gas station clerk returned through the doors nonchalantly.

“Now, where we were?” he said. He continued scanning Jovi’s drink, “I can’t stand that crackhead.”

Jovi looked at her hands as they trembled. Maybe a Red Bull wasn’t the best idea now.

She observed the clerk’s faded t-shirt with a nametag pinned to it. ZAK, it read. He couldn't have been older than 17.

“Would you like your receipt?” He asked, his tone still kind. What a sweet kid.

“I’m good, thanks, Zak.” Jovi said. Before she could stop herself, she followed, “I wish there were more men like you out there.”

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks. He smiled, “That’s what we’re supposed to do. I’ll keep watch for you while you get your gas, in case anyone else tries anything.”

He did just that. Soon Jovi pulled away from the gas station, her unease replaced by comfort. Maybe this was symbolic of everything that was happening in her life. Maybe there was a light— people who still wanted to do good, in spite of everything.

Jovi was so wrapped up in the optimism of her thoughts, she didn’t notice the battered pickup truck keeping a steady distance behind her, the whole way home.

The cicadas sang as Jovi’s tires crunched the gravel drive. There was one street lamp-type light right outside the cabin’s front, and then a light on the back porch. They lit the immediate area around the cabin, but not much else.

Tonight, the full moon shone overhead, and Jovi made it inside with no issue.

She had planned to down her Redbull and unpack all of her stuff in one go, but her body longed for sleep. As soon as her eyes opened in the morning, she told herself, she’d get to work and get it all knocked out.

Satisfied with this resolve, she fell onto the mattress without even removing her shoes. Soon, she was out cold.

She woke to the sound of glass shattering.

Her eyes flew open. She launched herself off the bed, sirens blaring in her head.

The living room windows.

Jovi darted in and flicked the lights on.

In her living room, silhouetted by broken windows, was the man from the gas station.

He grinned at her with rotted teeth. Then, chuckled.

The next instant, he was on top of her.

Jovi shrieked as he dove at her, a stack of boxes toppling over cacophonously. Somewhere in the room, Shoko shrieked.

He loomed above her, pupils so dilated his eyes seemed black. Jovi immediately began scratching her fingernails into the sored flesh of his face. The burnt plastic smell filled Jovi’s nostrils as the man— surprisingly strong for how skeletal he looked— yelled, hands tightening around her throat.

She watched in horror as the drug-addled features of the man’s face morphed into someone else. Now, it was Teo above her, his eyes seething. He was pulling her across the yard again. “You sorry fucking bitch!”

No. This wasn’t happening again.

White-hot anger overrode all her senses; Jovi gave a guttural scream.

She bucked and kicked the man square in the chest with both legs, knocking him off his feet with the further clamor, as boxes crashed down on him.

Jovi scrambled to her feet, and took off towards the back door.

She threw it open and ran. She had no idea where she was going, other than away.

Her heart pounded in her ears and her lungs began to smart as she darted for the treeline.

She swatted branches out of her face as she ran, vines of thorns snagging her ankles and making her stumble.

Jovi ducked behind a tree, and dared to peer back in the direction of the cabin to see if she was being followed.

She couldn’t see him, but heard his hoarse voice echoing towards her.

She glowered at herself. Had she really run out of the house without thinking to grab her keys? Without some kind of weapon?

Her mind began trying to calculate and readied itself to take flight again as his voice grew louder.

It caught her completely off guard when the sound of a sweet, gentle song came wafting from the darkness of the woods nearby.

Stunned, she began listening intently. The song had almost ethereal inflections to it, and gradually the frantic rhythm of the world around her quietened, as the song crescendoed in her ears.

Suddenly, it was like time had slowed to a near stop. Jovi turned her head towards the direction of the sound, and then she saw it.

One hundred feet away was the pond. The song grew louder.

As she listened, Jovi became aware that this song wasn’t just a series of enchanting vocalizations. It sang words.

No, not just words.

Jovi's heart stopped. The song was giving her instructions.

The man sauntered through the trees, not paying heed to all the brush scraping across his bleeding skin. Everything in existence around him rang erratically. The drugs thrashing in his system propelled him forward.

Stupid bitch, think she was too good for him?

He taunted out, “Hey, don’t be scared, I just wanna talk.”

He started towards the treeline. Then, he glanced to the side, and noticed her.

There she stood, mouth twisted in a smirking smile, bathed in moonlight. Behind her, a quiet pond gleamed.

“There you are, beautiful.” The man said. He began to advance towards her, and when he was fingertips distance away, Jovi dropped to the grass below.

As she did so, a black serpentine body launched itself from the water. The creature’s shriek thundered out as it sunk its talons into the man’s chest.

He cried out agony, followed by a series of squelches and cracks.

The creature drew up higher out of the water, almost eight feet tall now, and brought out massive, leathery wings.

The man’s screams became primal.

Jovi watched as a woman’s face sank its fanged mouth into the neck of the man, ripping out thick chunks of flesh.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, it wrapped them both up in its wings, and dove back into the depths below.

The water swallowed the sounds of screams as waves lapped towards the edge of the pond.

Jovi listened, breath bated, as the serene call of crickets and rustling leaves overtook the night once more.

Eventually, she rolled onto her back and stared into the endless night sky. Above her, stars glistened.

And after a moment, she began to laugh. She kept laughing until happy tears slid down her cheeks.

Now she knew exactly what to do if Teo came looking for her.

She would tell him right where to find her.