《The madness next door》


 The first crack

    My next-door neighbor was an eldritch otherworldly nightmare who made a good meatloaf. I think they are some old gods or nightmare monsters. But my family was ok and no one around us went mad so I guess it was fine. Well, except me of course.


    Sighing looking over at the strange clean white house I thought from my room watching the eldest daughter through my window. Normally this would be the case for me being a pervert but after seeing her unfold her hair turned into multiple jaws and teeth that snapped biting into the food on her plate that seemed to twist into some strange beast. Still, I did at least feel bad about it.


    Homework consumed her, her warily needle-thin fingers writing an essay about some novel in the class. I should do that too but the nightmare creatures took my time. That and my manuals .¡± toys¡± and other projects. ¡°Toys¡± were mostly things I found on manuals online and other cool things. I glanced into my binoculars hung over my window staring forward into the monster that would be her younger brother.


    Unlike his sister who held a normal humanoid form, her brother was bigger. With a horse mantle and what looked to be a dog head for a face, he hunched over in a vaguely humanoid shape and mutilated hands. I could only see three hands but I knew from previous viewing he had at least thirteen hands. He was reading his favorite form of media, a comic, mainly a joke book. After making my notes of that day I went to get my second cup of coffee.


    Ever since noticing my neighbors my dreams were a mess of nightmares, dark thoughts, and macabre images. So to the disapproval of my parents and my teacher''s dismay, I reduced my sleeping schedule. At this point, I only sleep about four hours at most. Tonight was busy as the family was having a meeting about something.


    I may have been spying on them but I could not tell their language. It had traces of Latin, a bit of Greek, and fragments of a dozen other languages. I learned this annoying fact after feeding it into a translator app online. Brewing my coffee while I watched through the camera on my phone, ¡®tsking¡¯ in annoyance. The camera was harder to view and worse the camera died far too fast. Still, I had to know what they were doing. Sipping my coffee I realized my homework lay undone, and I needed to get that done. School was getting harder, and I needed to do this at least.


    Turning away from my surveillance I got to it. First English and science leaving math for last. But as I worked something came from the shadows of my room. A deep brine scent spiraled out from the shadows. It was a setting like looking at the corpse of a loved one. It would always appear once I looked away from the family. But I knew it well, it was my face.


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    A deep gurgling voice came from it as I struggled with physics. It muttered an incomparable mess of noises as my focus frilled like rope, my eyes locked on the paper in front of me. The dumb question solving for some motion of a moving car huh I mused in my mind as it spoke an unearthly undertone.


    I sighed, readying myself for the assault on my mind. The first time it happened was brutal and borrowed deep into my mind. The mental wounds had me screaming for hours, then cackling like an evil hag. I was like a manic mess for at least three hours. It took painkillers, energy drinks and nasal spray to staple my mind back together. However, it was strangely friendly like the hard enemy you defeat in a video game. Usually, it took a minute to warm up and make sense.


    "Why?" It bemoaned, like a call beyond the grave.


    This annoyed me. At first, it screams, muttering dark words and unholy truths. Then it raged screaming in agony and hate. But at least back then it scared the shit out of me but I despite the questions.


    "Why what? You got chatty out of nowhere." I spat annoyedly tilting my head back to stare in the face of madness.


    "Why are you watching? Your eyes shatter and your mind sits on a single thread." It spoke in its twisted mockery of my voice.


    "Dumb question, I shouldn¡¯t even bother to answer but someone has to. They should be recorded and stored. After all, at any moment, the earth could be wiped out so maybe what comes next could get a guide to these things." I replied absentmindedly. ¡°But I could just be crazy and this could be an excellent film for every poor therapist who will have to deal with me.¡±


    With those words that slipped out my mouth, ¡®my face¡¯ for the first time stopped, the tone spoke whisper less than the sledgehammer that it usually was.


    ¡°Leave this¡± It spoke with a quiet moment. ¡°Are you sure it is real ?¡±


    That stumped me. What the hell is this?


    My mouth quivered as I struggled momentarily, desperately vacuuming breath trying to keep calm. With a crushing snap, I destroyed my pen and ink spilled over my desk and work. I could not ignore it any longer.


    "I can''t. No, I wouldn''t, it is real and I can see it. I can smell it. If it were fake if it were a lie, then all this I have done would be pointless." I growled.


    I shoved myself off the table pissed off by this nightmare. The nightmares I had, the moments huddling a ball with crushing terror, the cuts the wounds the damage I had to do to keep sane, it would be worthless, or worst just some twisted dream.No I can see it know it is real, and now I would prove it, no matter the cost.


    I swallowed my coffee with a cruel efficiency, homework was for later. Once again I observed the nightmares that were across the road.

 Vult

    I woke up as usual in panic, struggling to breathe, unfocused. The room was foreign, although I had lived in my room for at least seven years. Slipping out of the sweaty bed, I fell onto the ground as I looked at the area. Standing up, I began my workout before dawn. I had done this, as I had to be ready. The world could end at any moment, but I knew the thing that would end it. And I alone can stop that from happening.


    These thoughts plagued me as I ran. It was my workout sneaking out at three in the morning. I copied my workout from training stuff I copied through my printer. Taking a deep breath of the chilly morning air, I ran. It helped deal with the craziness I saw and the tiredness. Stopping at the park, I did my thirty-five squats in silence.


    It hurt like hell, but I struggled through with a bitter scowl. Without a moment, no rest I continued to work through the grueling workout for at least three miles. Finally, once I reached the end mark of a farm that sat out in the middle of nowhere, I kneeled, racing with the data I had collected.


    Their house seemed to bend physics, the forms they took were far too large to fit in the average home, and then there was the fact more police were around. Usually, they would just keep a look coming once a month, but now it was at least three times a week. Thankfully, it gave a way to time at least.


    The oldest daughter was a cheerleader who fit in too well. The second daughter was in my class and was at the top of the class, despite her never even being awake. Super intelligences ?


    No, the brother was a loner even more than me and sat at the bottom of the class. He somehow paid attention to his sister. Was it a case of not caring? Or the class being so beneath him it didn¡¯t matter.


    I rarely saw the mother but when I did it hurt. Like a hammer to the face, worse, she seemed to be a stay-at-home mother. Whenever I saw her, I got a nosebleed and dreamt of evil food trying to eat me. Not even the cameras could give me a clear picture just a strange unfocused silhouette.


    The father was much more observable. He left for work at exactly 8 heading back exactly 8. His eyes were always closed with that weird smile that looked closer to a snake than a human. His black suit and suitcase were imported from the fifties, along with a black car that always seemed to move at a brisk but not fast pace.


    I then headed back ready for the day ahead. I will need a helping hand, energy drinks coffee, and a clip for the oncoming day. My mind began the brutal calculus for the day. I knew I would have four at least until noon a quick nap at lunch and sugar for coming home. I would have to do my observation and documentation and maybe if I could muster the strength to do my homework.


