Torrent

The film's depiction of what happen to the reincarnation of Eve caught the attention of the Vatican.

I stare at this sentence for a while. The empty sounds of this cool Wednesday night perfectly capture my feelings of this sentence. Soon, minutes pass as I watch the words on the computer screen, not feeling anything behind them. I hold the delete key, erasing the lifeless words from existence. I need something with more of a punch. My hands flinch before typing a new sentence.

The Vatican caught wind of the blasphemous movie and began the coordinated protest to stop the film from screening.

My hands run through my hair, digging up any grains of creativity. This is the bane of my night. I am struggling to finish the last article of my online magazine, Dreadstiary. It's a horror zine that I run with my best friend Ben and this article, The 7 Lost Horror Movies, was the star of this issue. My hands push against the desk. I spin away from the stressful situation at my computer.

The sight of my messy room rotates around me. The clothes near my bed balled in small mounds, the movies stacked on the drawer next to my couch, my movie shelf sloppily put together since it's messing said movies next to my couch. Tilting my head up brings my sight to a cluster of movie posters above my bed. I put my feet down to slow my desperate spin until I stop in front of 2 posters.

I stare at the 2 movie posters, letting my brain reboot at the sight of beautiful artwork of some of my favorite horror movies. A horrified woman whose silhouette forms a dog's mouth, styled in a haunting oil painting to form the poster for The Howls of a Daughter by Gigori Monti. The poster next to it looked more contemporary in comparison. A view of the Earth from space loomed behind the warping of blue, green, and red that came together to create a nude woman. This made up Cosmic Blood by Aiden Perry, my favorite horror movie of all time.

Staring at both posters, I notice how soothing my heartbeat became. I spin around in my chair before heading back to my computer to finish the article. Suddenly, a Sunii notification pops up on my screen. The screen shows an incoming video call from Ben. I dig around my desk moving Blu-ray cases and notes, trying to find my webcam, so I can accept his call.

A few seconds of searching, I notice it peaking out behind a pile of Asian Zombie movies. Setting it up, I accept the call. Ben's face pops on my screen. The monitor light shines bright, illuminating his dark face and curly hair that flows behind his back. He turns his room light on after noticing I answer the call.

“You took some time answering! Almost began to worry.”

Sarcasm drips from Ben as his room came into view. A clutter of monster limbs from our previous adventure fills the background. Creature hands mixed in with dirty clothes mimicking a creature last grasps of life surrounds him. The morbid sight didn't really catch my eye, unlike of The husk of a massive ant head hung behind his own.

“Staring at the new trophy, huh!”

He bends back on his chair, so the husk is in full view. His webcam focuses on it to sharping the details of the ant head. The size of it is as large as a football. There's a visible large crack between feelers of the ant's head and a missing mandible. Guess that's how Ben was able to take it down.

“That ant gave me quite the problem, but I was able to take care of it. Anyway, how is the article coming along?”

“I'm still struggling on the 7 Lost movies article. I finished writing about Curse of the Skull Servant, and now I'm on the Last Rites of Eve, and it's not clicking.”

“Max, you need to chill out for a bit. I read the draft of it, and it was fine.”

“It can't be just fine. It needs to be perfect! We're starting to lose the boost in downloads we got a few months back.”

Ben brings his full attention to me.

“Hmm, that does sound bad.” Ben spins around a bit before centering again. “Sounds like we should bring out the big guns. I've been scouting out some huge monster rats in up in North Anthame. A quick field report page wouldn't hurt.”

He shares his screen showing a map of Northern Anthame. Various locations were circled, including the Gregor power plant. Each circled location has a good chunk of notes next to it. I quickly scan them to check if the content would be enough for an article. Including the map, it would definitely be a good read, but it's missing something.

“Not bad, do you have a picture of the rat?”

“Nope. It's better to not make sudden moments like taking a picture.”

If he has no pictures of the rat, then it wouldn't that good of a field report. The dots start to connect in my head. Then again, it should have been obvious when he mentions the big guns.

“Ah now I see. We're going to use your favorite gun right.”

“Don't say it like that.”

“Right…still going to need a description of it if I'm going to ask Hannah for a drawing.”

Hannah is our best friend with killer art skills. Some comments on the Dreadstiary website say the only download to see if we got a new monster art from Hannah. I quickly pull out my wallet to check my funds for the rest of the week. More than enough to get Hannah to draw a piece for us by Friday.

“Got that covered. Plus an extra secret weapon that might make it our best issue yet.”

Hearing the words extra secret weapon made piqued my interest. I thought the rat report would have been his secret weapon.

“What do you mean extra secret weapon.”

“Let's put a pin with that for now. Don't want to get your hopes up. Just focus on the 7 films and the Rat art as our sure things.”

With that, he ends the call. Suspicious for sure, but I'll have to trust his for now. We've been through too much together. Ben is my closest friend. We have been looking for monsters for almost 10 years now after our dads took us to the movies for a horror movie marathon.

Our dads laughed at our excitement about the creature of the film when mines brought up a legend of the central fountain imp. Hearing about a monster here in our town, we darted away on an adventure that would solidify our friendship. I cut my reminiscing short to upload my drafts to a cloud folder. Some sleep will help the ideas solidify in my head. Taking my phone off the dock, I dive on to my bed and tried to get some Zs.

The next morning, I slosh through the heavy downpour on my way to school. It is a struggle to walk through as I barely got any sleep last night. After laying down on my bed, I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to put on a horror movie to help me fall asleep. It took a couple of low budget demonic 70s, but I did end up catching some sleep, but I guess. My thoughts cut off as I slip on the concrete, going head first into a nearby tree. Scrambling to get myself upright, I fix my hoodie and start rubbing my face to numb the throbbing pain. I need a pick me up.

I start sliding along the concrete, carefully drifting along the slick surface until I stop at the halfway point on my journey, The Sigil Saloon, a popular milk bar that opened last year. Strolling into the place to see only an old man in a suit reading the newspaper. Next to him on the table was a large mug filled with a chocolate shake with a healthy head of whipped cream.

Guess people never grow out of wanting some sugar in the morning. The saloon has light purple walls, with black paint that looks spatter on. I make my way around the small tables to reach the mahogany bar where the cashier, a guy in his early 20s wearing a hoodie with chains etch into it, was standing.

“Can I get a strong Cinnamon Coffee Milkshake. Medium.”

“That'll be $7.50 or .75 Xeltithi if you want to liberate yourself from fiat.”

The cashier points to a tablet with a qr code ready with the price of .75 Xeltithi on it. I fight against the awkward atmosphere to pull out the exact change from my wallet, placing it on the Bar.

“Your lost. Sick Pumpkin Patch shirt, by the way!”

The cashier broken into a smile as he admires the artwork of the shirt. Standing with a bloody knife was the main killer, Joshua, his head elongated and eyes blood-red as he wears a ghoulish smile. His signature outfit is torn to shreds as his body hunches over his spine protruding from the brown corduroy jacket. With his arms bent back, he holds a large harvesting knife as he is surrounded by an assortment of different size pumpkins. Each pumpkin contains crudely carved signs of black magic, which leak blood from each individual marking. It is a masterful shirt design.

“Thanks. This was pretty hard to get.”

“I could imagine!”

The cashier turns around to grab my order from his coworker, a younger guy wearing a green shirt and pants, who began working on my order. The guy gestures his phone to the cashier amidst the roaring of the blender. The cashier holds the phone steady, then jumps up in excitement. They share an intimate hug with each other, only letting go when the blender signals that my shake is done.

“You're a master degen, bro!”

The cashier takes my shake, which was poured into a glass mug, then turns his attention back to me. Placing my order on the counter before trying to spark up a conversation with me.

“Did you heard that the next Pumpkin Patch movie is going to be in Space?”

My phone vibrates, showing a new Sunii message from Ben.  I take my order and make my way to a table near the Saloon entrance. A small circular table that was next to a small window that gave a good view of the outside.

“The Pumpkin Patch in space movie has been in development hell since the 90s. It's never going to get made.”

“Never say never, Bro!”

I take a sip of my shake. The strong blending of both cinnamon and their own coffee blend perks me up. I continue to drink my shake as I open the Sunii app to see what Ben has sent me.

Ben:

Okay, my extra secret weapon was legit!

I got a link to the one and only.

Curse of the Skull Servant!

I nearly spit out my shake. I force the shake down while pounding my chest to make sure I don't choke.

“Ha, the coffee too strong for you?”

The cashier voices his concern, seeing me try not to die from my shock. Waving the glass mug up, I take a good swig of my shake to signal that I'm alright. There's no way he was able to get that!

Who conned you with that?

Ben:

No con.

It's legit.

I watched it last night.

No way! Now I get why it's the extra secret weapon. A review of that would be huge for the next issue. Especially with the article on the Lost 7 horror movies. Together, both articles would be huge for the issue.

Where did you steal it from?

Ben:

Not stolen.

It was a reward!

Is this how you view me?

I helped out some kids dealing with a monster slime last week and the older brother gave me the link.

How are there still monster slime running around?

Thought Hannah killed the queen last year.

Ben:

Still mad about that!

This one was different.

A slime/ant hybrid.

You should have seen the amount of green ooze there!

Ruined my Arcade of the Living Dead shirt.

Anyway, bet you want to do the review for it?

Of course! Send the link.

Finishing my shake, I look out the window to enjoy the scenery. The heavy rain grays the surrounding shops, turning them into a scene golden age horror movie set. Bright lights from the shop accent the businessmen and teens rushing to get to their destinations like the mob trying to catch Frankenstein's Monster. A picture perfect gloomy day for South Anthame.

