What Goes Bump In The Night

by C. R. Jane

  “It’s my birthday when midnight hits,” I called out over the music for no reason other than I wanted to tell someone. Anyone who paid me attention, as desperate as that sounded.

  “Is that so?” He lifted his mask off his face, setting it on top of his head by the elastic secured around his ears. Bushy thick brows crowned his eyes; his nose was small, as if unbalanced against his features, but he had a kindness in his irises.

  “Happy birthday, Princess Elf.” He leaned in, his mouth parting.

  But I pulled away from his kiss, stumbling away a few steps. He gave off a strange vibe and kissing him felt wrong. I wasn’t unseasoned when it came to guys, but we’d only just met and I didn’t want to kiss him in front of everyone. Before I knew it, the whole town would gossip on how fast I’d offered myself to someone I’d just met.

  His eyes opened, and a flush crawled over his cheeks as if realizing that I’d backed away.

  Except, strangely, Luronk’s brow pinched and his gaze quickly swept either side of him as if checking who had seen me pull away from him.

  Awkwardness settled over me, and heat burned up my neck. “Just getting a quick drink. I’m parched. Be back in a moment. I’ll get you one too.” God, I was rambling and could I be any more obvious? I should have turned my head, so he kissed my cheek, but now he stared at me as if I’d embarrassed him in front of the entire world.

  I spun on my heels and hurried toward the table, then poured myself a cup of berry juice and gulped it down in three mouthfuls.

  “Was I mistaken to think we had something going on?” Luronk’s meaty hand slapped down on my shoulder with force, and I winced, then nudged him off before turning to face him. He towered over me, seemingly taller than before. But the kindness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by anger.

  “We just met,” I blurted out as I poured myself another drink, my hands shaking, and I glanced past him to the dancers, who didn’t seem to bat an eye our way. I’d seen boys like Luronk before who didn’t take no for an answer and leading them on never worked out well.

  “Look,” I began just as a sharp pain struck across my middle, and I huddled over, clasping an arm across my stomach. What was going on? When the sting came again, three times as deep, I stumbled, my knees buckling, and the drink in my hand slipped, red juice spilling across the front of my costume. Its coldness plastered across my skin, but I didn’t care as I cried with agony.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Luronk barked, standing there without a slither of sympathy in his voice.

  “I don’t know. This has nev—” I arched backward as if someone had shoved a branding iron into my spine. I cried out, but no one dancing seemed to notice, and Luronk just stood there, staring at me, his head tilted.

  “Get up,” he said. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

  What was going on with me? Pain shot through me from my head to my toes, and I convulsed while Luronk grabbed one of my arms and drew me to my wobbly feet.

  A surge of fire snapped across my flesh so fast, the world seemed to tilt beneath me. Luronk released his hold as if he’d touched a flame.

  “Are you sick?” he asked.

  “Help me.” I reached out a hand to him but lost my footing and stumbled into the table, everything rocking around me. The wine in the bowl splashed up and over the rim, red going everywhere, but the table didn’t tip over.

  Something was wrong with me because every inch of me sizzled. The fake ears popped off me and fell to the ground.

  Luronk gasped, his eyes widening as his mouth dropped open. “What the fuck’s wrong with your ears?”

  My heart thundered in my chest as I reached out to touch them—they had somehow grown long and almost pointy, replicating the fake ones I’d worn. This can’t be real! I pulled at them, but they hurt.

  “What’s happening to me?” I felt a discomfort in my chest, feeling as if I’d eaten too many slices of cake and now I buzzed with energy. Except this was a lot worse, and an urgency to run, to escape, to hide hit me.

  When I met Luronk’s gaze, something behind them shifted as if he stared at prey. But his features also morphed. Nose widening, his nostrils flaring with each rushed breath. His brow expanded right before my eyes, lips stretching as sharpened teeth elongated. His shoulders expanded outward, as did most of his body, his shirt pulled so taut, the buttons popped, one striking me in the forehead. A deep guttural snarl reverberated from within his chest, and he toed off his boots to reveal enormous and disgusting hairy feet. His skin suddenly took on a pale-yellow tinge.