    The school was torturous. Every time the teachers spoke was like a bullet to my drug-addled brain, and even worst I wasn¡¯t even able to understand what the fuck was going on. Plodding along like a mindless drone I simply kept going. The math teacher chewed me out and annoyed the English teacher. I nearly lost my arm too and fell asleep by the buzz saw but Mr. Jones the woodwork teacher knocked me away from it. Those were the ones I could remember.


    I sat outside the class nodding off as a thud echoed through the hall. That woke me up, and I sputtered around to see the new English teacher Mr Reco standing in front of me. It was weird, and I was fast becoming an expert on weirdness. He was a clean-shaven man with a plastic smile on his face. He was always neat, polite, and kind to the students, and he seemed to not cause problems, so everyone seemed to like him. But he would only follow the book, and struggle to bite down his actual emotion for a polite mask. None thought it was that weird, but I found it funny. I called him Hyde for the book and the original meaning. I liked to think I was smart like that.


    ¡°Mr Jones, you''re sleeping again. What happened? Mr Toolsmith never let students out unless they made a mistake?¡± He asked in a honey-drowned tone.


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    ¡°Yeah, I nearly lost my arm. Was watching the Smiths, and it took up my time.¡± I admitted with a yawn.


    Almost immediately I regretted it. That put my entire operation at risk and made me look like a creep. I looked at Mr Reco and that was even more worrying. He stared back at me with a thousand-yard stare, his mouth a cold scowl.


    ¡°What have you done ?¡± He said with murder in his voice.


    Gulping I reached into my bag for my monster energy. I would need the pick-me-up. Something weird was going to happen I could feel it. He grabbed my collar looking me dead in drained eyes. His calm demeanor shattered as fury poured into his mask shatter and under it I saw a glowie, his eyes alight with fear and fury. Then he tossed me back into my chair, slicking back his hair.


    ¡°You idiot you have a month of detention. How dare you try to piss on my leg! I will see you at four,¡± He screamed for everyone to hear. With a huff, he slipped a piece of paper into my shirt pocket.


    Then he went off to his class with that fake smile. I however, was unnerved at the peek behind the mask, and more so by what exactly would make him react like that. Without a word, taking a drink from my monster drink, I tried to think, only to blank out.


    I awoke to the bell ring and a scene from a comic book. Three bullies picked on one kid who seemed to be the outcast. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, the target was my neighbor, especially the son who was an introvert and seemed only to want to just show up for class. He also had a funny accent between French, Spanish, and Posh English. That and he was a monster that could end the world. It was a group of rabbits annoying a T. Rex and they were going to get us all killed.


    The idiots pushed him by the locker and I saw a horn appear on the loner''s head and a fur blot appear behind him. The fools had enclosed the loner. They didn¡¯t even notice, but I did. The first bully pushed him again against the locker and I shuddered. I saw the loner raise his hand, a bit of his hand slipping from his long jacket, sending a shiver down my spine. It was both reptilian and furry, with a puff of gray fur that seemed to shimmer in the light. His fingers had long black claws the size of rulers and looked sharp enough to cut through everyone in the school with ease.


    I knew the trio would die, but I needed to ensure the others at school weren''t slaughtered as collateral damage. It would murder whatever remained of my reputation but it was necessary.


    I leaped up from my chair and tossed another can of my energy drink at the first idiot landing square in his head. Then I yelled like a coke-out addict then leapt forward, body slamming the third. We hit the ground hard, my head bouncing off the ground. I didn¡¯t even have time to acknowledge that fact as I got kicked in the face by the third. Then the second followed, kicking me in the back, as the first instigator got up. Then they tag-teamed me using the classic stomp. Thus my ass got kicked for at least two minutes. At least I had learned the taste of boots. That is a sweet, disgusting favor, and how it feels to have a nosebleed. That would have stopped the average villain, but I found no mercy today. They just kept going.


    The boots were disgusting but I could take it if it met no one else would be hurt. No, I hate this bastard, as I tasted my blood in my mouth. One solid kick flipped me on my back and started up the loner. The humanish eyes sparked with a dark light. The bullies had their fill and the other teachers were streaming in to get a grip of what had happened. It should have ended there, but it didn¡¯t.


    This foreign energy entered my body like pure caffeine, launching me up. My ribs ached as I stood up, the pain dancing around my body. My pain turned into a pleasure. This was odd and unlike myself, but I couldn¡¯t help it. A sour laughter sprung from my body, and it grew despite the agony despite the shame.


    I wanted to hurt them; I was going to hurt them. As one bully turned to face me, I leaped forward with an unearthly strength. My face slammed into his dumb face with a solid crack. It was funny, so much so that I shared the joke with his friends. My left hand whipped out punching the other into the lockers. The first that instigating bastard had raised his hands. I stomped on his foot only to hit him with a flurry of  punches I never could before. One to the face, three to the gut, four to hand, and five went wild slamming into the locker. Every hit was beautiful I loved it.


    It was symphonic, and I was glad to be part of it at least. What gave me this opportunity was worthy of worship. It was truly divine. But it had to be enough. Prudence was also a virtue. So, as my last move, I broke the bastard''s hand. His screams were glorious and the trumpets for my glee. This high was not natural and deep in my mind, I knew it. I screamed inside the glee laughing as I did a whirl, taking a bow in front of the loner. Thus, for the first time, I saw him truly saw him.


    He was a beast, a large-bodied humanoid covered in a mix of fur, scales, and feathers. His hands were smooth white marble talons tipped with magnificent ivory claws. I could not look at his face in such glory my mind could not describe. His feet were also white marble, that seemed too good for the ground. I basked as the loner, his dark wings bent upwards like his tail.  For him, I would.. ¡°what I am thinking ¡°?


    My mind screamed as I wrestled back control. As the teachers came closer to me, I slipped, falling to the ground and vomiting. I could not handle it. It was too much I couldn¡¯t deal with. Damn it all, I failed. The only words I heard were a silent voice that seemed too gentle to be real.


    ¡°Victor ?¡±

 Agent of law

    Agent ¡°Reco¡° Stewart


    I walked over to my desk with my cup of cinnamon tea. Yawning, I glanced out the window lazily, watching the last students making the trek home. Sadly, it stung just a little while watching them leave, and they were all in danger. The monsters that watched the halls sat in my English class and that idiot. Damn, it was just another headache.


    Victor Moore had been a normal human, at least at first. The bastard had somehow seen the monsters and spiraled downward. His self-care faltered, his grades deteriorated, and his eyes grew manic. The gradual degradation of the boy was scary, once average into what I could only describe as a tired, wounded husk of what he was hellbent on suicide. Then the information he got from him explained everything. To stare at those things unprotected m damages the mind, the briefing I called a thinning. I didn¡¯t get the reference. With the protection, I could only glimpse at them the edges of my mind fraying every single time.