Suddenly, a girl walks into frame. Her pale skin pops out against the gray backdrop. She had on a black and white shirt with a black skirt and leggings. She is holding on to a bright pink umbrella that clashes with the cold demeanor she exudes.

“Wow, She out pretty early.”

I hastily get up from my seat and rush towards the bar to make another order.

“Let me get a Malt Mint Shake to go. Extra Malt and can you make it quick?”

“Maybe I could if you don't use fiat!”

The cashier sings the words while gesturing to the tablet again. I almost considered it until I hear a mixture of laughter and the blender going off.

“Relax, I'm just joshing you! It's almost done right, Marc.”

“Right. Right. It'll be a little thick, tho.”

Marc the coworker pours the shake in to a plastic cup, handing it off to the cashier. I retrieve the shake and change, then make my way to the door. Before I exit the saloon, I open Sunii to send a message to Ben.

Make sure you send the description of the Monster Rat too, along with the link!

I catch up to her just as she stops at the crosswalk waiting for her turn to cross. I crouch down to get under her umbrella. In one swift motion, I pull the umbrella out of her hand and then place the shake in the palm before it clench to make a fist. She inspects the shake, swirling it in around in small circles. She stares at me with her harsh gray eyes.

“What no straw?”

I pull said straw out of my pocket and her cheeks sink in as she struggles to pull the shake. Guess Marc wasn't kidding when he said it was thick. The problem only lasts a few seconds, as a third of the shake vanishes in an instant. After a few smacks, she turns to me with a blunt expression on her face.

“You got the order wrong”

The light changes and she begins to walk. I scramble to match her pace so the umbrella covers both of us. She drinks some more of the shake before she continues her lecture.

“You have to go 3:1 when it comes to Malt Mint to get the right flavor. You've got to say to the cashier, 'Let me get an Extra Malt mint shake with another scoop of malt.'”

“I just think your taste buds are messed up”

She lightly jabs me in the ribs. I topple over in pain. While it looks like all she did a light jab, the force behind it was that of a serious punch. Hannah helps me back on my feet, holding the umbrella while I fix my hoodie. We continue our walk, only making it pass 2 blocks before I notice Hannah wasn't drinking the shake anymore. She stares at it before turning her head to look at me.

“So, What do you want?”

I freeze for a second, but try to recover fast enough before Hannah notices.

“Don't act surprise! You are trying to butter me up for something. Why else would you get me my favorite drink randomly”.

She picks up on my plan fast. It's not best to ask right now with her while she is flared up. I should try to diffuse the flames a bit before asking her for some art. What did I say last time in a scenario like this?

“Because we're best friends…”

She side eyes me as I keep my cool, waiting for the signal to spring the question. The side eye continues even when I had to pull on her shirt to stop her from almost walking into traffic. It takes a total of 3 blocks until I see her eyes soften a bit. Better take my chance.

“But since you brought it up,”

The harshness floods back in her eyes as she picks up the pace. I end up just putting the umbrella in front of me since she didn't have any extra protection against the rain, unlike me. Dang that worked last time but can't falter now!

“Look, I just need a picture of a rat drawn by Friday. No need to rush. I'll pay in advance!”

The passerby students start to laugh at my yelling to make sure my voice could be heard through the rain. Hannah starts to slow down. She shoots a look to the students, ceasing their laughter as they quickly run to get away from us.

“I kinda want to relax this week, Max. So I'll have to d…”

She stops moving mid-sentence. The abruptness spooks me a bit. So I check to see if she is okay, but I see her just stare at me. Following her eyes, I see her gaze fixate on my shirt. She stands there for a bit, drinking away until the sounds of the empty cup mix with the symphony of rain fall and cars passing by. This was an eerie situation, but it makes sense since this is her favorite horror movie after all.

“I'll do it if you give me your shirt.”

“Huh? No, I like this shirt.”

“Then no deal.”

She tosses the empty cup in a trash can and resumes the trek towards school. Crap! Her asking for my shirt catches me off guard. I thought she would just complement or shit on the rendition of Monster Joshua. This shirt was almost a hassle to get since you had to go on the site early enough too….

“Wait! Didn't I give you the link to get this shirt before it came out?”

Hannah mimics my short freeze step from moments ago.

“I was… working on something that I missed it.”

We walk in silence for a bit. It is just a stupid shirt. It doesn't hold the same value as getting the perfect issue out. On the other hand, I don't have another shirt that represents this movie in my wardrobe. Would like to have all Pumpkin Patch films represented. But I could just find a replacement shirt after all.

“Well, this issue is important. Give me sometime to think on it.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket. Just in time, Ben sends the description of the monster rat along with the link for the movie. Unfortunately, the link is a magnet link. It's a shame, as I was looking forward to watching the movie during class.

Thanks! The issue will probably go up during the weekend.

Ben:

That means Hannah said yes!

Tell her I said What's up.

Oh, going to be MIA for a bit.

I'm going to bring down that mutant rat!

Mount his head over my bed as a trophy.

Your mom would kill you if you did that.

And Go to school, man!

We have to graduate during the same year!

Ben:

Eh, my school has a good summer program.

No big.

I forward the description to Hannah. Her nose scrunches up as her eyes dance, taking in the description.

“Ugh, where is this thing?”

“North Anthame.”

“God!”

We reach our destination of boring old South Anthame High. I move ahead to hold the glass door open as Hannah closes her umbrella. She put her foot forward before stopping. On the tips of her toes, she gets close to my ear as she could to ask me.

“We're going to take it down this weekend?”

I open the door wider to slip pass Hannah, wanting to get out of the rain. I spin around to face her while trying to not bump in to someone as I continue my walk to home room.

“Nah. Ben is already on the hunt for it. He says, Sup, by the way. I got a better idea for the weekend!”

Lunchtime rolls around, and I make my way to the cafeteria. The wild sea of hungry teens scrambling for food and seat fill my sight as I open the door. I make my way to a shallow part of the sea. Brushing past the harsh waves of boys playing keep away with freshmen lunches, I arrive to a clear enough area to scope out for my friends. A pained scream erupts from the other side of the sea. Turning my head, I watch as the sea splits to revile Hannah. She makes her way to a round table just a bit to my left, where 3 people are already sitting.

Hannah sits next to a guy with light-brown hair. He has a broad build, wearing a navy blue varsity jacket. On the back of the jacket, a silver hair man wearing a ruffle shirt and a large trench coat. His red eyes pull your gaze towards it, almost like a hypnotic trance. The character is Luca Ard from the First-person Shooter game, Myth Vertex. This is Duncan, Hannah's boyfriend. They have been dating for around six months now, after a haunting getaway to Coeus Cove, Anthame's only beach. Ben is still recovering from the news.

Next to Hannah is a girl with long raven hair. Wearing a low cut shirt dress that emphasizes her large chest, She is juggling eating a sandwich and reading something on her phone. It seems to be something Hannah is familiar with as she pinch-zooms to point something out to her. This is Mia, the youngest of the group. After an encounter with the Queen Slime, She has been a part of our circle ever since.

Across from Mia is a girl staring out the window. Her short golden hair and honey skin shimmers against the dull light from the window. She looks lost in the rolling storm clouds. This is Kat. Kat is just awesome. The brains of our group who Hannah and I befriended back in Freshman Year. A ghoul and spooky library, nothing about that day impacted me more than how she looked. She notices me approaching the table.

“Max!”

Kat pushes me as I sit down. Mia puts down her phone hastily. She slips a shining smile as she finishes her sandwich. I look towards Duncan to see him staring at me. He nods his head. Checking the thinning sea to see if there was enough coverage to shield us. I nod back. Duncan throws his arm around me as open my backpack, fixing my books and laptop for extra space. In a small huddle, Duncan pulls out a rectangle box from his bag. Not waiting to admire it, I shove it into my bag, struggling to not damage the contents of the box. With an almost silent zip, we break our huddle after a successful transfer was complete.

“Thanks Duncan! Remind me next week to tell you about a fps game. Have to give it the clean sweep as it might be haunted, but gotta finish the latest issue of Dreadstiary this weekend.”

“Is it modern?”

“90s”

“Elite! Retro might be a fun breather from the extras scrims matches I have next weekend.”

“Speaking of the weekend. Would you guys be to do something on Saturday?”

Mia's green eyes starts to shimmer as she leans forward, pressing her chest on the cafeteria table. She begins to say something, but Kat holds out her hand in front of her. A soft smile appears on Kat's face. She leans forward, getting pretty close to me. I feel the sweat pool in my hands as my body stiffens up. Then, in a playful tone, Kat says.

“Only if you tell us what Duncan just gave you.”

I took some time to compose myself. Kat's smile sent my heart racing and I need to find the right thing to say so….

“It's beer.”

The faint words were struggling to come out of Hannah's mouth as she was chewing on her sandwich. Duncan passes her a bottle of water, which she swigs down. Crap, Duncan must have told her. Well depending on what she knows, this situation could get pretty embarrassing.

“A limited edition run of Succubus' Blood featuring Max's favorite horror hostess…”

“Countess Velvet!?”

Mia chimes in with Hannah's teasing. Of course, Hannah knew everything.

“She's so cute! Especially with that outfit of hers…. Makes sense, you would want to get that beer.”

Mia face turns into a pout as Kat and Hannah exchange a look with each other. I hope they're not continuing the teasing with their eyes. Kat points her finger at me like a teacher scolding a student.

“Max, you know better. You should have waited until after school!”

“Chill, Kat. The bozo sea makes great coverage for our transaction. Right Max?”

A loud clap rings in my ears as Duncan slaps my back. Crackling laughter escapes from Hannah, much clearing now than her initial teasing.