  Fear jammed in my throat, and I couldn’t breathe. “What are you?” Was he a shifter because with the way he glared at me with hunger in his now-black eyes, I doubted this was his fear kicking in, but something else primal. Within moments, he no longer resembled Luronk, but something hideous, mirroring the mask he had worn. It now lay on the ground near my fake ears.

  I stumbled backward, my vision shimmering in waves of confusion. I pictured him attacking, killing me, and no one at the party would notice.

  He lunged at me, and I screamed, but no one turned to look my way. The music blared so loud, I could barely hear myself.

  Iron fingers squeezed my arm. “You’re a real elf,” he spat in my face. “And I, an orc, almost kissed filth like you.”

  I couldn’t take a breath as his words tumbled inside my skull at his warming. Elf. Orc. That wasn’t right. He was mistaken because I had always been a human.

  Maybe he’d slipped poison into my drink and now I hallucinated this, but I had served my own juice. And he didn’t appear dizzy or in pain like me, only I did. God, was he a real orc who could shift into human form? Never seen an orc before, but I’d heard they lived up in the mountains. I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “You’re wrong. Let me go.” I shoved my free hand against his solid chest to release me.

  He sniffed the air, his nose creasing. “I can smell the real you now. What was your plan? Lure me, then kill me in the bushes?”

  “Get away from me, you lunatic.” I looked past him and called out, “Linet! Anyone, please help.”

  One woman looked over and waved before heading back to her dancing.

  “Did you say it was your birthday after midnight?” he growled, his expression twisted into a scowl. “You’ll taste divine, and my whole family will enjoy you.”

  He was going to murder me, then cook me up for his family! Before I found someone to love, to start a family with, to discover joy once again in my life. A wave of fury rolled across my chest, and I slammed my heel into his foot.

  He howled, and his weakened grasp allowed me to drive my knee into his groin. He grunted, buckling over, and fell to his side with a thud.

  “Seems elves are stronger than orcs!” I had no idea why I said that, but when his hand reached out for me, his face contorted into pure excruciating pain, I lurched backward.

  I had to get out of here, so I ran toward the crowds, searching for Linet. I found her in the corner with a group of friends.

  “Linet, there’s something wrong with Luronk over there.” I pointed back to where he lay on his side. “He tried to hurt me,” I said. “He’s not normal.”

  Her nose scrunched up, and she hiccupped while her friends giggled at her. “Rain, child, you look divine and how did you get your skin to glisten like that?”

  “Your costume is incredible,” another woman said, while another poked my ears.

  “They look so real.”

  “Please, listen. I think he’ll hurt me.” I clutched Linet’s hand.

  “Oh, don’t be silly,” she said, prying my fingers from hers. “He’s just playing the part. We all are.” She turned to the blonde dressed as a cat in a black outfit and ears. “Did you hear about Isabelle? I hear she’s pregnant with her lover’s child. I wonder if her husband even suspects it’s not his baby?”

  My pulse was a tempest in my veins, and I twisted to look behind me. Luronk was climbing to his feet. Terror slammed into me, and my muscles
tensed. Without another thought, I pushed past the women and ran to two men. “Please, will you help me? Someone is trying to kill me,” I pleaded, hating the fear in my voice, but when I stared at Luronk, I found him standing, adjusting himself, readying to follow after me.

  They stared at me, then at him. “Oh, you youngsters love role playing, don’t you?” said one. “Go have fun.”

  “No, I’m serious.” I reached out for them, but they brushed me aside and walked away. No one else at the party said a word. We were out in the middle of the woods, and I suspected that if Luronk were to drag me out of here kicking and screaming, the spectators would enjoy the show believing we were acting according to our costumes. Except this nightmare I’d found myself in was real.

  I had grown elf ears and now an orc wanted me dead. I couldn’t sit here and hope for the best. Back home I had knives to defend myself, or better yet, I’d visit my neighbor. Her husband was a lumberjack, so he owned an ax.