    My fingers touch the bangle at my wrist, rubbing the silver rock at the center. It was my lifeline against the monsters now sitting in my class. The fact was the strange thing carved into the stone acted like a hazmat suit to the inherent madness of those creatures. Sadly, the human brain was not fully able to handle the monster''s true form or comprehend what exactly it was. The boy should be dead, but he wasn¡¯t. But something worse had happened.


    Thinking back to the fight, the blows to the head should have given him a concussion. The last kick didn¡¯t just shatter what was left of his skull. I heard the telltale signs of bone snapping, I knew he was not walking out of that unharmed. Maybe a broken bone, at worse a cracked skull with a side of broken nose. But then he stood up and became an unearthly combatant, then the brutal blows were far stronger than someone his size should have been able to throw. Lastly, it was the laugh. Victor¡®s laughter was altered something else was spoken in his body. Finally, the fact was I could see the first mutation on his body. Shuddering, I sipped my tea, thinking about what to do.


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    Victor couldn¡¯t be moved, as the connection could infect those around him. That and it would tip off those things, then leading to another can of worms. Then the fact he gained power from those monsters means they are connected. There was a term for this, but I refused to acknowledge it. I hated this. This mission was bullshit, and I was on the verge of quitting. I could have been deeply covered with white supremacists, that would have been better at least they were human.


    Swallowing my tea, I wrote my report with disgust. I truly pity the bastard, Victor, he would never have a normal life again. What could have possessed him to look, to observe them? The foolhardy wish to be a hero, to save the world? He had stared into the abyss, and it had left a mark. Hopefully, he didn¡¯t spread to everyone else.


    I finally finished my report along with the recommendation. With a simple click, I damned that boy. It disgusted me, but there was no rest for the wicked. So I moved away from my desk and decided I needed fresh air. Prowling the school I stumbled onto the principal and Victor''s parents, discussing what had happened. That was rough, but I need the kid close. So I listened enjoying the show that Victor had created.


    ¡°He would never do that. Sure he had a rough spell but breaking someone''s arm? Beating someone unconscious. My son is sure a rash but not cruel.¡± the mother pleased.


    ¡°I saw Miss Moore your son attacking and breaking the boy¡¯s hand worst. However, he did at least stop the trio. Yes, they were a problem but the method must also be correct. His actions were brutal and led to major complaints from other parents.¡± The principal spoke in a death rattle. ¡° My opinion on the matter is simple. To solve a wrong, Victor committed a wrong. Possible a worst one.¡±


    Another voice came from the room a gruff quiet tone came from the man who sat across his wife. He was cold and slow like a man calculating triage or plotting something harsh.


    ¡°Those boys when they bullied that other one my neighbor? Why exactly didn¡¯t your teachers stop that? I know damn well you felt those boys were going too far and they didn¡¯t start today ?¡¯ he said in a cold, uncompromising tone.


    ¡°We were but -¡± the principal began.


    ¡°But what? As far as I see it my son stopped something bad by showing exactly what happens when you push something too far. Say what you will about the methods but that is true¡± Victor''s father retorted. ¡° Now I have little time and my wife and I are busy so let us solve this already. I say at least three days of suspension, and at least a month of detention. Is that acceptable ?¡±


    That stunned me and the principal. The punishment was small but the fact he was so cool about the fight. It was strange, and I found him refreshing. Still, I wouldn¡¯t bother with the damned conversation anymore I needed to finish my damn report.

 Sin

    Stewart "Reco"


    I swung back around to the principal long after both Victor''s parents left. I knew what I had to do, despite how evil it truly was. Moving with a solemn slow strut I made my way to the principal office. Knocked on the door, I entered with a slow breath. The principal had been moving to head to his home. I had to convince him to keep  Victor. The sudden change would cause too many problems and, worse, aggravate them. This would-be annoying and slightly illegal but in the face of dark gods, anything is acceptable.


    ¡°Good evening sir I have a request,¡± I said with a serpent smile. ¡°It is essential and I need your ok on this¡±


    The principal eyes narrowed, looking back at me with guard suspicion. I informed him about the broad strokes of what was happening. Of course, the cover story was about a school shooter and the chief suspects had been Victor and those monsters.


    ¡°Make it quick I need to go.¡± the principal said with a puff.


    ¡°I need you to let Victor come back to school early. ¡° I said in my best professional tone.


    This gave the principal pause. It was such a shock that he turned to face me scowling. He knew it was going to be a long talk and it was also going to be annoying. Silently he moved back to his chair and gestured to another chair in the room. I followed silently as I hoped my bragging skills would be enough.


    ¡°This better be damned good. Why the hell should I let that berserker back into my school ?¡± He began leaning back into his chair.


    ¡°Well, I need him for the investigation into the school shooting. We have evidence to believe there is a ring of people supplying the shooters.¡± I said coldly. ¡°With him staying, flush out the target who has been giving the weapons to kids.¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment. You said the four from Class 2b were the prime suspects. Why should I remove the one who acted out? I understand the Olsen brothers were an issue, but Victor''s reaction was nothing more than a reason for removing him. Then there is that family.¡± He scowled, shuddering. ¡°I don¡¯t know which is worse, the berserker or the other ones. Nothing too unoriginal, but something about them rubs me the wrong way.¡±


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    That was expected because the briefing mentioned the fact they would have that effect on people. It was like a cat sensing the weather; even if you couldn¡¯t fully explain it something was wrong with them. It made them difficult to hide, but strangely it helped them blend in with society. It was the slight wrinkle that helped them avoid coming off too clean.


    ¡°I understand that but they must be in this class. We are close but we don¡¯t have the proof to finish this investigation. So I am requesting Victor van Highsing to be placed back into the system and to have full control over him. ¡° I said looking at the principal with a controlled tone.


    I needed to play this right, and hopefully, just words would be enough. But if that was not possible, I had other weird methods of getting my way.


    ¡°Are you insane? I would take them out of my school, and you can take them and your investigation somewhere. I am sick of this. This investigation was annoying and is putting all the other students at risk. For the good of anyone, please take those people out of my damn school.¡± The principal spoke in a slowly escalating rage.


    It was understandable, in his position I would request the same. But I didn¡¯t have the luxury of understanding and the stakes are much more than his pay grade. Rubbing my templates I briefly contemplated my opinions. Maybe I could work something out but the principal had a point. It was a risk and a truly dangerous one. But it would be worse for them to walk away this would be much, much worse. So with a heavy heart, I committed myself to an unforgivable sin.


    ¡°That is true but I need you to read something,¡± I said, pulling out my phone. ¡°It is of the utmost importance¡±


    ¡°Fine, but it better make sure those people get out of my school. ¡° The principal puffed.


    Quickly scrolling I placed it onto a picture of the stone tablet. Clicking on the photo, I handed the phone over to the principal. His eyes glanced at the picture shock, dancing across his face.