“So Now that you know. Would you guys be down to watch a movie Saturday? We can video chat it if it sways your choice.”

“I rather go hunt those Monster Rats.”

Kat springs to life, hearing Hannah's complaint. Her amber eyes bloom as she looks at my direction. I made a cutting motion with my hands to signal that it was already being taken care of to Kat. She sulks back down as she deflates for some reason. Mia takes this opportunity to ask me a question.

“Who's the film by, Max? Aiden Perry?”

“Great guess Mia! It is!”

I hop up, raising both of my hands for a high five, which Mia does gleefully. She jumps to reach my hands, as I forgot to lower them to accommodate for her height. Low whispers of praise reach my ears from behind me.

“Who is that again?”

And just like my joy fades with Kat's words. I fight back the tears swelling in my eyes to give a quick explanation.

“Aiden Perry is a famous horror director from the late 80s-early 90s era of horror movies. You would have heard his most popular movie before. Cosmic Blood.”

Kat nods her head.

“I have! How sleazy is the movie? Don't want to spend my weekend hearing Duncan howl over the excessive nudity.”

Hannah quickly moves to slap Duncan as Kat's words bring a wide grin to his face. However, in a smooth motion, he manages to block the slap. He then leans over me to get closer to Kat.

“Nothing wrong with excessive Nudity in horror. Like that movie Sleazy Strippers in Ghoul Mall. That was a 10/10 classic!”

“Wrong, Duncan.”

Mia imitates Kat's serious tone and posture from her earlier lecturing. Then a bright smile flashes on her face.

“The sequel was better! Sleazy Strippers in Blood Manor.”

“How could I forget! Like when the main thot with massive bolt-ons had to run through the blood rain topless in order to kill the demon!”

“Then out of nowhere, a goat headed statue charges at the girl with a stone axe.”

There was a small amount of pride welling up inside me as Mia and Duncan went back and forth talking about the horror movie. Both made by Aiden Perry, by the way. Out of nowhere, a horrible chill races up my spine, replacing the small built up pride that I have accumulated. Mia and Duncan feel the chill as well, cutting their gushing over the movie short.

The chill is echoing out as more conversations around us die down. A short continuous rapt of fingers slowing build up as we look on to see Hannah. The severe stare of hers weighing down on all of us, except for Kat. A small snicker comes out of her mouth as she takes a picture of the scene.

“Oh, what to do. Looks like Max has corrupted two more people. Oh, what ever should I do.”

The emotionless words escape from Hannah. The cold words form a tight grip on my spine. Different words, sentences, ideas all race in my mind trying to defuse this situation. Instead of furthering this conversation, I go back to pitching the movie weekend. That's when the perfect blade for this moment comes appears.

“If it sweetens the thought, I have never seen the movie before.”

My word slice through the chilling wave as I hear a loud wave of students sigh in relief.

“Bullshit, of course you've seen the movie”

“Nope, not this one, Scout’s Honor.”

I make a cross over my heart, which makes Hannah snort.

“Oh please. That won't last long. Your will is weak to new movies.”

“It won't falter. I'll treat it like fighting a monster.”

I mimic a memory of Ben slashing down a monster. My erratic arm flailing causes Hannah to burst out laughing, as if the display triggers the same memory for her. Even during laughing, Hannah's face is serious, no sense of a smile.

“"" We're down”””

Duncan, Mia, and Kat cut into my imaginary swordplay with a unanimous agreement. Mia leans forward with a huge smile on her face.

“After all, it's rare to watch a horror movie with Max that he's never seen before!”

The rain didn't let up after school as Hannah and I are walking to her house. Rainfall fills the awkward silence as we share an umbrella. Hannah was quiet the whole journey. It was fine at first, but after passing the murmuring of our schoolmates, the silence became deafening. Man, I really messed up. We approach Hannah's house, A gothic house was wearing a fresh coat of black paint, when a large shriek radiated from it. Hannah gave me a quick look. Her eyebrow rising as she whispers the words:

Monster Attack?

I shrug my shoulders. Handing the umbrella back to Hannah, I frisk the ground for a rock for a fast weapon while Hannah rushes to the door. She readies the closed umbrella like a javelin. She holds her hand on the knob until she sees a sizable rock in my hand. With a quick click, the door swings violently as Hannah readies the umbrella. I trail behind her, ready to hurl the rock at the first sign of a monster. Hannah stops as she set the umbrella next to the door.

“TCH. False alarm.”

There in the living room, a large TV was showing a woman being viciously attack by a group of people. The camera pans to a young man whaling her name as his arms, strung up to two trees, were ablaze from the wire holding him up. He fell to his knees while a woman sultry approaches him. The camera focus on a symbol on the man's back. Three squares overlapping each other with a tear in the center. The woman's scarlet eyes shone while her face remains as stone as she brings her hand to his rib cage. In one elegant motion, she rips it out of the man. Greenish blood gushes from the man's chest as his shrieks of pain and sorrow ripples out from the TV, making Hannah, I and the girl watching the movie play out on the sofa in front of us jump.

I crept up on the girl, making sure the sloshing of my wet shoes were silent as possible. Getting within ear shot of her, I let out as causal as possible.

“You reached Cosmic Blood 3? Such a classic scene.”

The girl spins around fast, making her long blonde and black hair hit me in the face. The girl in a school uniform wore a glowing smile that didn't suit her face. This is Hannah's younger sister Samantha, who looks like she could be Hannah's twin but shorter.

“Max!!”

She yells as she latches on to me with a tight hug.

“You want to watch the rest with me. I don't mind restart.”

As if she was a ghost, Hannah appears behind me and pulls my ear with an astounding force. She proceeds to drag me away from her sister, heading toward the nearby staircase.

“Sorry Kid, your boyfriend is too busy today. And turn the damn TV down! We don't need the neighborhood thinking the house is under attack.”

My shoes slip around as I try to steady myself up the stairs to no avail. The fast and repetitive squeaking caught Hannah's attention. She lets go of my ear, giving me a chance to steady myself while she goes on ahead of me. I look back to see Sam. Her glowing smile vanished, and her eyes matched the sky outside. She sunk back into the couch to resume the film.

Hannah throws me a towel to dry myself before I hop into my usual spot in the beanbag chair near her bed. I do a quick job drying myself, then rest the towel on the beanbag, so I could crash into heavenly bliss. I open my bag to take out my laptop. Seeing the case of Succubus Blood there, I tear open the box to free 2 cans. What better way to sweeten an apology than with a can of beer.

“I am sorry.”

“Nah, you don't need to apologize. I'm sorry. I did get pretty mad earlier.”

The rainfall brings miracles, it seems. Hannah takes off her damp shirt, flinging it across the room to her door. She rummages through a clothes stack next to her computer. From it, she pulls out a blue shirt that she throws on before slumping in a chair in front of her computer. Her eyes fixate on the multiple art works on her walls. Different creatures from both movies I've shown her and adventures we went on.

“I feel bad. Didn't know you didn't want Duncan watching that stuff.”

I let out a sharp whistle, a quick heads up letting her know I'm tossing a beer at her. She catches it smoothly and sets it on her lap as sits there for a bit before spinning around to face me.

“It's not that… Look, it's nice that you're bonding with my boyfriend, but I don't want him falling to your corruption. Need at least some freedom from all the horror and sleaze.”

“Doubt you're going to be free from the sleaze.”

Her lip curls a bit to reveal a small smile as she flings a dirty shirt at my face. I lob the shirt over my head, so it lands on her bed, before continuing.

“Although, it is enjoyable to have a movie buddy to watch the sleazy horror flicks with. Can't with Ben since he rather hunts monsters. And you're not an option anymore.”

Two more shirts connect with my face, prompting me to sink further in to the bean bag chair.

“Oh Now I'm not a sleaze option!”

The small smile from bloom in full as Hannah starts to reach for another shirt to throw at me. The miracles continue, it seems. I hold my hands up as a guard to prevent a further barrage of dirty laundry.

“I get it. I get it! I'll let you have my shirt to make it up to you.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. She stays still for a bit before she cracks open the beer. I follow suit, making sure none of the erupting foam lands on the beanbag. We both raise the cans up in a silent agreement before taking a big swig of it. Hannah stops short to recoil in disgust.

“Ugh! This taste likes piss!”

I took a much longer swig and let the beer slosh around my mouth to get a better feel of the flavor. The cool liquid carries a harsh chocolate flavor that almost made my teeth ace. As I swallowed, the taste mellowed out with a berry after-taste.

“It's not that bad, but it's too heavy on the chocolate for my taste.”

Hannah scoffs at my review. She lean back into the clothes pile to fetch her drawing tablet and starts working on the rat sketch. Following her lead, I take out my laptop to finish the current issue. I see Ben already sent me the new pages, so I begin to format the layout of the issue. The field report should go before my lost movie article, then the review of Skull Servant would be the ending of the zine. After that was done, it was back to writing the rest of the article. We work in silence, with only the sounds of us sipping away at beer chiming in once every few seconds. Suddenly, two soft hums disrupt the productive atmosphere. Hannah then starts to speak.

“If you're looking for a new movie buddy, instead of Duncan, try out Kat.”

I thought we were done with the topic. That could--

“Or maybe Mia”

Hannah adds another suggestion, breaking up my train of thought. Kat would be an obvious no-brainer, but I don't have enough elevated horror movies to watch with her. While I did enjoy watching the double feature with Mia, it would probably butt in with her maintaining her blog. Still, it seems suspicious for Hannah to bring them up now.