  I ran in the opposite direction from the party and along the darkening path through the woods. The same way I had walked here. The pebbly soil crunched under my sandals. I pushed hard, the balmy breeze doing nothing to cool me down as my skin crawled.

  The path curved to the left, and I careened in that direction, hating that there were no lights in this part of the forest, but already I spotted the golden street lamps in the far distance, indicating the town. I lived on the outskirts of civilization, meaning my house was a lot closer.

  Legs pumping, I ran faster than I ever had before, when a guttural shout shattered the silence behind me.

  Terror jolted through me, and I looked back, terrified at what I’d see.

  At the corner of the path stood a hulking figure. Shadows swallowed his features, but even with the distance between us, I could see his shoulders lifting and falling from his rapid breaths. And he was now bigger than I remembered. How was this even possible?

  Numbness owned my brain, and I couldn’t think.

  “Rain,” he bellowed loudly, his voice carrying over to me. “Don’t make this harder than it should be.”

  The scream on my throat rushed forward, and I whirled away from Luronk. Oh god, please don’t let me die. Please!

  CHAPTER TWO

  I ran along the worn track as fast as I could, my lungs on fire as I sucked in each racing breath. Far in the distance behind me, Luronk the orc dropped to all fours, resembling an oversized boar. And the moment he charged toward me, ice flooded my veins.

  Sheer terror froze me in place just as a sudden, excruciating ache sliced through my shoulder blades, deep enough for me to believe someone had stabbed me with a blade. But I reached a hand over my shoulder and found no weapon in my back.

  But a monster was coming my way. Wisps of hot air wafted from the orc’s nostrils. His grunts stole the silence, and shadows slid across his body, making him look bigger than I originally thought. Impossible.

  Run.

  Faster.

  Or die.

  I turned and bolted in the opposite direction. The growing ache across my back intensified, just as it had at the Harvest festival. Had someone poisoned me? Because that was the one explanation that made any sense to explain what the hell was going on.

  A searing fire sliced through my body, my dress pulling taut across my chest as if someone tugged me backward by the fabric.

  My heart thumped in my chest, and tears bubbled in my eyes. I had to keep running. Dad had once told me to always return home if I faced danger. There I’d be safe, he’d say, reminding me of the heavy locks on the doors he’d installed, the bars on the windows, the secured roof to stop intruders. Plus, he’d filled his workshop with knives and weapons for use in such emergencies. With no law enforcement in town, home was the best option. So I kept rushing through the forest when all I wanted was to curl up into a ball and hide.

  Loud thuds closed in behind me, followed by a piercing growl from the orc.

  A choked cry for help forced itself up my throat and I dashed faster than I’d thought possible. The path zigzagged left and right, and just as I zipped out of sight from Luronk, I darted into the dense woodland, trampling foliage, taking a shortcut to my house.

  The town was too far, and I’d never make it there alive. Returning to the party was useless, considering no one had taken my threat seriously.

  I jumped over a narrow brook and careened past an enormous oak tree, knowing the woods inside out. Once home, I could lock myself inside. I’d lived alone with Dad all my life, and he’d shown me to defend myself against intruders. But first, I had to reach home.

  So I sprinted faster, swerving around trees, ducking under low-hanging branches.

  Behind me, a dark shape flittered along the track. His snarls left me covered in shivers. How had I ended up in this situation? By accepting an invitation to dance, and now I was running for my life from the monster. Lesson learned. Staying home was the better option.

  The sharp sting returned threefold across my spine. Pain. So much of it rattled through me that I missed a step and tripped over a shrub. I fell forward with nothing to grab on to to stop my tumble. Jutting my arms in front of me, I crashed to the ground face-first. My knees scratched against the ground, and it stung. But there was no blood, yet I spasmed, and it felt as if my dress was shrinking, taut around my chest.

  I rolled onto my side, needing to get up and move. But I could barely breathe from the fabric tightening. What was going on? My brain was racing, screaming. I moved quicker.

