by Callie Rose
“Grey Goose?” the girl asked, playing along.
“Whatever you want, so long as I can drink to forget.”
“Cheers to that.” She laughed, tossing her long blonde hair.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched a black-clad figure walk past us. The girl seemed to notice him too and nodded her head in acknowledgment.
I waited for him to disappear before I turned toward her again, blowing out a breath of relief. “Hey, thanks for that. I don’t know how long creep-o was following me, but I just needed to get him off my back.”
“Don’t worry about it. We girls have to stick together, right?” She flashed me a toothy smile. “I’ve pulled that stunt before. The guys around here can be serious creeps. It’s always a risk going out alone.”
I eyed the neon sign of the bar. I was still a couple miles from my apartment, and a stiff drink actually sounded like a great idea right about now. Hell, maybe by the end of the night, I’d cave and splurge on a cab home.
“How about I buy you a drink to thank you?” I asked.
She laughed, then nodded. “Yeah, sure. I was about to bail—my friend ditched me for her currently on-again boyfriend, and I didn’t want to drink alone. But I’d love—”
Before she could finish speaking, there was a flash of movement from above us.
A half-second later, a dark, inhuman creature dropped down from the roof—
And pulled the girl straight up.
She was gone in a blink, as if she’d never been there. Her aborted scream echoed like a memory in the suddenly quiet street.
“What… the fuck…?”
I was too shocked to move. I could barely even breathe. I just kept staring at the place where the girl had stood a moment before, trying to unsee what I’d just seen.
To make it not real.
My heart lurched in my chest, pounding out an irregular rhythm that made me feel sick.
“What the fuck…?”
My mouth formed the same words over and over again. I sounded like a broken record, and my head swiveled back and forth like I was some demented owl.
What the hell was that thing?
It had been too dark to see it properly, but it’d looked like something straight out of a horror movie—a living gargoyle maybe. I had no idea.
“Hey, if this is some kind of joke… it isn’t funny,” I called out, backing slowly away from the building. Against every directive from my brain, my gaze crept up the side of the brick facade, searching for some sign of the girl. Of the thing.
A groan sounded. It was right behind me.
I spun around, thinking maybe the blonde girl had returned—but instead, I found myself face-to-face with a massive monster. Its teeth glistened with thick goo and its face was scarred and disfigured, its skin so rough it looked like burlap.
My chest squeezed so tight I couldn’t breathe.
What the ever-loving fuck?
That single coherent thought shocked my brain back into some semblance of control. Lurching into motion, I spun on my heel and sprinted down the street, breath coming in sharp gasps and backpack banging hard against my back as my feet hit the pavement.
I had to get off the street. Get somewhere safe. Somewhere with a million lights I could turn on to block out the nightmare.
But I barely made it half a block before something hard and heavy hit me from behind. I went down like a rock, and a second later, the monster had his thick, gnarled fingers wrapped around my ankle. I was yanked upward just like the blonde girl had been, flipped upside down so quickly the world spun in my vision.
A scream ripped through my throat, but it did nothing to stop the monster as I was dragged over several roofs. My palms scraped against rough surfaces as I scrabbled for a handhold—something, anything, to keep myself from being sucked away into the pitch darkness of the night.
“Let go of me! Let. Fucking. Go!”
Adrenaline pumped through my system, giving me the strength I needed to fight back. My backpack had ended up dangling off one shoulder, and I swung it hard, over and over again—but the beast, the monster, the creature of nightmares didn’t stop. I screamed helplessly into the night again.
My energy was fading fast, and my grip loosened on the backpack strap. The heavy bag crashed into the alley down below as the creature tightened its grip on my ankle. Pain coursed through my bones, radiating up my leg like an electric shock, and I closed my eyes tight. I didn’t open them again.
I heard something… but it was muffled, like I was a hundred feet underwater.
The girl, maybe?
No. Something monstrous. A howl—a call for reinforcements.
Thwack!
Pain exploded through my skull and down my neck, crippling me.
Thwack!
This time, the blow didn’t hurt.
It just turned my world to complete and utter nothingness.
Chapter Two
Consciousness crept in slowly, like a tide creeping up a beach, washing over me in waves.
Every inch of my body felt like it had been tenderized by a butcher, and not in a good way. Despite the heaviness of my lids, I forced them open and was greeted by blaring sunlight. Its brightness gave me an instant headache.
“Ugh.” My arms felt like they were made of spaghetti as I tried to push myself up to sitting.
I finally managed it, pressing hard against rough pavement as white spots danced in my vision.
Fuck. What happened last night? What the hell did I do?
For a second, it occurred to me that maybe I had partied too hard. In my attempt to forget about Colin and the betrayal he had dealt, maybe I had downed one too many consolation cocktails.
I blinked away the sunlight, my eyes finally adjusting to the brightness of it. But as the world around me came into focus, I sort of wished it hadn’t. Nothing about my surroundings made me feel any better.
I was in an alley.