“I volunteer to be your new movie buddy”

Hannah and I turn to find the source of the new voice. It was Sam who was sitting next to the bean bag chair. She sits with a smile on her face as she waits for my reply. How long has she been there? Hannah ignores her to resume working, but I take this chance to ask her a question.

“So Sam, you figured out what gift you want from Darius' shop for your birthday?”

Hannah looks at me, her expression one of bewilderment.

“April didn't even start yet!”

“Yes, but I'll place the order over the weekend, so Darius can have it ready by then. A man his age works on a selective schedule.”

“I want that!”

Sam interrupts our conversation, gesturing towards a ring next to the computer monitor. The silver ring has multiple black gems that form multiple upside-down triangles, making the shape of a circle. In the center of the circle is a star the connects to multiple lines that bisect the triangles. I'm taken aback by her choice.

“Really? You want gorilla strength like your sister?”

An empty beer can slug me upside my head. I turn to see Hannah flipping me off. The ring was a gift Ben gave Hannah in his many attempts to woo her. It's a magical item that enhances a person's strength. I was skeptically about it until Hannah punched a dude who tried to grope her unconscious with one blow. Seeing the dude asleep in a pool of his own vomit made Ben and I regular customers at Darius' shop.

“Yes!”

“HMM. I'll get something similar to that then!”

“You baby her too much!”

Hannah scoffs as an email notification pops up on my laptop showing a message from her. Clicking the it reveals an almost completed image of the monster rat. It is hunched over, with matted and dirty fur. Its eyes glow with a sinister, otherworldly light, and its teeth are razor-sharp and jagged. Its long, sharp claws are capable of shredding through flesh and bone with ease.

“Here's a rough mock up of the rat. Sign off on it, and I'll have it done for Saturday.”

“Lifesaver once again, thanks! And I'll take that as my cue to leave.”

I leap up to hug her, but she holds her hand out to stop me. After handing over 25 dollars, half of the usual payment, I begin to put my laptop away. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sam move something behind her back. Turning to look at her, She put her finger up as her eyes lock on to Hannah starting up a new sketch. I do a quick check in my bag. There's a can of Succubus Blood missing from the pack. I lean down next to Sam and whisper a small piece of advice.

“Lilith's Ambrosia is a way better beer than that. I always drink it to calm my nerves.”

Sam nods her head as she uses the blind spot I created to hide the beer in her uniform shirt. I wait until she's finished to say goodbye to Hannah. She looks back at me as slides the ring on her middle finger and forms a fist to make the light reflect off to hit my eyes. In an instant, a strong chill travels up my spine. The chill grips my shoulder as if it's someone desperate to get my attention. A soft voice tinge with panic brush past my ears, only saying one word.

Max!

My head shoots around to see what said my name. There's nothing but the empty hallway that's behind me. No signs of any movement at all.

“Are you okay, Max?”

Hannah and Sam both look at me with concern. Hannah stretches to see if there was anything behind me. She sees nothing, then brings her attention back to me. I notice her lean forward, as if waiting for the signal that it's something related to a monster. I wave my hand at both of, trying to wipe the concern off their faces.

“It's nothing, I just thought I heard someone say my name.”

“Oh, that was me. I was saying goodbye.”

Sam sheepish word relaxed Hannah as she resumes drawing. I wave goodbye to Sam and I head out the room. I wait until I'm back in the rain to process what Sam said. The sounds of the light drizzle helps when I replay the scene in my head.

“That wasn't Sam's voice, but it was familiar.”

After arriving home and eating dinner, I stare at my laptop as it rests on my bed. My palms become slick while my eyes focus on the laptop. I mean, is it so wrong to check out the movie beforehand? Do you want to show your friends a shitty film? The thoughts cloud my head as I try to find something to lure my attention away from the device. Movie posters and scatter Blu rays, my room is full of things that made the thoughts become louder. Louder and Louder until there was only one thing I could do.

“Oh, what the hell!”

I dive onto my bed to get the laptop on asap. The torrent download is going to take 20 minutes. Enough time for me to take a quick shower, then fall asleep to the magnificent art of Adien Perry.

The movie starts with the Main Character, Father Leo, an exiled priest working at a bar in Central America. He is approached by a woman asking him to return to the states to save a small town from being scarfed to the devil. This plot is a lot more fast-paced than I am used to for an Aiden Perry film. The 2 characters reach the town to see a naked woman pinned to a giant wooden X, when a small, light touch ripples across my back. I pause the movie and turn around.

Hmm, nothing there. Odd.

I look back at the laptop screen. The touching intensives growing stronger and stronger up my back. It comes to my chest with a firm grip, not letting go. I lift my pillow to see my evil repellent still there. Its feathers are still white, signaling that nothing supernatural attacking the bed right now.

“What is going on?”

“After all, it's rare to watch a horror movie with Max that he's never seen before!”Mia's words play in my head.

“Oh, Maybe it's guilt I'm feeling.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I'm still on edge as to what happened at Hannah's today. The laptop screen dims as it falls asleep, waiting for my touch to wake up. I take this as a sign to stop watching the film and do the same. Quickly sending the magnet link to the gang, I let sleep take me as the firm grip on my chest weaken which each second my eyes are shut until it let go, finally allowing me to drift away to sleep. Still I wonder, guilt doesn't work like this. Something strange is going on.

Saturday:

I walk into my bedroom, carrying a couple of ice-cold beers from the fridge and some snacks. Finally, it's time to watch the movie, and I'm ecstatic. It was a real challenge to resist the urge to watch it before today!

I open my laptop to start a video call with Duncan, who I see is the only one online right now. My laptop rang for a couple of seconds before Duncan picks up. His messy room comes into view. Empty cans of energy drinks cover the floor under his bed, as a dirty mountain of clothes rest behind him. The only clean thing in sight is the posters showing his main in Myth Vertex. A man truly dedicated to his craft.

“Hey Max!” Duncan flashes a bright smile while he holds up a half empty beer bottle. A subtle message I understand well. Cracking open a fresh can of Succubus Blood, I down the whole can to signal I got his message.

“Phew, thank god! I thought I would be the only one pregaming.” He downs the rest of his beer and cracks open a new one. I enjoy drinking with Duncan. It's a great chance to unwind, especially when I get to watch horror movies. I’m always business with Ben, and I don’t tend to get drunk with Hannah. Cracking open a fresh can, I chug it to keep up with him.

“Your dad okay with you taking from his stash?”

A loud roar erupted from Duncan as he laughs at my question.

“This is my own beer that I bought! As long as it doesn't interfere with scrims with the team, my old man is fine with me buying and drinking my own stuff. In fact, he's out with my little brother right now getting some food, so I have no interference and can drink and watch the movie in peace!”

We both down an extra beer and continue our conversation

“You think you can make it on the main team before graduation?”

“Of course I can! I know I can fill in on the team as main DPS but” He cracks open another beer. This time with no joy with it as it felt like he was washing something down. As the whistle of an empty bottle rang, as Duncan looks way from the camera.

“If only they just give me a shot.”

Duncan just stares off camera, tapping the empty beer bottle. The slow melancholic taping echoing as he raises the bottle up to eye level. A long sigh follows the chime of glass knocking against each other as Duncan replaces the empty bottle with a new one. Duncan turns back to the camera and shoots a dim smile.

“Enough about that, How's Dreadstiary coming along.”

Oh, no.

“Rough. There was a big bump in downloads a couple of months back and the numbers a dipping back to pre boost numbers.”

I down a fresh beer to keep myself from just dumping my frustrations. This atmosphere isn't one I expected to happen today. Need something besides beer to lighten then mood. The almost as if on cue a bleep sound cut through the heavy wave of emotions to show that Mia enters the call.

“Hey Max! Duncan.”

It is surprising to see Mia, not because she cut Duncan expressing himself. On the other hand, it's because the always fashionable Mia was in an old rundown tracksuit.

“Hey Mia. What's going on?”

“I finished editing a blog post about me picking up new books.”

She stretches a bit off camera and pulled out 2 books, both are volumes of a series called A Lament of Naves and Bosoms. Duncan shakes his head in surprise before exclaiming.

“You went out in the hand-me-downs? Has the world froze over?”

“No!” Mia returns the books off camera before continuing her explanation. “I just like to wear this tracksuit when I watch something scary.”

Mia tugs on the jacket sleeves a bit as she talks, but that was an odd statement from her.

“But you didn’t wear that when we watched horror movies together.”

A smile washes over Duncan’s face as he holds his tongue. He knocks back another beer while waiting for Mia’s response.

“Um well… That’s…”

Her eyes dart away from the camera as she thinks of a response. This was a fairly weird change from the normally bold Mia. Wait, when I give it a little more thought, there was a time when she was like this.

“That doesn’t matter!”

Mia’s words broke my chain of thought. She tugs at the zipper of her tracksuit jacket playfully as she changes the subject to something new.

“I’m wearing a cute camisole under this if you want to see.”

The playful words ring through my fuzzy head. Sure, Mia was attractive, but I feel like I drank one too many beers to make a clear judgment. I move my eyes toward Duncan for a sign of what to do. He nods his head slightly and points the top of is beer bottle towards me. The ball was in my court. I try to jumble a clear answer to give Mia.

“Sure, why not.”

I don’t know if my words were a genuine answer or the beer did the talking, but Mia seemingly accepts it. She unzips her tracksuit jacket, unleashing her black lace camisole as her breast jump out of the newly gained freedom. You forget how big Mia’s breast are, but in this state they were mesmerizing. Before I knew it, I finished my beer and was cracking open a new one. Duncan acts like he isn’t paying attention, but I could tell he is as we both swig from our beer. It’s almost as we were keeping a gentlemen agreement to not overreact to the sight before us.

