Resolution

The creature slithered from the coal seam at dusk. A sinewy specter of leathered wings and spiraling horns, squatting in the square.

Panic throttled the town, cresting alongside the moon. By dinnertime, police assembled barricades. By midnight it was national news. At dawn, the creature retreated into the mine, returned at dusk, an endless cycle.

Pastors led parishioners in prayer. Professors touting PhDs posed pointless questions. Ruddy-faced men fired futile rounds, bellies swollen with long-repressed rage. The mayor wrung his hands and resigned.

Children watched from the shadows. Found hammers, plywood and boarded up the mine.

A solution none considered.