    ¡°Is this some kind of-¡± His eyes rolled back into his head, as he slipped back into his chair. His hands are limp as he groans mindlessly. Ragged breaths came from the man as he struggled to stay alive, his mind reeling from the blow. It was my time to strike. Standing up, I spoke.


    ¡°You will let them in. You will no longer bother that family. Victor did the right thing and you will give him to Mr Reco in fact that group will join him in the bird watching club. THIS IS A COMMAND YOU CAN NOT DISOBEY. You will do this without remembering this talk. ¡° I spoke using the tablet''s dark powers for my gain.


    I then sat back down facing the principal, taking a breath. It was a cruel thing, but it had to be done. So with a clap, I woke the principal. He leaped up with a yelp, coughing as he stared at me. A light-fading green glow in his eyes as he looked at me.


    ¡°You were assigning me to Victor and Mangalex siblings to the bird-watching club. Alright then.¡± I spoke.


    ¡°Ah yes, that¡­ I will do that. I feel tired. I should go now,¡± the principal whimpered as he stood up.


    He seemed disheveled and tired, black bags forming under his eyes as he struggled to stand. I could see a sickly green tone on his skin a faint stink came off the man, and even his teeth lost their luster becoming ill yellow-coated.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said, shaking his hand and sealing the effects on the man.


    Without a word, I left him. Perhaps it was guilt or shame it didn¡¯t matter if it kept us alive then I would do worse.

 Hideous Learnig

    I couldn¡¯t remember where I was. Somewhere in nowhere, a shadow drifted forward in a broken, leaking boat.  I could see but no sun stood in the grey sky nor lights around me, the poor dinghy rocked in the dark waters that seemed rejected by all that was right.My past and who I was was unknown to me. What I knew was I was hunting. My prey was my lifeline, and I had to catch him. My boat was pale gray just like the surroundings. The inky depths acted like a mirror to me reflecting all I knew. The only reason the water didn¡¯t devour me was my boat. It was a gray thing matching the surroundings but had holes in it. Slowly but surely it was taking water and I would drown. But that was secondary. I had been fishing with a black line hook into something I couldn¡¯t remember. It was dragging me and now I was so far gone, I would never make it back. Home was gone and the seas would claim me. These thoughts were secondary to the shuddering of the boat. My prey had moved.


    It pulled me further toward the great expanse. The waves slammed against me and with a mighty lurch, my boat hull cracked, and the black water rushed over me. I was nearly washed overboard, nearly lost, but I must have my prey. It rose from the water to face me, a massive thing of a dark chimeric nature. My eyes locked with it and I understood.  I had lost but even worse it didn¡¯t even consider me worth killing.


    ****


    I woke up in a goddamn straight jacket barely able to breathe. With a thud, I slammed my head into the bed trying to purge the memories of yesterday. I kicked ass, but it was too weird. The damage I dealt out was far more than I ever did before. I broke that guy¡¯s nose with a single punch. Since when could I do that? Basic exercises don¡¯t give you super strength, but if you are crazy enough that seems to work.


    Beep ¡­ Beep ¡­Beep


    What was that? I tried to look around but the room was dark; too dark to even place were I was. The beeping happened again and after a minute I finally placed it. It was a heart monitor, I think. It was either the school nurse or a doctor checking up on me.  Either way, I wanted out; I was not completely crazy.


    Working the core muscles I developed through training I barely propped myself up without my hands or legs.  The monsters were not here and despite how sketchy and creepy this place was, that was a great upside. Taking a breath I looked around the dark room, noticing the heart monitor and the other medical equipment.


    Ok, so that was comforting, I thought. It was annoyingly harsh but steady, something to focus on. Still needed to stand up. However, my luck left at that moment. My left leg was bound to the bed, and I didn¡¯t have any way to cut it.


    I had to get out of there; something was not right. My eyes scanned around this place locking onto something I missed. Someone was sitting in the right corner motionless. Strangely, the minute I noticed him the more I could see him.


    That scared me, looking at a figure like seeing a rotten corpse. It damn well could have been one with something white covering the face. It felt like my neighbor; but much weaker, though still quite dangerous. Instead of having everything feeling like a hammer to the head, it was more like the dull ringing from a drop from slipping. That old strange tick rocked my torso, dancing along my spine and making every action a slow, labored thing. Despite the feeling, I stared back at the figure at the other end of the hospital room.


    For a moment I thought it was just a trick or like the face in my bedroom back home. That would be manageable, scary, and nightmarish but not a direct threat.  Then it moved, a slight twitch as the smell of old jasmine filled the room. That was all I needed. I began looking around the room for something to either fight it or cut off my leg to get out. With each movement, its head twisted with a wet belch to face me.  The strange feeling sprung up like a knife to the gut. Then I started to pull away at the straight jacket, the bands holding to my bed.


    It was a strange, bandaged man with a deep purple suit that seemed damp. The face, however, was a clean white that was completely wrapped up hiding whether it was a human or something else. Its movements were stilted and slowed as it turned towards me.


    Great, now I was stuck in a horror game. Either I found a way out or it killed me.  Well, that was annoying.


    My eyes turned to the figure as my hands burned, struggling to pull myself free. I began to do my best impression of a worm. Flopping, twisting, turning; pushing myself back to the wall farthest from the oncoming monster. This was not pointless panic, for once I was prepared. I had researched how to get out of a straightjacket. It was a distinct possibility I was just some crazy person in a padded room. It was always a possibility I noted when I first saw my neighbor. With a quick lift of my hands wrapped over my head reaching for the strap on the neck leaving space for me to peek out. I had to make sure one eye was on the monster approaching. I might be crazy but I wasn''t stupid.


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    It got closer, its loud echoing steps shaking my very soul. But with each footstep, each leap built something much stronger. My rage held me like burning metal and caused my blood to boil. I needed out.  The jacket which was a vice on my body slackened, and with a swift tug, I pulled it off.


    The bastard was too close, barely a foot away from my bed. My eyes flicked over to the basin at my side. I grabbed the first sharp thing I managed to find: a small disposable needle. Gripping this tool like a dagger holding it forward with cold breath. It would have to do.


    It moved closer barely a foot from my bed with the echoing clatter of brutal footsteps, lavender filling the room. This would be risky, but I refused to die like this. When it was barely a foot from my body, I panicked, pulling at the restraint.


    It was an instinctual reaction like ripping back from fire, and all my fear was mixed with rage. Then the adrenaline hit my body, and I tore the stupid band off. The band couldn¡¯t hold me as I lunged toward the beast. I brought the needle around to stab the bastard.


    With a crack, it slammed into the fool''s head, and I capitalized. In a firm grip, I grabbed the tray and slammed it onto the needle.  It was the perfect hammer for the nail. Then I slapped it away, the body falling over the bed. Without a word, I ripped the other binding. It was a strange strength, but it was enough for me. Slipping over to the other side I stood taking a breath.


    I needed to find them. My mind roared with conflicting thoughts, all battling for control. I need to get out. I killed something.