Mia proud composure breaks as it seems, which is another out of character moment for her. Mia looks straight into the camera and begins to ask me something.

“Hey Max… Would you… ”

Duncan leans in to the camera as if he knows what she is going to ask me, but she is interrupted by Kat and Hannah joining the call.

“Hey!” They both greet us as Duncan flies back in shock. He makes frantic movements to save his beer from spilling on his laptop.

“Hey babe! Kat.”

“Don’t tell me you almost spilled beer on your laptop?”

“Babe, you know this is a piece of junk anyway! Can’t run without being plugged into the charger.”

Duncan recomposes himself and Mia follows suit. I just chug the can of beer I have opened. The chilling fluid cleans the awkwardness I was feeling just a moment ago. You know, after 5 of these Succubus' Blood isn’t really that bad!

“Max, calm down. Don’t you need a clear head to write a review of this?”

Kat’s words stop me from opening a sixth can of beer. Well, it almost did. I try to muffle the sound of it opening so the laptop mic doesn’t pick it up.

Hannah stares at me, her eyes darting from me and I assume Duncan. I can tell she’s growing suspicious of what we were doing before the call. I quickly pull up the movie on my laptop.

“Kat it’s okay. All the salty snacks is going to clear…”

“My god! Who would pin a Woman up like this?”

Panic scatters through my back. I forgot to set the movie back to the beginning! I move fast to bring it to the beginning, but I can Hannah recognizing my fluster state.

“I KNEW IT! You couldn’t wait until today to watch it!”

“Um…well… I didn’t get that far into it. I’m still in the first act!”

Hannah bellows as disappointment shows itself on Kat’s and Mia’s face. Man, I really should have done this before today. But I guess it escaped my mind.

“Well,” I try to ignore the situation and get everyone ready to watch the movie. “On the count of 3?”

Everyone moves to make sure we are all sync up when we hit play.

“One, Two… Three!”

“That was… surprisingly good!”

Kat spoke first as the credits rolls.

“I agree. It had just the right amount of nudity in it.”

“Shut up Duncan.”

Hannah tells Duncan off as it looks like she is doing something else off-screen.

“Max, that was fun. Thanks for the invite.”

The words leave Mia with none the luster in her voice as usual. I wonder if she’s okay. I make a mental note to ask her after the call, as the bags of salty popcorn have cleared the fog in my head.

“That was fun, but it’s time to sleep. Bye Guys!”

Kat leaves the call first, then Duncan, Mia and finally Hannah. I close my laptop and make my way to my computer chair to type out the review. My phone buzzes multiple time as I dock it in the workstation dongle I have next to my keyboard. Turning the monitor on as the notifications pop on the screen as I move to open the Dreadstiary issue. Four Sunii messages from Mia and two from Hannah. I open the one from Hannah first since it was the least amount.

Hannah sent a mock-up sketch of the evil priestess of the film looming over an altar. Three goat skulls surrounded her as the blood of the alter flowed down forming into the Father Leo and Maria stand below looking shocked at a discovery.

Hannah:

Extra gift on the house.

Wow! That’s how you know She likes the movie, if she made a mock-up poster without me even asking. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I accept her offer and start to type out my review.

Mia let go of an immense breath she has been holding in.

He’ll definitely answer, right?

She perks herself up as she begins to undress to head into the shower. Looking in the mirror, she stares in disgust at the sight before her. Mia lifts her massive breast as her disgust depends. Lifting them up with her left arm, she makes a seductive pose that is illuminated by the blue light of her computer monitor.

“Perhaps I should have sent something racy instead?”

She starts to laugh so hard that she snorts loudly as she dismisses the idea. Mia enters a boxing stance. Two quick jabs fly from as she stares at herself in the mirror. More jabs fly as she pretends to fight a decrepit skeleton. A memory of an old adventure she went on with Max. She ends off with an uppercut as she lifts her hand up as if she delivered a knockout blow to her opponent. She makes her way into the shower, turning it on. The steam and heat envelop her, washing away her doubts as she embraces the warmth.

He’ll absolutely respond! It wouldn’t take that long for him to write a review.

Words of encouragements fills her thoughts as she cleans herself. Sometime passes until a loud buzz fills the empty space as Mia turns off the shower.

A response!

She opens her shower curtain ready to run to her phone, but in her way was a large figure. Its jagged silhouette loomed over her. It stands there, not making a sound or any move. Suddenly the cracking sound echos as its arm twitch. Adrenaline fills her body, drowning out the crippling fear that froze her. Mia jumps out the shower and dives through the creature’s leg. Her damp skin helps her gain a large distance away from it. She readies herself as she pushes against the wall. The speed propels her forward towards her PC. Mia grabs her phone while making her way towards the door of her room. She tries to unlock her phone when a heavy force pins her to the floor, inches away from her door. A pool of warmth covers her as she stares at her phone, prop up against the door.

Max

Wow, you look great!

Sure. I’ll be down for a double feature at the Nabromeki!

Just make sure this time you bring your tracksuit.

A smile slowly creeps on to Mia’s face. The words, Wow, you look great!, become blurry. It starts to fade away as she tries to move her hand to tell Max she’s in danger. Her hand stops halfway towards the phone. Pain spreads like wildfire as she feels her body freezing slowly. With no strength left, the darkness takes over her eyes. The only sounds in the room are her pc running and the rough creaking of the monster's arm. Completely in the dark, she lets go a small whimper.

“Help.”

Monday:

I take out my phone during homeroom and login to Dreadstiary to check on the downloads for the latest issue. Thankfully, the numbers have been steadily rising ever since yesterday, and it hasn’t slowed down yet! A sigh of relief escapes as I pat myself on the back for a job well done. I take a screenshot of the numbers to send to Ben when suddenly, a balding man shambles his way into the classroom. He wipes his head clean of sweat as he straightens his back, giving a more commanding presence than he had moments before. He pulls on his suit jacket before taking a large breath.

“Listen up. Listen up.”

His voice booms throughout the classroom, bringing the other student's attention to him. I set my phone on my lap when all asudden it starts vibrating like crazy. Lifting it a bit, I see multiple Sunii notifications showing on the screen. I silence my phone, deciding to wait until the teacher finish up here before checking what's going on.

“I regret to inform you all that over the weekend a student of ours passed away. Her name was Mia Viloa.”

The air sucks right out of me when he says her name. The thumping of my heart drowns out the reaction of my classmates. It couldn't be true. There's no way it could be. I look down at my phone while wondering if that what the Sunii messages were about. My heart beat grew thunderous as I couldn't hear what that man was saying. He is raising and lowering his hands as if he's trying to fan flames away. I shook my head to focus on what the man was going to say next.

“And before any of you ask. No, this isn't an April Fools' Day prank. We'll meet in the auditorium in 2 hours for a moment of silence, so you all can pay respects. That is all.”

The man shambles his way out the classroom just like he entered. Before the man even reaches the door, I rip my phone off my lap to check the messages. As I suspect, it's all from the guys discussing the news.

Hannah:

The fuck is this about Mia being dead?

Duncan:

Don't know, but it has to be an April fools' prank, right?

Kat:

Ms Lang specifically mentioned it wasn't.

Besides, I just finished checking out her blog, look.

A picture of a webpage that had a picture of a twilight horizon edited to give off a deep shade of purple as a header. There are multiples stars that sprinkle down the sides of the webpage that guides your eyes to a photo of Mia in the center. She was wearing a blouse decorated in foxgloves, and her face wore a serious expression like a statue. Next to her are 2 volumes of Lament of Navies and Bosoms that rested cover side up on the bookshelf. Under the photo was a post date of March 30th.

Last post was Saturday.

Duncan:

Still, it has to be some kind of prank, there's no way like some crazed stalker got her got yesterday or something. Got to be a joke!

This goes on for sometime as I catch up on the rest of the messages, but I didn't bother replying. Something isn't adding up, like Mia wouldn't pull a prank like this. Could Mia be a victim of some craze stalker? Don't think a person like that would be around in South Anthame. Then it obviously has to be monster related, right? Only plausible answer, but I need details on how Mia's body was found. If she was killed yesterday, it might be rude to prod around for information like that. I exit the chat and see the message I sent Mia. Clicking on it brings up an image of Mia followed by her message:

Mia:

Um Hey!

I was wondering if you would want to go to the Nabromeki theater on Wednesday!

There's a double feature on rare Indonesian Horror films for $7, so it would be great for the next issue of Dreadstiary.

If you don't want to go, that's fine! Look, I took a great pic from earlier!

The picture is atop down selfie of her with the tracksuit jacket open and camisole fully visible. The blue light of the computer monitor turns the soft smile she wore into something much more somber. I hear a creak as I found myself gripping my phone too tight. If a monster did kill Mia, I would do everything I can to catch it. I slide my phone into my pocket and begin the long 2-hour wait until I can get some clues.

The sound of sobbing fills the auditorium as the ceremony comes to a close. Kat's muffled cries echo deeply as she cries on Hannah's chest. The sound of shoes on the floor cuts through the somber symphony as students begin to leave and head back to class. Duncan taps my shoulder and makes a subtle motion with his head to the front of the auditorium. We wade through the mass of students until we reach the front of the auditorium. There was a woman wearing all black staring up at the ceiling. The woman was a spitting image of Mia, but with much shorter hair. She rotates a ring on her finger as she mutters something I couldn't make out due to all the noise. As we got closer, her hollow green eyes move to us. She puts on a quick, forced smile and approaches Duncan.

“Hey Mrs. Viloa.”

“Oh, hello Duncan.”

She quickly wraps her arms around Duncan's waist in a hug. She then turns to me, instead of embracing me, she takes hold of my hands and looks at me with a genuine smile.