  But if I couldn’t breathe, I wouldn’t get far. With shaky fingers, I unbuttoned my elf princess outfit down the front as I staggered to my feet, needing to get air into my lungs. I ripped the material open and down my arms as something was pulling it backward. Inhaling deeply, I stood out in the open only in my underwear and a long sleeveless top. But something broke free from my right shoulder blade as if bursting out of my skin. I cried out in anguish but shut my mouth at once. I spun on the spot and reached an arm over my shoulder to find a white wing at least three feet wide sticking out of my back.

  My knees weakened beneath me, and panic built in my gut like an unstoppable avalanche. I gingerly reached over to touch the wing that seemed to be made of the finest spiderwebs. Finely woven, it glinted in the night a silvery hue, feeling like the smoothest of silks under my fingertips. I reached for my other shoulder blade, but there was no wing. So just one? Okay, that was weird! No, what was weird was the whole idea of transforming into god-knew-what.

  My breaths came too fast, and my thoughts seized up in confusion. Dread swallowed me. I had grown long ears at the party, now this? What was I turning into and why? I reached for my ears, but they were back to normal. Was I hallucinating? I flicked my wing as easily as moving an arm.

  Luronk had called me “elf” at the party. He’d said he was my enemy and he’d finish me. Now, he was out here hunting me. My stomach riled with fear. I had to move, so I grabbed my dress off the ground and darted toward my house.

  The crunch of foliage came from somewhere behind me. A quick scan showed no one yet, but that didn’t mean a thing. I leaped into a sprint and ran toward my home half-dressed and with one wing. What a sight I must have been. But when a sharp pain snapped across my shoulder blade, I looked back to find the wing gone. Nothing on the other side either. Oh, what was going on with me?

  I dug into the pocket of my dress, finding the bronze keys, and grabbed them, ready to get into the house.

  A snort erupted from the surrounding woods as I burst out of the forest and darted onto a main road where my house stood, doubling as a store. Following the road would take me straight into town, its lights twinkling in the far distance, but it was too far. Instead, I scrambled home, the back of my legs crawling with the jitters.

  The only identification this was a store was the wooden sign painted with the words, Crispin’s Cordwainer hanging over the door. Iron bars covered the windows, a security Dad had insisted on living at the edge of town. I had hated them growing up,
feeling as if we lived in a prison, but after his death, they were a security blanket. And now… Thank you, Dad. Now they would protect me.

  I raised the keys in my hand to the lock.

  “Rain.” A guttural voice screeched my name as if his throat were made of rocks, rubbing together when he spoke.

  The hairs on my arms stood, and I fumbled with the keys as I twisted my head to look behind me.

  Across the road where I’d been moments earlier stood Luronk lifting himself to all fours, as enormous as a bear and his eyes glinting in the moonlight. His upper lip curled, revealing sharp canine teeth.

  If I would ever die of fright, this was the time my heart would give out. It slammed into my ribcage, my body betraying me as it shook like a leaf. Sweat dripped down my spine.

  You will always be safe in the house. Dad’s words drifted through my thoughts.

  I jammed the key into the lock.

  Heavy footsteps rushed closer.

  I turned the key.

  Grunts escalated.

  I shrieked and shoved my shoulder into the door to open it as it had a habit of getting stuck.

  A shadow fell over me.

  The door gave in and I stumbled in, fear rattling me as all I pictured was myself dead. I swung around and drove the heavy door shut as a bulky mass raced toward me. With all the locks shut, a great bang slammed against the door, the whole house trembling.

  I recoiled, my whole body wracked with raw sobs. Luronk could break in any moment, but a second bang never came. A dark shadow instead stalked outside the window, stopping there before gripping the iron bars, shaking them. But then he flinched backward as if he’d touched fire.

  Still, I couldn’t catch my breath and fright consumed every inch of my body, swelling with terror. I stood as still as possible. Dad had always said don’t make a noise, and I’d become invisible.

  Luronk’s shadow lingered outside the window. Sweat drenched my skin, my heart pounding in my ears. How long would he stay out there before he found a way in?