Trash littered the ground around me, and the whole place smelled vaguely of old food and wet asphalt. Something was stuck to my face, and my hand flew up to pat at my cheek. Dear sweet baby Jesus, please don’t let it be a condom wrapper. I tore it off my face and was relieved to find it was just a Milky Way wrapper—which was still totally disgusting, but given the other possibilities, I was relieved.
Using the brick wall as a support, I forced myself to stand. The tops of my boots were scuffed and my knees felt bruised, like I’d spent all night giving some dude a blowjob. And now that I thought about it, my mouth did taste a little funny.
My stomach churned. What on earth had I gotten up to last night? This wasn’t like me at all; I honestly hadn’t partied that hard in years. And despite being pissed as hell at Colin, I hadn’t meant for the previous night to turn into a major bender. The fucking asshole wasn’t worth it.
That’s the last time I get trashed out of my mind, I promised myself. But while it was logical to assume I’d ended up in a grungy alley based on a series of poor decisions, something about the whole thing just didn’t feel right to me. There was something I was missing here.
But what?
I stumbled out of the alley and onto the street, glancing around to get my bearings. I thought I recognized the street name to my left, so I walked that way, my footsteps still unsteady. It must’ve been late morning, or maybe even early afternoon—lots of people were out and about. Despite my daze, I couldn’t miss the fact that several of them gave me odd looks. One woman looked at me, did a double take, then dragged her young daughter across the street.
Fucking Jesus. She probably thinks I’m some prostitute dragging herself back home after taking it in the ass all night. Damn you, Colin, you piece of shit.
I was supposed to be carving a solid life path for myself with a degree in social work—you know, pulling myself up by the bootstraps despite the deadbeat dad and the mom currently six feet under—but right now, I felt more like someone who needed a social worker than someone who should be one. I really needed
to get my shit together, keep my head down, and focus.
And definitely no more good-for-nothing boyfriends.
From here on out, it would just be me, myself, and I.
It took approximately a thousand years, but I made it back to my apartment. Of course, in whatever shitshow last night had become, I’d lost my backpack somewhere along the way. I groaned inwardly when I realized I’d need to cancel all my credit cards—again. This was why my credit score was in the tank. Well, that and the fact that I’d been barely scraping by for months, and maxing out a few different cards had been just about the only way I could survive.
As I walked up the steps of my apartment building, it occurred to me that my keys had also been in my purse.
Double damn.
Fortunately, that was a problem I had a solution for. I staggered back down the steps and walked around the side of the building, then pulled down the ladder to reach the fire escape. I headed up the wobbly metal steps to the landing on the third floor and pried open the window. It got stuck less than halfway up, but it was a wide enough gap for me to shove my body through.
My entrance was definitely less than graceful, and my ass scraped against the frame before I tumbled to the floor, but at least I was home.
Resisting the urge to pass out again where I lay, I pulled myself upright and headed toward the bathroom, feet shuffling against hardwood floors that were in desperate need of a deep cleaning.
In the dingy bathroom, I splashed my face with water, hoping it would bring me back to my senses. The cold droplets landed on my face and neck and seemed to sizzle against my warm skin. I felt almost feverish, hot all over.
I patted my face dry with a towel and then straightened, reaching out to close the over-the-sink medicine cabinet I’d left open last time I was in here. Mentally, I braced myself for the horror show that would be my face. I really didn’t want to see the effects of my insane night, but I needed to see how shitty I looked and whether I’d be forced to skip class come Monday morning.
When I caught sight of my reflection though, it was nothing like what I’d been braced for. It was so much worse. My breath hitched with a choking noise as my eyes nearly bugged out of my skull.
I blinked.
But the image in the mirror stayed the same.
“What the actual fuck?” I shouted.
With trembling hands, I reached for the horns—yes, horns—popping out of the top of my head. They were little nubs made of some dark material that protruded from just below my hairline. My face was bright red. And not like I was embarrassed or had been working out hard or anything like that. No, I looked like someone had dunked me into a vat of crimson paint.
No fucking way.
This had to be a damn nightmare. Some kind of bad trip or a fever dream. That was the only possible explanation for my appearance. Before I allowed myself to enter full freak-out mode, I took a second to breathe through my nose.
“Nope. It’s not real,” I muttered almost threateningly to the demonic reflection that kept staring at me through the mirror. “This is just a dream. A really fucked up dream, but a dream. That’s all. As soon as I pinch myself, I’m going to wake up safe and sound in my bed. Like this never fucking happened.”
Keeping one suspicious eye on the mirror, I tugged off my shirt, revealing my pink bra and more bright red skin. The deep crimson tone faded a little toward the ends of my extremities—my hands were only slightly pinkish, as if I’d gotten a bad sunburn on them. That explained why I hadn’t noticed the change in my skin before.
“Motherfucker…”
Slowly, I reached up to pinch the flaming red skin on my chest. It stung, just like you’d expect a pinch to.
But I didn’t wake up.
Nothing changed.