    Glancing back to the body, I found that it had disappeared. Was it an illusion? It was gone.  Was it one of those moments?


    Before my mind could even get a chance for fear, a white limb wrapped around my neck and another came around to hold my arms in a strange armbar.


    Madness came closer as the head I broke hooked itself on my left shoulder. The white mask was stained with sickly green goo that kept pouring over my shoulder.Then it spoke sweetly to me.


    The stranger spoke gleefully like a lover ¡°Most would have given up when faced with me. But you were even weirder than that. I would call you a zealot but your mind revolts against this power, and even now, unprotected, you still stay sane. Relatively,¡±.


    ¡°Let me go,¡± I sputtered out, pulling at the figure. I struggled to find a way out of the armbar, doing everything I could to get out.


    ¡°No, no; make me kid. Won¡¯t say your little stunt was not impressive but it barely makes you worth more than just black bagging. I can understand why they want you. It may be a little hypocritical but you¡¯re a strange one,¡± it said chuckling at me.


    I struggled against it, my fury growing under this assault. I hated it, pulling, twisting, and struggling to get out. Yet it was unfazed, holding me without any reaction. The grip remained firm, neither growing tighter nor weaker.


    ¡°Interesting, slightly higher than normal strength, not qualifying for superhuman, just about decent,¡± it committed, tossing me forward with a wave of its hand.


    ¡°Alright, you just need this. Now, come there is a police baton on the couch and you must swing it or you will die. Do you understand little one?¡± it said, mocking me. ¡°Be quick about it or I shall eat you.¡±


    My face slammed into the ground, stunning me for a moment. However, my rage pushed me forward to the couch. It was playing with me; I needed a way out and my heart pushed me.


    With my eyes staring at the figure, my right hand reached for the supposed baton. My fingers probed the sofa, slipping over the leather to something hard and metallic. Gripping it, I stared back at the figure and the strange blood oozing down onto the ground. It shook, its limbs twisting into strange angles as it shuffled forward. Then its lower jaw fell off, a large ribbed tongue extending out. It was a snake tongue, but large clicking spikes were all over the sides as it spat and blood oozed off it. It was far too long: about the size of my arm.


    Dashing forward, it tried to hit me with its weird tongue. I narrowly dodged left, slamming the baton into its head. With a bloody thwack, I pushed it back onto the couch. I was going to finish it with another, but then I was forced back by a flick of the tongue, my strength waning. I was coming down, and it was almost as bad as waking up after a dozen energy drinks.  Everything was too heavy and I felt cold, too cold. Sweating, I stepped back my body was lead and my mind struggling to focus.


    ¡°Two to three minutes, not bad, not bad. Well, you are worth it and I must say the fact you still stand is good enough. You will go far juvenile¡±, it said, raising its legs first and stretching out its legs onto the ground while the rest lay on the floor bleeding. Then it simply lifted the rest of its body, the head tilting slightly.


    ¡°You talk too much. God, what hell do you need to go to deal with this kinda lecture?¡± I replied moving back, making a bit of space.


    ¡°Sadly,brat, you lack spatial awareness,¡± it said stepping towards me.


    I leaped back slamming into the wall behind me. Blinking I knew I had made a mistake and the results were swift. A fist slammed into my head, knocking it against the wall and crashing my brain into my skull. I crumbled my mind taking a minute and my body went on break.


    ¡°Wait, oh that hurt,¡± I spurted, struggling to breathe.


    ¡° Just barely tougher than the norm. Neat,¡± it said, grabbing something.


    ¡°Wh-¡±


    Before I could make my witty remark, a cloth wrapped around my head. It smelled funny, and before I could struggle the creature pinned me to the ground. With a desperate gasp, I took in the chemical. Chloroform? No that would take too long. Why would a nightmare need Chloroform?


    Thankfully, it knocked me out, so I didn''t panic too much. At least that was one good thing about being kidnapped.

 Hunting maddness

    Stewart Rico


    The brat was a magnet for madness. It was routine at first. A simple watch on an unconscious brat who was in over his head. But I need information about his past. Was it just him or his family?


    The background check was surprising. It was clean and showed a promising future.


    Turned out he was not as mediocre as he seemed. Funny, he looked like the type to not bother with school. A¡¯s in English and Technology along with impressive talent in technical creation. Well, the slovenly tired unfocused kid didn¡¯t bother to hide sleeping in class. Honestly, he couldn¡¯t give a rat''s ass about class or anything in that building.  He had managed to reach the top 10 in a robot-building contest.  Well damn, who knew he was that bright.


    I sipped my coffee, reading through the file with concern. His search history was a journey going from a normal person with the average filthy porn, some generic comics and manga, then it slid down to the most paranoid nut job. The moments of searching start with a goat-headed monster beast, a spiral down into demonology. It led to an in-depth search for monster creatures, all more crazed than the next. However, it got stranger slowly.


    It morphed into how to escape cuffs, how to escape straight jackets, how to build bombs, how to make pit traps, how to find guns, and how to archive things. Then the rampage through manuals ranging from Old Army books, Self-arms making, Bombs, and more had me at a loss. The times were ridiculous too, ranging most nights constantly often for days at a time. That explained why he looked like death half the time and why his grades dropped like a rock.


    The information got weirder still. Some small clips of him videoing those monsters were also found on his discord and drive, the footage better than the ones we had. That was alarming, and worse, he wasn''t shielded or protected. It was almost three months since they arrived, within that time he should have been dead. All the information I got told me that, but something was withheld. They classified too much information, making it impossible to obtain any real information, and I was given the runaround trying to figure out why. No matter, it was simple.


    I would just have to get closer to the target, maybe check if he was awake, and maybe do some questioning. Staking out the hospital parking lot was not expected but going up and beyond was part of my job. This case was too strange, the briefing left too much out, and worst my instincts were telling me something was going to happen, so I got out.


    With my service pistol concealed, I moved over to the front desk with my best smile. This would require tact and a bit of a lie, but I was wrong. The nurse in charge screamed as someone dashed out with a large human-shaped package. Without a single word, I made a judgment call, pulling my gun and flashing my badge.


    ¡° Freeze! FBI!¡± I screamed.


    The bastard sprinted past me and I spat, beginning a chase. We dashed through the parking lot and moved to a back alley. It wasn¡¯t pretty I wasn¡¯t out of shape but I was no superhero, what I was chasing was. It leaped over bins and did daring acrobatics over fences I could only barely slip through or climb over.


    I could barely keep up, only the oozing liquid leaving the stinking trail to follow. Luckily the chase was heading to the school. The bastard was too agile, leaping over school fences and damn near sailing over benches in its way. However, the package-wrapped figure slung over its shoulder shook loose. It didn¡¯t fall out but it illuminated something for me.


    Victor''s unconscious head hung to the side to the right of the figure from a strange bag. Even with Victor''s weight, he was still faster than me but I knew this place and all the shortcuts.