“Max, I'm so sorry. I'm sure Mia would have love to go on your date Wednesday.”

I pull my hands free and give her a hug. From the corner of my eye, I see Duncan mouth the words date as he nods his head in approval. I take advantage of the moment to gather the courage to inquire about Mia's body. I release her, placing my hands softly on her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, I look directly into her eyes and ask.

“I don't mean to be rude, but how did you find Mia's body?”

She pushes my hands away and steps back from me. I notice her right-hand move and prepare myself for a hit. It's understandable, the pain of loss is still fresh. So, I shut my eyes and wait for the slap.

“Why would…”

Time goes by, and no strike comes. I foolishly open my eyes, only to see Mrs. Viloa paused in the middle of her slap. Her hand gradually returns to her side. She mutters to herself, processing her thoughts before saying something I could comprehend.

“Mia did mention you were a monster hunter before.”

She quickly steps closer to me. She looks up and gazes into my eyes. I can see a small sparkle starting to grow in her eyes.

"Do you think a monster killed my daughter?"

I attempt to step back to create some distance from her actions, but Duncan grabs my shoulder, preventing me from moving. He looks at me with a look similar to Mia's mom's, filled with growing hope.

"Do you?"

“Well, it's just a hunch. You know an unexplainable event happens, tends to be monster related. Just speaking from experience.”

Duncan gives her a thumbs up. Mia's mom nods, takes a couple of steps back, composes herself before telling us the information.

“Mia was found in her room laid face down --”

She pauses to catch herself. After wiping the accumulating her tears away, she continues on.

“In a pool of dried blood, completely unclothed. There was a large stab wound in the middle of her back. The police said there were no signs of forced entry at her windows. No extra footprints. No signs of …”

Duncan and I both hug her as tears stream down her face. We stood there in an embrace until we hear her sobs stop.

"Does that help?"

"Yes. Yes it does."

Duncan and I both give her one final hug together before returning to Hannah and Kat. The auditorium is now almost empty, compared to earlier, with only a few groups lingering and not wanting to rush back to class. Taking advantage of the extra space, we decide not to rush back to the girls and instead take a leisurely stroll, giving us more time to process the new information. After a while, Duncan nudges me. A sly grin appears on his face.

“So, a date huh?”

Right, I should have expected him to bring that up.

“Just a double feature at the Nabromeki for rare horror films for $7. It was her idea.”

"OOO. Economic!"

He keeps nudging me, which begins to lift the mood a bit, but it doesn't last long when we come across a group of 5 guys.

"Can't believe we lost a god tier rack today."

The guy who speaks is standing a bit ahead of the group of guys. He has slicked back black hair, and he collapses dramatically into a chair next to him. He puts his hand on his forehead, as if he's experiencing a sudden bout of fatigue. The group of guys laughs at his actions. Another guy with deep auburn hair styled in a man bun walks up to him and playfully smacks him on the head.

“Life is life, get over it already”

“How can I get over it? Her chest was the only thing that got me through this shit rag of a school!”

The group of guys laughs while pulling the slicked-back haired guy off of the chair. Their actions made my blood boil. Before I could say anything, I notice that Duncan had already stepped in. One of the guys, this one with blonde quiff hair and a face full of freckles, notices Duncan. He jumps in surprise, which makes the entire group aware of Duncan's presence. I move closer to see Duncan giving them an intense glare and muttering something in a low grow.

“Have some respect for the dead.”

Seems like Hannah is rubbing off on him. I tap him on the shoulder, breaking his glare,and gesture towards the girls. I make my way towards them, with Duncan quickly beating me to them. I can see a look of interest on Hannah's face. She must have seen the whole thing, but without missing a beat, Duncan flashes a charming smile, attempting to diffuse any question she was about to ask.

“Well, I could go for a milkshake! Coming Hannah?”

It's my turn to look at him in confusion, since the school isn't over yet.

“Going to the Saloon now?”

Duncan puts his arm around me, while still flashing his smile.

“Beats staying here and moping around! And Behenii's not the saloon. I also want to get a burger and some fries.”

Ah, I get it. He needs to go cool off. Makes sense to ditch for the rest of the day. The mood is kinda weird now, but I could just watch movies during class as a pick me up. Kat tugs on Hannah's skirt as she gets up to leave with Duncan.

“Hey if you see a teacher ask if it's okay to leave early and tell me. I agree with Duncan. I rather sulk at home than in here.”

“No prob.”

Hannah gives Kat a goodbye hug before walking towards the exit.

“We're stopping by the saloon first, so I can get a shake there.”

“Elite!”

And they were off, leaving me alone with Kat. Kat sits up right as she fixes herself. She uses the sleeves of the oversize jacket she wore to dry her eyes before she flashes me a frail smile. Ok, Ok, she looks like she could use some comforting. I wipe my hands on the sides of my pants as they started to become sweaty. All I have to do is embrace her and show her I'm here for her. Okay, let's --

“Um hey Max?”

Kat and I turn our heads to see the freckle faced boy from earlier.

“If I'm interrupting something, I can come back later.”

Before I could say something, Kat's phone buzzes. She looks at it and quickly starts gathering her things.

“No it's fine. I was just heading out. So you can chat with Max.”

After she gets her things, she moves close to my ear and in a soft whisper.

“Hannah says it's okay to leave, so I'm going home. Chat with the guy, you never know he could be a fan! It would be a great pick me up!”

She gives me a quick hug, then she heads to the exit. Well, this day just got worse. I try to hide my annoyance when I turn to face the freckle boy. He stands there with a shy smile as he eagerly held his hand out in front of me.

“Sorry about Nelson! He was being a real jagoff. I'm a big fan of Dreadstiary! Just wanted to say I love the newest issue.”

Wow, Kat was right. I shake his hand while feeling my face burn with embarrassment. I'm lost on what to do in a situation like this. Not really use to dealing with fans, especially since I use a pen name when writing articles…wait a minute.

“How did you know I make Dreadstiary, um?”

He lets go of my hand and dives it his pocket to take out his phone. He begins scrolling through some site that happens to look familiar.

“Oh, The name is Bart and, well, I found out from Mia's blog.”

Bart shows me a post that has a picture of me looking intensely at my movie collection. I didn't realize she took a photo of me then. Scrolling down a little bit brings up another picture, this time of me focused on watching the movie and Mia smiling behind me. There's a caption that goes along with the two photos.

Today was a fun day!

My friend Max invited me over to watch horrors films. I don't know much about horror films, but I gladly took his invitation as you see he runs a zine to where he writes reviews for horror films he watches. I don't get to help him out often with the crazier articles in the zine so I do what I can if he asks. You see he is one of the people who help me feel welcome in Anthame when I was very depressed. So,I would love it if you guys check out his Zine! To see the films we watched, wait for the newest issue of Dreadstiary!

The post ends with a link to the website for the zine. So that's where the boost in downloads came from. I just stand there looking at Bart's phone. No words would come to me at the moment. Some time pass and Bart turns his phone around to look at the screen. His eyes almost pop out of his head at what he sees.

“Shit, I'm going to be late for class.”

Bart shoves his phone in his pocket then runs off. He turns back to look at me to yell something.

“Sorry again! Hope you can find the other 6 movies! See you around.”

Now I'm all alone in the auditorium. The deafening silence doesn’t help with the wave of emotions I'm feeling now. My vision becomes blur, but a sharp pain travels up my leg that helps to clear my vision. I look at the exit where all my friends left and wonder if I should leave too. After a bit more time passes I limp my way up the stairs to head to class, trying my best to not cry along the way.

Bart sits down in the back of the classroom and takes out his laptop. As he starts to flip it open, he is stopped by his friend with auburn hair. He shakes Bart while pointing to the student in front of him.

“Bart! Look at this man. He's SICK!”

He points to Nelson, who is staring at his phone. Bart leans closer to see on the phone is a photo of Mia in a pirate wench outfit. Nelson zooms in on her chest that is being held up and accentuated by a corset. He hugs his phone and proceeds to fake cry, curling up on his desk. Bart moves his friend's hand off of him, getting annoyed with their comedy routine.

“Woods, you just gotta show him another hottie, and he'll get over it.”

He leans in and gives a smug smile to Woods.

“How about showing him a picture of your sis?”

Woods covers his mouth while giving an exaggerated gasp and sulks back into his chair, saying.

“Too far. Too Far.”

Bart laughs and opens his laptop. His laughter is cut short as he sees his laptop screen is on the login page. Didn't I have my laptop off? He wonders as he begins to type in his password. He stops himself before hitting enter when another thought pops int his head. If it was on, there's a chance I was watching porn last night. Bart holds down on the power button, deciding to be safe and have it just start up fresh. He looks up from his screen to see Ms. Lang scolding Nelson on his behavior. He chuckles to himself as he tries to turn on his laptop, but mysteriously it's already on and on the login screen again. Bart once again holds down the power and close the laptop.

Woods notice Bart closing his laptop. He leans back, double-checking to see if Ms. Lang notices him.

“You good?”

Bart brushes off his friend's concern.

“Yeah just my laptop is acting up.”

Woods begins to laugh.

“Looks like all the clown-wolf fetish porn finally gave you a virus.”

Before Bart could respond, a voice from the front of the class interrupts him.

“Gentlemen, enough talk about fetishes and focus on work, please.”

The class erupts in a roar of laughter at Ms Lang's remarks. Bart and Woods sink into their seats, faces flush with embarrassment. Bart flings open his laptop and his embarrassment switches to unease as the laptop is on and once again on the login screen. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He decides to muscle through and proceeds to type in his password, not wanting to get embarrassed twice in one class. Halfway into typing his password, his screen begins to glitch out. His heart sinks as he desperately tries to finish typing in his password.

