The Grimoiratti

      "Come on! Hurry up Alex!" Eric shouted as he, Louis, and Eric's dog Blue hiked towards their summer hideout.

         "I'm trying! You know I hurt my...!"

         Eric and Louis rolled their eyes at each other and backtracked to where Alex lay. Alex had dirt and tears streaming down his face as he clutched his ankle in pain. Eric, the eldest boy, looked down on Alex with contempt. Alex always begged to come along, which Eric found annoying because Alex was never useful. He was scared by all the cool bugs, and was absolutely useless when it came to catching snakes. Eric only let him come along because his mother made him. He was twelve; he didn’t want a kid hanging around him. Louis saw to his little brother’s injury to ensure that nothing was broken. In doing so, he was able to see what Alex had tripped over.

         "Eric, look at this!"

         There, half buried in the ground, was a large bone. Eric pulled the bone out and threw it to Blue. He wasn’t interested in the bone; Eric wanted to get to the cave he had found earlier that week. But in the hole surrounded by the bracken of the woods, lay a skull with a jagged hole in the back. It appeared to be a normal bird skull, but Eric thought it would be perfect to scare Alex with. He was only seven, so it’d be easy.

         "Do you know what this hole means, Alex?"

         "No...what is it?" the boy mumbled through his snot.

         "It's a skull of an animal that has been eaten by one of the Grimoiratti." The boys were suddenly frightened by a low, menacing growl, but they were soon relieved to see that it was only Blue chewing on the bone Eric had thrown him.

         "The Grimoiratti?" Louis asked.

         “The Grimoiratti was--”

         "What are those?" Alex whined.

         "I was about to tell you if you hadn't interrupted. Now, are you going to be quiet so I can tell you?" Alex clamped his mouth shut and nodded his agreement. "Good, now the Grimoiratti was a group of wizards that existed back during the Middle Ages. One day, the Grimoiratti were tipped off that knights were going to arrest them and burn them for witchcraft. But when the knights burst into the Grimoiratti hideout, they found nothing but animals. A week later the same knights were found with huge holes in their heads and their brains missing. You see, the Grimoiratti eat the brains of humans to live forever."

         "Nuh uh! You're lying, Eric! You're just making this up to scare me!"

         "Is it working?"

         "Yes, so stop it! There's no such thing as the Grimoiratti!"

         "I'm not making it up. I can show you how to tell if an animal is a Grimoiratti." Looking around for inspiration, Eric began to describe Blue.

         "Look, I've known for years that Blue is one of the Grimoiratti. See this ridge on Blue's nose and this scarf that changes from dark blue to light blue? They're clues that he's a Grimoiratti. You see, all Grimoiratti have these ridges in their noses, and they all wear two-toned handkerchiefs."

         "You're lying! Why hasn't Blue ate you yet?"

         "Because I can control him. In fact, if I wanted to, I could sic him on you." Eric bent down and whispered a trigger word into Blue's ear. Blue began to growl ferociously at Alex.

         "Eric! Stop it! Leave Alex alone, you've played your little trick, now leave him alone!"

         While the boys were arguing, a tall man had walked up behind Eric. He had the look of one of the neo-Nazis that favored the local bars; there was a large knot on his nose, no doubt from various bar fights, and an uncharacteristic red and pink handkerchief on his head. The man reached around Eric and grabbed the bird skull from his hand. Then in a great booming voice, he said, "I believe that skull belongs to me."

         The boys were frightened when the massive hand reached around and grabbed the skull. Then the large man crushed the skull in his hands and leered at the boys. Terrified, the boys ran off in different directions. The man’s laughter could be heard ringing through the woods. His laughter subsided, and the man noticed that Blue was still there.
         
        “Hey Doggy, aren’t you afraid that I’ll eat your brains, too?” the man barked out a deep belly laugh.
         
          Blue simply sat on his haunches staring at the man, like a school teacher in front of a child who hasn’t quite caught on yet that he’s in trouble. The man began to feel uneasy.
         
          “Go on dog, your boy’ll miss you,” he said. “Shoo!” Blue continued to stare; a fly briefly landed on the ridge of Blue’s nose, then continued on. “Go on now! Get!”
         
          The man bent to pick up a large branch to scare Blue away, but as soon as he grabbed one, Blue’s hackles rose, and he issued a deep, reverberating growl. The man dropped the branch and straightened.
         
          “Whatever dog, I’ll leave you alone.” The man turned to disappear back into the woods. Blue lunged towards the man’s head.
         
            A high whistle came from the direction Eric had run. Blue’s head perked up and a silly expression, like a man besotted, erupted over his face. Through the woods Blue ran, sunlight glistening on black glossy fur and a two-toned handkerchief.