    Instead of directly chasing it, I turned left heading through the school, making a beeline to the crossroad that led to the outskirts of town. It remained on the path moving without a worry and luckily it didn¡¯t even focus on me.  My legs cried out for me to stop but I pushed past it, heading directly to the crossroad. Sliding I had slipped out my gun, aiming it at the oncoming figure.


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    ¡°Freeze¡± I shouted, removing the safety.


    Honestly, I wished I hadn¡¯t seen something that horrific up close. Now I couldn¡¯t just shove it off into the back of my mind.


    The figure stumbled to a stop with a puddle of goo dripping down from where a chin should be. The goo was a strange dark red fluid that was closer to slime. Another strange fluid poured from the face, its head bleeding from two points. The first hole was closer to the top of the head while the other was the fact it had no jaw. It tilted its head back to me, showing no jaw and a long forked tongue wrapping around it. It was wrong. Like bleeding ice or a nightmare coming to life.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to see me as anything more than human. Hell, you won¡¯t be able to hear this. That and the package should be fine. So sir, what-,¡± it began only to stop looking at me.


    My hand quivered on the gun as I stared at this mockery of humanity. It wore a white suit that was stained by that strange goo the suit turning it to a disgusting orange colour. The shoes were warped and misshapen. Every colour was there before the goo warping the monstrosity.


    ¡°What the hell are you ?¡± I sputtered.


    It tiled its head like a curious owl, licking it with its long, prehensile tongue. It was a strange mix of a serpent¡¯s tongue and a centipede. Bobbing its body it dropped Victor onto the ground and began to approach me.


    ¡°Just a servant. Do you humans have a word for it? No matter, I think you can ask my employers.¡± It spoke before rushing at me.


    I fired at the monster, first aiming at the head, blowing a massive hole in the face. It only bopped it¡¯s head back but slowed the beast as it approached.   Despite the crest that steamed on my flesh that was supposed to protect me from these things,  it still hurt to look at this thing. This abomination should have been shot at birth.


    ¡°Oh. You can see me? Well two for one, huh?¡± it chirped, holding out its left hand which became a mass of twirling oozing tentacles.


    I didn¡¯t hesitate, I just started to fire.  The bullet punched through the head making another bleeding hole that oozed goo. It stumbled, but I didn¡¯t waste time. I just kept firing. Another ripped through the shoulder and one more hit the chest making another spout of goo that stained the ground.


    It was closing in and I could barely keep it together. So I turned to start another chase but I was no longer the hunter. My worn legs screamed as I moved towards the wood.  It was behind me and I was going to die. I tried but my hip twisted and I hit the ground. I couldn¡¯t run so I turned crawled back and finally looked at the monster behind me.


    It was an insult to god, with long twisted limbs that twitched and shook in the air. The human legs were warped and extended like a tentacle with strange spikes that ripped the pants. The limbs that were outstretched towards me were noodles that had large spikes. Oozes leaked out from my gunshots, smelling like strange jam mixed with a used oil motor. Even the clothes it had were ripped to shreds in loose inky tatters, barely hiding its privates. It was bullshit that I was going to die because of an evil wacky waving inflatable flail arm man.


    Like a worm, I crawled backward at least trying to escape. However, one of the tendrils slashed my chest, cutting my shirt and leaving me flat on my back. Screaming, I expected death, but Victor saved me, or at least delayed the inevitable.


    He was a man possessed, clubbing the beast from behind. The stick shattered under the impact but it was just enough to push it to the left of me. Then, snarling like a madman, he stabbed what remained of the stick into the chest. The creature slapped Victor away with a mere wave and all the wounds oozed out as it began to melt.


    ¡°OoooOoohh you two are fun. I wasn¡¯t able to handle that but my masters will love you two. Pray you never get their notice, I would love to make you a part of me.¡± It spat as it melted down into a strange green goo.


    I vomited onto the grass, the shock making me mad. Still, I looked at Victor, who was just coming to look at me with a black eye.


    ¡°This is something,¡± I sputtered through my vomit.


    ¡°Well yeah, but it can¡¯t get worse,¡± Victor spoke, looking up.


    ¡°You said that? Idiot, of course, it can get worse,¡± I retorted.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re alive,¡± he grinned, looking up into the night sky. He was chuckling, which was weird.


    ¡°At least for now¡±

 Meeting of the minds.

    Stewart Rico


    It hurt like a bitch.  The mass of tendrils had carved into my chest and my blood began to paint the ground.


    ¡°Fuck," I winced.


    ¡°What ?¡± Victor, my student and person of interest asked. He had, through some miracle, saved me from an abomination. He looked like he was just hard labor which I guessed made sense he did just kill a monster.


    ¡°It cut me, right on the chest. Shit, it hurts. Take off your shirt, I need to make a compress for the wound¡± I ordered.


    ¡°Take your advice. The wound might get infected with your shirt like that," Victor responded.


    ¡°That''s fair. Not the point brat. Need a place to go, "I spurted.


    ¡° Hey now, time and place. Do you want help back to your place?¡± he retorted.


    ¡°Need to stop the bleeding first. How do you know where I live ?¡± I asked, the strain was getting too much. The blood was slowly but surely draining out of me.


    I turned only to see Victor stand. The decrepit brat was closer to a ghoul than a normal human. He had a gaunt bastard¡¯s unkempt birdnest hair that barely covered his broken wounded eyes. They were gangly like if they froze mid-squint and something extended it. Those damned irises were dark brown with pulsing red lines that reached toward his pupils. Black bags hung beneath world-weary eyes, which was more haunting for someone his age. He looked elongated, holding out his hand to me. I knew he was different once, but now I saw a bad ending. His filthy hospital swab hung loosely over a wiry form and smelt like fish. Thankfully, he was at least still wearing pants. Still, the brat lifted me slowly with some unknown strength. Great, I get to bleed out vertically.


    ¡°Shit, you''re not wearing anything under there," I spat the blood dribbling from my mouth. The pain was mind-numbing, and the blood that was leaking out of my body was just a reminder that I was going to die.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of blood,¡± Victor said," Do you want to call a doctor or something?¡±


    ¡°Yo ha. That should be held back and I need to get this compressed. Move me up a bit then I need you to make something to stop the bleeding," I retorted.


    I had my clothes, maybe I have to make a compress. But infection would be another issue that would bite me in the ass. Maybe I could call my other contact to get out of this damned place, but what would we do with Victor? My partner and my handler wanted to go with scorched earth tactics but that would make a bad situation worse. I coughed up more blood as I was dragged off. Victor slowly and weakly moved us back closer to the town, but I would at least hope to come back to my house. Back home I had a list of dates with that one girlfriend. I could maybe have even settled down with one. But now I am bleeding out in the backwater away from my girlfriend and everyone else I know. Damn it, I should have married her.


    We moved forward with a crimson carpet behind us making a wonderful trail to my final resting place. I was dozing off only to hear the brat speak.