His typing becomes frantic. So much so that he draws Woods' attention again. Bart gives up at the sight of his screen full of noise and tearing, that it was impossible to make out the home screen anymore. His heart beat howls in his ears as he decides to cut his loses and just ask Ms. Lang to borrow a computer. As he moves towards the power button, he is stopped midway by a sharp pain in his throat. Bart moves his eyes back towards the screen to see a brown object protruding from the now black screen. The object resembles a tree branch that is braided together with multiple other branches. Bart begins to feel blood pools in his mouth as he tries to make a sound to alert someone.

Woods stares at Bart in bewilderment as he is frantically coughing at his computer screen.

“Bart, you need some water?”

Bart's eyes lock onto Woods'. The fear and desperation in his eyes sent a chill down Woods' spine. Woods notices something that resembles blood coming from Bart's mouth. Woods moves to get the attention of Ms. Lang when Bart flies out of his seat. His body moves in a frenzied manner as he claws at his neck. The class stares at Bart suspended in the air, moving like a wild animal. Suddenly he stops, and his arms go limp as he just stays floating in the air.

“Bart?”

The words whimper out of Nelson's mouth as he just stares at his friend in the air. Bart jerks forward and violently crashes onto his laptop. The class jumps at the sound of the body's impact against the desk. No makes a sound nor move until Ms. Lang approaches Bart. As soon as her eyes lay on Bart's body, she let out a huge gasp.

I open the door to my class and peering into it for a while. The classroom is only half as full as it normally is. It seems like a lot of students have ditched. A few students are laughing at me as I stand at the door, exhausted and hollow. I wonder if I should even bother stepping inside when the teacher, Mr. Cheney, notices me after taking time to clean his glasses. His sits there in his green poncho while he leans on his desk to crack a welcoming smirk that makes his brown middle age face crease.

“You know, Maximilian, you can take the rest of the day off. It won't impact your grade.”

At this point, I just cave. I could pick myself up at home with an Aiden Perry marathon, then trying to finish the school day.

“Yeah, maybe I shou--”

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek echoes through the halls of the school. The sound jolts me out of my hollow state and into overdrive. I jog to the corner of the hall to lean around it and listen for any other signs of danger. Mr. Cheney appears in the door frame, looking just as concerned as I am.

“Maximilian, get inside quick!”

The fire alarm goes off, mixing with sounds of multiple sneakers squeaking against the glossy floor. I take off as fast as I could to get to the source of the problem before all the students leave. I could faintly make out Mr. Cheney yelling in all the uproar.

“Wait, get back here. Maximilian!”

Just as I'm about to turn a corner, a stampede of students floods the hallway, leaving little room to cross. I plow through them, trying my best to not let the torrent take me with them. I make it through, but I end up at a crossroads. Three pathways for me to go down, one directly in front of me and two on opposite sides of me, both left and right. There are no other students fleeing from the scene for me to follow.

“Fuck! I waited too long.”

I quickly scan my surroundings for any clues to find out where to go. My breath becomes ragged as I desperately try to find any sign, but there was nothing else that seems out of place that could lead me anywhere. The pounding of my heart battles with the blaring alarm as my desperation becomes palatable.

“Come on. Which way?”

Suddenly, a student standing behind a door catches my attention. She stands there staring out of the windowed glass, her expression hard to read as her platinum hair hides most of her face. The only reason I could tell she was staring at me is that piercing from her hair was two violet lights focusing on me. Was she there a few seconds ago? Forgoing the question, I go to the door and ask her:

“Which way did the students come from?”

She moves her slender finger towards the direction of the right hallway.

“Thanks!”

I take off running in that direction until I reach a dead end. A wall that stops the hall prematurely, but in the center is the activated fire alarm. I must be close. I turn my head to my left and there in the center of the hall there were two guys just staring into a classroom. As I approach them, I recognize the two as the same guys from earlier. The one with the slicked-back hair, Nelson, is now disheveled, muttering to himself.

“Not you too. Not you too. Not you too.”

The other one with a man bun is pale as a ghost. The only tinge of color coming from the red on his hair and red stains on his hands.

“Hey. What happen here?”

No response. I repeat it two more times before the man bun points his blood stained hands into the classroom. He then mumbles some that i only barely manage to make out.

“… Bart.”

Wait, the same Bart as before? I look inside the classroom to see a mess of decks and chairs everywhere. Must have been the students trying to escape. I look at the back to discover a pool of blood slowly expanding outwards to the other desks. I make my way to the left side of the classroom. Clinging to the wall, I make my way towards the back of the class. The stench of iron builds the closer I get to the epicenter of the blood pool.

The source of the blood was indeed Bart. His head cracked open as it sits in the laptop screen, which is crack and warp around it. An almost endless flow of blood streams out of a hole in his neck. I feel a wave of nausea wash over me as I notice the tear marks streak from his glassy eyes as they just stare in my direction.

“Come on, pick up.”

I walk outside of school, trying my best to get Ben on the phone. A sea of vans both police and ambulances surround the entryways trying to only let authorize people in. I squeeze through after telling the officers about Nelson and Man bun probably needing medical attention.

“Hey, this is Ben. Leave a message.”

Crap, voicemail again. This is odd. Ben would normally pick up now. Especially during this time, as it's school hours. Maybe he went to school today? As much as I would like to believe that there's no way he is. The temperature suddenly drops as a wave of cold air passes by me. I put my phone away and rub my arms to warm up. Perhaps he's home? Ben does live pretty far from South Anthame High, which is why he doesn't go here with us.

“I just got my energy back, too.”

No other choice but to make my way to Ben's house.

I stop to catch my breath outside of Ben's house. It's a Victorian style house painted in warm brown colors with intricate white trim all around. I walk up the extended front porch to ring the doorbell. His house was a lot more visually striking than my lifeless modern style house. The white door opens after a bit, revealing a middle age woman behind it. Her dark curly hair had streaks of sliver, and her skin was a rich, warm brown, bearing the marks of a life well-lived. Those sharp brown eyes of hers pierce into me as she tries to remember where she knows me from.

“Max? Is that you?”

Having full recovered from running here, I shoot an energetic smile. It has been some time since I have been over to Ben's house. He normally meets me in the fields, or he comes over to my house.

“Hello Mrs. Culver. I was wondering if Ben was home?”

Her demeanor changes to one of annoyance as she let out a frustrating sigh.

“That boy's father can do anything right.”

Crap, is Ben out with his dad? This is some horrible timing.

“I'm sorry you have to hear it like this. Ben died on Thursday.”

It was almost as if time came to a crashing halt when I hear the words. Impossible. Unthinkable. Ben was gone. All the recouped energy was gone, and it took everything I had just to keep standing. There's no way Ben could be dead. He had so many weapons around him that a monster couldn't have gotten him. Wait, has it been a monster? I'm still under the assumption that these recent deaths are all monster related. Well, it couldn't be a person, could it? That seems more unlikely to me. Shit, how much time has passed since she told me this. I have to say something.

“I'm sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

Wow, all I could muster was I'm sorry for your loss? It better to just the cliché, but I feel like I should say more. Then it dawns on me.

If I think Ben was killed by a monster.

My palms become slick with sweat at what I have to do. Crap, I have to ask about Ben's body. Better be careful with how I ask her. I've seen his mom when she gets angry at Ben, and it's pretty terrifying. The longer I wait, the worse it's going to be when I ask. I should just rip the band-aid off quick.

“What did Ben look like when they found him?”

Before I could explain myself, the anger that flairs up in Mrs. Culver's eyes freezes me in place. The expression on her face was a mix of fury and disbelief.

“Why on earth would you ask me some foolishness like that? TCH!”

Mrs. Culver slams the door in my face. I could have worded that better. My feet take me off the porch, slowly making their way to the end of Ben's lawn, where my legs finally give out. I sat there on my ass watching the cars pass one by one. Slowly they were becoming blurs in my eyes no matter how slow they're driving to see what was wrong with me. I curl up into a ball, digging my nails in my arms, desperately trying to hold back the tears.

“I can't. I can't break now.”

The words whimper out of me as I sat there. I'll let myself grieve when all this is over. I can't stop now, but I need some help to figure this all out.

“Oh Max, is everything ok?”

Kat stands in the doorway, donned in tight shorts and a striped sleeves shirt. She didn't bother to hide her surprise that I'm at her house right now. I was in such a daze that I forgot to tell her I was coming over beforehand.

“Can I come in? I need some help with something?”

“Sure.”

I step in, closing the door behind me, as Kat scurries off so fast that I almost didn't catch where she went. Entering her living room, a warm melodic sound comes blaring from the flat screen TV, luring my attention towards it.

When I’m driving home late at night
I start thinking
Of how it used to be

What looks to be a humanized dragon girl was singing on the screen. She had long flowing pink hair that cascades over her ruffle frill blouse of the same color. Massive dragon wings emerge from her back, matching the black bow that sits on the front of her blouse. Her gray Chain Tiered Skirt flirts as she dances to the hypnotizing melody.

When you were around
All the fun we used to have
Playing like children in the sand
But now, you’re far away

She takes her long black nail and cuts her lip. The imagery of the blood falling with the lyrics cause the flood of emotions I've been suppressing floods back with an astounding force. I could feel my eyes beginning to well up as a memory of me and Ben laughing at the Sigil Saloon materializes in my head. We went there that day to get milkshakes to celebrate the massive boost in downloads. A boost that was caused by…

And all I have
Is dreams of yesterday.

