Curse And Craving

8

Each sultry step she took brought her closer to me until she passed through the same pool of light where I stood transfixed. To my utter astonishment, she continued as though I wasn’t there. When a swish of air from her passing presence brought a sickly sweet scent to the back of my throat, I sucked in a barely audible gasp. It had been soft but not quiet enough. Instantly, she whipped her head in my direction, eyes scouring the brick wall for the source of the sound. Evil red eyes skated right over me as if I wasn’t there. Or, for some reason, she couldn’t see me. Her nose lifted, and she sniffed the air, searching for a scent. I kept absolutely silent, even when her mouth opened, allowing the dim light to glint off two sharp fangs. She stood only feet away, so close I could smell her foul breath lingering in the air. Unable to locate any offending presence, she reluctantly continued on her way, looking back periodically over her shoulder. I watched her retreating form until she was long out of sight. Even then, it took me what seemed like ages before my joints unlocked, and I was able to step away from the wall. My joints creaked when I finally broke free of my frozen stance. I took one step toward home then stilled when I realized the woman might not have been the only monster out in the night. f**k this, I’m out of here. I dropped my broken shoe to the ground, flung off the other, and sprinted the rest of the way home. ONCE I FINALLY MADE IT to the apartment, my entire body was a gelatinous mess of post-adrenaline fatigue. I could hardly stand on my shaking legs. In a stroke of luck, I beat Ashley home for the night. I had no idea what I’d seen or how to feel about it, and I certainly wasn’t ready to admit my mounting insanity to anyone else. I went straight upstairs, removed my clothes, and started a hot shower. Only once the scalding water lashed my body was my mind able to start processing what had happened. What I’d seen had been real. Logic told me it had to be a delusion—that something so inexplicable had to be a figment of my imagination—but she’d been real. I’d felt her in the air and choked on her horrific scent. She’d been a tangible, living creature, I was certain of it. But who would ever believe me? If someone else had described these things to me, I would have assumed they were a few crayons short of a whole box. Maybe I was going crazy. All the other crazies were probably convinced that what they thought they saw was real. Oh, hell. How would I know if I was losing my mind? Maybe I would tell Ashley what had happened. The only reason not to tell her was because she would think I was crazy, and if I was losing my grip on reality, getting help would be a good idea. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that I would end up in a facility with soft padded walls and Nurse Ratchet to keep me company. What the hell is happening to me? The water did its best to warm me, but I couldn’t seem to clean away the oil residue of fear that clung to me. Whether the woman had been real or not, she was terrifying—either as a sign of mental derailment or as a horrifying alien threat walking the streets. Giving myself the benefit of the doubt, I decided to consider the facts had she been real. What was she—some kind of vampire? Or demon? An alien sounded more believable, but maybe that was what vampires and demons were. Okay, now I really sound crazy. I exited the shower and toweled off, slipping on my heaviest pajamas once I was dry. Clutching a pillow to my chest, I sat on the bed and fended off a panic attack. That was where Ash found me not long after. “Hey, you.” She sat next to me with her body angled in my direction, her voice soft, recognizing that something was wrong. “How was day two of the new job?” I didn’t answer immediately. Fear kept the words I wanted to say trapped in a clump at the back of my throat. “Ash,” I whispered. “I’m worried that I’m going crazy.” I met her eyes and let her see the depth of my worry. “Did you see the little man again?” “No, this was so much worse. I know you won’t believe me, and I understand. If someone told me what I’m about to tell you, I wouldn’t believe them either.” “Okay, hit me with it.” I began speaking in a low, steady voice, calmly and rationally explaining the horrifying creature and my miraculous escape. “I know it sounds crazy, but I also know what I saw, and I swear on everything that I love in this world that it happened.” “Um, okay.” She nodded once. “You’re right. It is hard to believe, but I know you, and I know you aren’t lying. I also know you’re not crazy, so I guess that means … I believe you.” “You do?” “Yes, but at the same time, I’m not sure I can totally believe that these creatures are real without having seen them myself. I believe that you believe. Does that make sense? Hopefully, you understand that it’s a pretty huge leap of faith.” I threw myself into her arms. “I know, Ash, and I totally understand. Thank you for not calling me crazy or denying it happened.” We held each other for a long minute before Ash pulled back. “So where does that leave us?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I should consider going back home. This place might be dangerous.” I didn’t want to get hurt, but more than anything, I had to protect my parents. I was everything to them, and if something happened to me, they’d never recover. “Bec, this is your dream job. You can’t quit now,” Ashley pleaded, clasping my hands in hers. “Yeah, but what about the creatures?” “Well, they haven’t hurt you, and I haven’t heard of any attacks. Maybe they’re harmless.” Her brows furrowed as she shrugged. “I’m not sure why you can see them when others can’t, but if they aren’t harming anyone, is there truly any danger?”