    ¡°Hey, are you still alive ?¡± Victor mutered.


    ¡°Yes, bleeding out is a process. But I am still here and you haven¡¯t answered my question. How the hell do you know where I live ?¡± I sputtered through my coughs.


    ¡°I looked up from your school address. So¡­ you know what attacked us?¡± he asked, moving towards the bench. Tossing me down onto the chair Victor sighed, flopping beside me.


    ¡°No, why would I? Do you ?¡± It was stupid, but he may know something I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°No. I think it may be shoggoth, but I dunno,"


    ¡°Shoggoth? Is that what you think it is?¡± I asked. This was an opportunity. The briefing told me nothing but general facts without information. I would at least give me some answers.


    ¡°Yeah I mean it is the only thing that made sense. Anyway, what is a Fed doing here?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°What? How did you know I¡¯m a Fed?¡± I mused.


    ¡°I mean you got that look and I just felt the outline of your badge,"


    ¡°First, it could be my wallet, and second you could be wrong. But just this once, good job. So why did you bother to keep watching that family? These things can and will shatter you,¡° I spoke through the steady stream of blood.


    ¡°Really? I couldn¡¯t figure that part out. It''s a bit too late for the warning. I¡¯ve been monitoring them for a while. Ever since they moved in,'''' Victor said offhandedly.


    ¡°You have been looking at them?¡±


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    ¡°Yeah, I have been making notes and watching all of the monster stuff. I don¡¯t get all that but I have been recording it,¡± Victor retorted.


    I moved to open my mouth but coughed looking up back to Victor. He was crazy beyond madness, but for what? He needed to stop. The blood loss was a thorn in my side, but the fact remained. As long as I was conscious I needed to get answers. If I managed to see tomorrow i would debate the morality of the situation.


    ¡°That has been months since I have been undercover. Those things appeared at the beginning of the term so at the very least been three months. Based on the report your mind should be long gone by now. The hallucinations and terror should have you running mad. How are you still sane?¡± I asked looking up at the stars. My life was on the line, and if I died the last thing I want to see are the heavens.


    ¡°I dunno. Energy drinks, and the hope for life. People need to know about this,¡± Victor said, sitting beside me.


    ¡°No one should even know this, it is insane. I barely know shit, and I can¡¯t even sleep properly. You have to stop, the truth would break the society. It¡¯s already started to break you,¡± I pleaded. He was an arrogant, self-righteous distant kid, but that resulted from the monsters he glared at. He still had a chance to be sane and avoid this waking nightmare.


    ¡°Too late for that. I can¡¯t quit now. It is all my cross to bear,¡± he responded," Maybe I should have stopped, but I think I already have gone mad,"


    I sighed, looking up to the bitter sky. It was bullshit. The trained and seasoned adult was bleeding out on a random bench, but the stupid kid in the wrong place at the wrong time was damned to the nightmares ahead.  It wasn¡¯t fair, nor was it right. My breathing started to slow, my life ebbing away. I heard Victor begin to panic, rocking me. It was distant.


    But then another entered the area, and I snapped back while staring at the cold night sky.


    Something held me between life and death, but I dare not state what it was. It wasn¡¯t real. It was something that could never be. I was breathing a harsh haggard air intake in a slow cold monotone pattern as my mind revolted against this new creature.


    ¡°What a gay eve for you wer¡¯s. What amusement holds you under the queer sky?¡± Someone¡ªno, something said. It was too smooth to be human but had a strange hum-like undertone. It was melodious but held a strange chittering, like the chirp of crickets.


    The medallion sat on my chest, burning like a marking iron. The pain was as bad as my chest wound as it approached us. My eyes couldn¡¯t look at the monster, so my head simply looked up into the sky. Victor however gulped and stood up to walk away.  My mind revolted against this event especially that thing approaching me. I preferred bleeding out to this. It simply sat down looking back at Victor escaping form with a cruel mockery of human eyes. Slowly it moved over to me. I couldn¡¯t see it, but I knew its abominable limb was reaching for me. There had to be a way out. I needed a way out.


    There was no one. I was going to be consumed. Oh, God no. God was not here, it was just this thing coming for me. Nothing, not even the chasm of death would save me. I was merely a toy, a pawn in a game I would never understand, one I never wanted to know.  It would use all before it then abandon it to its fate.


    ¡°I want to make a deal," someone said as I felt the monster grasp on my soul. It held me with a cold, unknowable limb and held me. This was an eldritch anchor that hooked down into my spirit.


    ¡° What to maketh a deal? What would be offren?¡± the entity spoke, looking at that being that dared to hold him. It was Victor. That idiot didn¡¯t run off when he had the chance. He stood in front of a hurricane. He should have left me. It would have been cruel, but that would be the only thing to make any sense. Victor was a pawn that offered this beast something rare. He was a fool to play batter with this beast was something that should never have been, that mocked all that was hallowed, within the light of god and sanity.  For what is rarer than a willing sacrifice?


    ¡°A.., a... a¡­ trade,¡± Victor sputtered, looking at the ground. His teeth violently clattered as his body quivered under the stare of this thing, ¡°My soul for his."


    ¡°Valourous and Idiotic? Thou art foolish. Merely your soul? Why not thy kin? Thy entire bloodline, for my playthings¡¯ It mused with a mad glee. My mind drifted between madness and normality, I understood for a mere moment the dark monolith that held me.


    ¡°Yeah, just me,¡± Victor said, "A fair one for one. I will do anything, and be your pawn. Just save him."


    He looked at me. From the creature¡¯s eyes, I could see that we were small and pointless insects. Why did it bother talking to him?


    ¡°Thou would be condoned to death. Your mere pointless mind shattered as it wanders beside me in the void. Thy would castigate thy self to this state for no other reason than charity?¡° It spoke softly, each word rocking both Victor and my soul. ¡°The mere traces of my power have already begun to mark you, yet you would dare plead to me ?¡±


    Victor shivered at the question, a cold sweat covering his tense face. His eyes fixed on something on the ground, but I could not tell why. I knew the reason at least for that moment, but it felt inexplicable; pointless like the tears of maggots. Still, despite his coughing, wrinkled chins, and the pale cold sweat that consumed his body, he stood. Even with the constant twitching of his left leg through the rough intake of breath. The little ember of courage held him up.


    ¡°Yes, but he needs to heal completely. Then I would become your¡­ your¡­¡± He sputtered for a moment, still looking down. The idea had finally become real and naturally, he was going to be unable to handle it, to escape into the mundane, the real. However, I knew Victor was already crazy. The entity made no motion, still waiting for Victor''s final word. It was a comedy, a grand play only needing the final catchphrase.


    ¡°Janssair," Victor spoke with a soft shaken breath.