Suddenly, the TV goes dark, snapping me back to the present before I break. I bring my attention to the couch where Kat was standing there holding a plate that had a slice of white frosted cake on it. Another slice was already on the coffee table in front of her. She dons a flustered smile as she places the second plate on the table.

“Oh Sorry about that. I had the video on repeat.”

I make my way to the couch to sit beside her. That mystical video that played on the TV was still in my head, so I ask Kat about it.

“Who was that?”

“Aldora Libitina! I love her voice, it's so hypnotic.”

Kat hands me a fork, a signal to dig in, but I didn't want to get swept up in a welcoming fantasy. I have to put the pieces together fast before anyone else dies. Setting the fork down, I turn to look Kat in her eyes.

“Actually, I need your help with something monster related.”

Her amber eyes gleamlike stars at my request.She quickly bends over on the side of the couch and pulls out a really thin tablet with a stylus attached to its side. Stylus in hand, she eagerly waits for me to continue talking. I catch her up with Bart's and Ben's death. My bottom lip is sore after telling recounting the events of today. I couldn't bare to start crying in front of Kat. But I had to continue, including telling her what we learn from Mia's mom.

The stylus starts to tremble in her hand as she stiffens upon hearing the state Mia was found. Tears starts to appear in her eyes while writing. I try to move to give her a hug, but I am so emotionally drain that I just slump into the couch as I finish catching her up. A few moments pass as she wipes her tears away before giving her opinion on the information.

“Obviously, you think these deaths are connected?”

“Yeah, but I'm trying to figure out the connection.”

“Right, but Ben's death happened too early for it to seem like it to seem connected.”

She states the main problem with me lumping in Ben with Mia and Bart's death. I just have a feeling in my gut that he is a part of this. Also, it feels like I'm forgetting something important. 

“And you don't even know if he was killed in the same way.”

“Yeah, My fault on that. Was a little bit too blunt with my probing for information.”

I try to sit up on the couch, but it takes me longer than expected. Guess I didn't realize how tired my body has become. I feel a small warmth on my back to see Kat patting me on my back.

“Don't beat yourself over it. I would be a blubbering mess if I was in your shoes.”

Now I feel worse for not doing anything when she was crying earlier. She removes her hand, returning it to write some more notes.

“Then what is the connection between Bart and Mia?”

“He is friends with a Mia stan.”

I see her raise her eyebrow in intrigue. I did make sure to skip all the Nelson stuff in my recap. She writes for a while in silence. The scratching of the stylus is making anxious. I have faith Kat could figure out what I'm not putting together. She is the smartest out of all of us. Kat lets out a sigh as she rests the tablet on the table.

“Well, you know what helps the ideas flow?”

She grabs her fork wearing a huge smile on her face.

“Some cake! Dig in! I was working on it before you arrived.”

Kat made this? Now that I think about it, she does bring a lot o baked goods when we hang out. I thought she just bought those. With the new information, I make sure to eat a good piece of it. It was so soft and moist as the white frosting turns out to be white chocolate. The bite of cake light up my taste buds. I see Kat looking at me with a face full of pride, to my reaction. The living room fills with moans of satisfaction as we both devour the cake. I really need this, as with every bite I could feel my spirits left up from the pits of despair it was at previously.

"Am I interrupting something?"

The new voice made us jump. Standing in the entrance of the living room was an older lady. She is wearing jeans and a zipped up leather jacket. She resembles a much older Kat expect with long hair tied in a side plait. Her presence alone exuded such a powerful aura of intimidation that it made Kat stand rigid. Kat's voice was serious as she introduced me to this enigmatic individual.

"Ma. This is Max."

I sheepishly wave ate her before returning to finish the cake. It is delicious, after all. Kat's mom points to a pile of clothes that laid in front of the TV. With swiftness, she places down her slice of cake, grabs the clothes to head to the stairs behind her mother. She halts for a second, returning to the living room.

“I'll be just a second.”

Then she climbs the stairs until she's out of view. Kat's mom glares at me for a bit before saying something.

“That's an interesting shirt.”

The statement came out unenthusiastically as he keeps staring at me. The shirt I am wearing had a ghost pirate on it. The Wench of the Leviathan sea is scantly clad as her blouse and pants were ripped apart, revealing her green tinted skin. She was levitating over the sea as multiple skeletons reach up out of it, each skeleton desperately grabbing for life. Or maybe reaching for her.

“It's from a movie, Dead Grog”

I say this while sucking the frosting off the fork. Kat's mom just responds with a simple hmm and continues her leering. Looking down, I see my slice of cake is done. Now I need to find something to distract myself from the awkward atmosphere.

I bring my attention to Kat's tablet, making sure to not reach out and grab it. The best thing to do is not make any sudden movements that would start up a conversation with Kat's mom. The notes were visible from where I am sitting, so it doesn't matter anyway. The notes were very detailed, and she wrote little bits of commentary under each chuck. Maybe I should ask her to help out with Dreadstiary. I quickly dismiss the idea. I wouldn't want to willingly bring Kat into life-threatening danger. Resuming my reading of her notes, I see she puts Mia, Bart, and Ben's name in a group, each with a label. Mia's is friend, Ben's is friend, and Bart's is fan.

Huh, I guess she heard me wrong when I said his friend was the fan of Mia, not Bart… Wait when she meet Bart, correctly she did guess that he was a fan of Dread… That's it! That's a connection between all three of them. The zine! Right, because Bart did say he hopes I find the rest of the lost films. My excitement from finding the connection vanishes. Ben did get curse of the skull servant randomly from somebody. My eyes look on to the word laptop that Kat makes sure to draw multiple circles around. Since it was a magnet link, you would have to watch it on a computer. My heartbeat starts to pick up speed. No way could the film be the reason for all of this? But that would mean?

Kat enters her room, throwing her clothes on her bed to deal with later. She catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She didn't realize how much skin she was showing off.

“Maybe I should cover up.”

She digs around for clothes just to throw on. After sometime, she just gives up. Max isn't acting weird, and her mother didn't say anything about how she was dressed. So she figures it's a non issue.

“Besides, I can finally help out on a new monster case after so long.”

She tries to calm down her excitement. This has been something she was waiting for as she was growing tired of the mundanity of her life. Studying in and out, her only break of enjoyment is baking when she has time too. Kat hated this with a passion. Max doesn't invite her many monster adventures, which ticks her off. She remembers the jealousy she would feel when Hannah or Mia would recount the monster they end up running into. Kat softly jumps two times and goes on her way to return to her mother and Max. Suddenly, she sees a blue light in the reflection of the mirror. She turns around to see her PC was on.

“Did I have on my computer on this whole time?”

Kat dashes to turn it off as if she left it on, her mother might cause a scene which would be embarrassing. After hearing the tower power off, she tries to leave her room again. Before one foot gets out of her room, she hears her PC fans start up. She stares at the pc, confuse that it turns on right after she powered it down. She makes her way back to it, but stops half way when a thought comes to mind.

“Max said there were no signs of forced entry at the windows. And no extra footprints visible. Well, the only other thing in Mia's room would be her PC. Which would mean.”

Kat looks at her PC to see the monitor has become a mess of noise. She inches closer, attempting to turn it off. Something starts to protrude out of the noise. It looks like the fingertips slowly coming out faster than Kat can reach her PC. Kat heart starts racing as she zigzags her way out of her room, fearing that if she ran in a straight line, she would be dead.

“MAX, I figured it out!”

I hop off the couch when a wave of dread comes over me. That did not sound like a triumphant yell from Kat. Her mom walks to the stairs to see why Kat was yelling. Kat bleats it down the stairs at an incredible speed. Her honey skin has become paler than before. Kat's mom stands in front of her trying to get her to slow down. Kat tries to push off her mom as a speed boost, attempting to dash straight at me. Her mother holds Kat in place, not letting her go. That's when I notice it. A large shadow crashes into the wall by the stairs.

“What the hell is that?”

The huge dent the creature makes shocks Kat's mom that she lets go of Kat. I stretch my hand out to grab Kat and pull her to me. She has become almost translucent as he also reaches for me. Our fingers almost touch when my sight is blinded my the color red. I wipe my hand across my to see what sprayed me was blood. Looking up, I see the massive beast standing directly in front me. My heart practically stops at the sheer size of it. It looms over me with skin the resembles branded branches that splinter out into roots at its shoulders. The color of the skin was a sickly gray, which causes its black and purple eyes to pop. The haunting glare that radiates from its sunken eyes freezes me in place. It's head creaks as it turns to the side, almost as if it recognizes me.

“KAT!”

The wail coming from Kat's mom snaps me back to reality. She is holding Kat's bleeding body in hand. I lift my hand slowly, pointing at the creature ascending the stairs to go back to where I assume is Kat's room.

“You didn't see that?”

“SEE WHAT MAX? MY DAUGHTER SPONTANEOUSLY START BLEEDING CAUSE YES I DID SEE THAT!”

She didn't see that massive beast? Shit, this is worse that I could imagine. Kat's last word basically confirm my hunch. I stare at her blood in my hands. In it, I could see Mia and Ben's smiling faces staring at me. I let my vision wander to Kat. It was a horrible decision as her lifeless body just stares up at the ceiling. No signs of that sparkle and joy I saw earlier, just her face frozen in a state of terror.

I take off from the house. I'm sprinting at full speed away as I could hear Kat's mom scream my name at the top of her lungs. My face is hot as the tears I fought all day to hold come out. My breath comes in short gasps as I ran, not caring that my vision is blurred. Not caring that I could get hit by a car. Not caring where I end up. I am full on sobbing as I finally figure out what cause all this to happen.

Me.