My heart picked up its pace, slamming hard in my chest as I quickly unbuttoned my pants, shoving them down my legs and kicking them off to inspect the rest of my body. My stomach and legs were bright red too, though the color faded near my feet. And—
Something moved between my ankles.
What the hell is that?
I spun around in a circle like a dog chasing its tail, then froze.
“Oh my god, I am like a dog chasing its tail,” I breathed, a sick feeling roiling my stomach.
The pointed tail that stuck out of my tailbone just above my ass swished in a whip-like fashion, almost like it was mocking my words. It must’ve been stuck in my pant leg before—or else my shock at waking up in an alley had made me really damn unobservant.
As if responding to my agitation, the long, supple tail began thrashing back and forth more violently.
That was the final straw. I lurched toward the toilet, losing the contents of my stomach as it cramped and heaved.
“This cannot be happening,” I groaned into the bowl as I reached up weakly to flush. “I look like some Halloween freak from the discount party center.”
When I thought I had the lingering nausea under control, I rose unsteadily to my feet. I yanked open the medicine cabinet again so I wouldn’t have to watch my insane reflection mirror my movements as I paced back and forth in the tiny bathroom, yanking at my hair so hard I almost pulled it straight from my scalp.
What the fuck happened to me? What’s going on?
As I moved like a caged animal, the cobwebs in my mind started to fade away. Memories from last night rammed into me like a speeding bullet train. Winded by the force of them, I sank onto the edge of the tub, hand on my chest.
Walking back to my apartment in the light rain.
The footsteps behind me.
The creepy guy following me.
That blonde girl coming to my rescue.
Then…
A monster plucking her up like she weighed nothing.
Another one attacking me.
Being dragged from roof to roof like I was a goddamn leaf.
The creature’s voice—like nails being ground up in a blender.
The pain.
“Oh, God…”
The rush of images and sensations was too much for me to handle. I rushed over to the toilet bowl and hurled again. There wasn’t anything left to get rid of at this point, but my body insisted on trying, heaving until I was a gasping, groaning mess. My throat was raw by the time I slumped onto the cool tile floor.
I didn’t know how long I laid there, but I had just about managed to convince myself once again that this really was a dream when a noise came from the living room.
Bzzzzz.
I barely registered the buzzer at first.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
It was louder the second time, more insistent. I picked my head up off the floor, adrenaline shooting through my system.
Shit. What if it’s that monster come to finish me off?
Fear seized me, but somehow, I got to my feet and approached the front window. It probably wasn’t wise for me to do so, but my body seemed to move of its own volition, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Slowly, I rose to my tippy toes to better see out the window, peering down toward the front stoop of the building as the buzzer sounded again.
Bzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
“Oh, shit. What?” I muttered.
It was the blonde girl—the one who’d been texting in front of the dive bar. I could only see the top of her head, but I was positive it was her. She had on the same deep purple leather jacket I’d noticed when I’d walked up to her the night before.
I pulled back from the window quickly, pressing myself against the wall. Now that I knew it existed, I could feel my tail thumping against the plaster in agitation.
What on earth is she doing here? What does she want?
Tentatively, I leaned over to peek out the window again, but when I looked down, the girl was gone. I let out a small, relieved breath. Maybe she’d given up. Maybe she had the wrong address and—
A loud pounding on my apartment door made me jump several feet. I slumped against the wall, hand presse
d to my bright red chest, sucking in air as my heart thudded against my palm.
“What do you want?” I called out, then slapped a hand over my mouth. Damn it. I shouldn’t have given away that I was home.
“I… I need help.”
Yeah, it was definitely the girl from outside the bar. And she didn’t sound like she was here to kill me. In fact, she sounded like she’d been crying.
I waffled for a second then tiptoed over to the doorway and peered through the peephole.
The reason for her quavering voice became obvious immediately. She looked different too, although not in the same way I did. Instead of looking like a lobster, she had pale gray skin that shifted toward green depending on the light. She had horns too, but they were much bigger than mine and a bit mangled looking.
If there was a gun pointed to my head, and I had to pick what freakish costume I liked better—mine would win every day of the week. And yet, somehow, despite the trollish vibe, she still retained some of her beauty with that blonde mane of hers and those deep, amber eyes like wildflower honey.
Appearances aside, what was my creep-buffer doing here? How had she even known where to find me?
In all honesty, I really didn’t want to know. All I wanted was for this nightmare to fucking end.
“Hello?” she called again, her voice wavering with uncertainty.
Goddamn it. I’ll probably regret this.
Scrunching up my face at my own stupidity, I reached out and flipped the lock, pulling the door open. It swung back and we stood face-to-face. Her eyes bugged out of her head when she saw me, and for what felt like an eternity, all we could do was stare at each other.
“Oh my God. So it happened to you too…” she finally whispered, breaking the silence.
I took a step backward. I’d already scoped out her appearance before I opened the door, but something about staring at it up close and personal made my already frayed nerves unravel even further. It just reminded me how fucked up I looked.
“How the hell did you find me?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest—and realizing belatedly that I was still only wearing my bra and panties.