    ¡°Oh?  Thou speaks another term. It is true thou are a folt, dancing the tune of azoth," It then lurched forward toward Victor. A cacophony erupted, and an insane orchestra of beetles, goat, and dog growls blended with the foreign drums, cymbals, and wind chimes. It was all-consuming, forcing Victor to the ground. I couldn¡¯t even try to escape. Screaming, I joined in this mad performance, losing myself to the¡ªOH, GOD. It was merely laughing.   ¡°Very well. Thy being is my Janissary forever, my pet.¡°


    Victor shook silently as if facing the end. He stood nobly, but foolishly against something that could kill him and all mankind with ease. He stood with that weak little dagger called bravery and pointed it at a god.


    ¡°Deal,¡± was his only reply.


    My mind could no longer handle it. Thankfully, I lost myself in the waves of darkness and despair. I dared not to pray, for I feared what would hear me.

 From the breech

    Rico Stewart


    I woke up in a hospital bed alone in the dark. The monitor beeped rhythmically as I lay there, useless. He was damned. That idiot. That brat tossed himself into hell for what? a miserable pile of flesh? Forcing my head back into the bed, my mind wandered back to the moment it held me. Touching god would be a dream come true for everyone but me. But that kind of god would ruin the concept for everyone else.


    My thoughts were torturers that guided me through self-doubt, shame, and rage based on what had happened. But sleep gave me brief salvation, as my mind couldn¡¯t handle it anymore. My shallow sleep was interrupted by clicking. Each click was a blade into my sleep until it finally woke me up.


    Groaning, I stared through drugged eyes at my handler. The bastard was peeling an orange in the ambulance while chewing a cigar. The tall, neat man always towered over most people with his crucifix, whether in suit or casual clothes. His muscular frame, barely contained in his suit struggled to sit on the chair and avoid the major equipment in the ambulance as he sat with one foot up. His mood was as dark as his ebony skin struggling with the fruit''s rind. He mutters a strange mixture of curses and bible scripture in a strange retelling of the story of King David.


    However, it was my partner, a picturesque, square woman with a notepad. Her dusty brown hair was wrapped in a bun and her thin navy glasses highlighted her beautifully blue eyes. Her face was just as beautiful without makeup. She never wore the stuff for some reason. She sat in her simple office dress, writing something. Her pen never rested when I was around.


    ¡°So which slasher cut you?¡± She asked in her usual quizzical tone.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe it, Monica, ¡± I sputtered, slinging back into the bed.


    With a sigh, my handler started. ¡°It got you good, you damn near bled out once they found you. But that isn¡¯t the weirdest part. The fact the bleeding stopped without anyone putting anything on you and you just appeared in a hospital bed. I would say you got a guardian angel but, I- ¡°


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    ¡°That thing is no fucking angel! It is something that shouldn¡¯t ever be a damned thing. Damn it! It is still out there and It has a family. I need to go back.¡± I screamed, struggling to stand up.


    ¡°Not yet. You were still wounded and that was unlike you. Are you attached to them? Who is the brat?¡± Monica asked, scribbling something down.


    ¡°What? Not the point, they have hostages, damn it. The brat was with me, damn it James,¡± I pleaded, struggling to get up. I couldn¡¯t lie down and be like this.


    ¡°Half-cocked and without a doubt insane, you''re not going back yet. Maybe if I feel you''re ready and stable. Information first tho, what cut you ?¡± James spoke as he finally finished peeling the fruit.


    ¡°Fine you can go back, but you need the time to recover. I need to hear what happened,¡± James stated with a cold clinical tone as he sat up.


    ¡° Sir with all due respect you would never believe what happened. It was something nightmare and brat is back in there. ¡° I begged looking up to the roof. If I was just dead, that would make sense, but I should have given up on that vain hope of a logical conclusion.


    ¡°A nightmare house killed My Strike team and anyone who didn¡¯t die then I had to kill as they became flesh abominations. ¡° James spoke calmly.


    ¡°No fucking way¡± Monica spoke, looking at James, her lips pursed. I doubt she believed it, before this assignment I wouldn¡¯t either. The problem was I was no longer that man anymore.


    My mind sputtered under the news as I had never considered that. This could have happened before. But that raises another question: who is covering this up and what exactly is happening here? Why? How ?.


    ¡°I lost friends and saw things that scared me to God. I know the fact you didn¡¯t put a bullet in your head means you''re the right sort. That and the jewelry we gave you is dust now.¡± He responded by cutting the fruit and placing it on the tray beside me.¡°So I get it and unfortunately, you will be going back, but not yet. The mind may be willing, but I refuse to send out the wounded.


    ¡°You¡¯re both insane,¡± Monica spoke, looking up at us. She was right, of course but instead of the usual smugness, it was fear.


    ¡°I think that is the problem. Logic left a while back and I know it is only about to get worse.¡± I grinned as the drugs finally forced me back under.

 Enter the monster.

    Victor


    I regret walking with the divine. The monster had saved my teacher, who was a federal agent, but it came at the cost of my soul. Hopefully, I could be the house slave or a pretty one like a concubine. But I said Jannasry. That may have killed my chances of survival.


    For a moment we stood silent. Then it moved. However, instead of summoning a dark portal or calling a massive hell beast it just started walking. It beckoned me to follow with its shitty imitation of human fingers. So like the fool, I obeyed.


    With my first steps, everything blurred into speed lines. I thought I was going to travel into a realm of madness, down a dark path into some unspeakable place, but in a blink, I was standing by my house. No, it was the house I always stared at from my perch. That damned suburban hiding hole.


    ¡°Come in now. We have much to discuss,¡± said that soft-spoken humanoid to whom I foolishly sold my soul. He stood by his house, simply waiting.


    ¡°Wait, where are we? No wait, what? How the hell?¡± I pleaded looking around.


    ¡°Thou art asking the wrong questions. Come knave,¡± it responded, moving to the door.


    I had never actually entered that house, always sitting outside as my parents talked to those things parents. It just stood there, like a normal house. But I knew, I goddamned knew it was alive. At midnight once a week, the house always shuttered, and for the briefest moment, black ooze came from the walls before just as quickly being dragged back resuming its pathetic disguise. Like a wise man, I didn¡¯t move. I simply stared. Somehow I knew, if I moved I would die.


    ¡°Thy mind is as open as a desert. It shall not harm you,¡± the younger brother spoke, opening the door.


    ¡°Wait, you read my mind?¡± I shuddered, trying to step back. ¡°Stop that. Also, bullshit in every way. Why on god¡¯s green earth would anyone enter ?¡°


    It turned towards me, with that mockery of a human face. The thing tried to smile, but it was too exaggerated like a twisted AI picture. The jaws were too high, and the lips were too thin, like a serpent''s smile. Those eyes became enormous curved moons that were too concave and slightly off the human¡¯s eye sockets. The pupil''s were a weird mix of human, goat, and snake eyes. Was this a threat? Was this my final moment?


    It noticed my discomfort, and it tilted its head to the side. Unfortunately, it kept going until it bent to a strange 120 angle.


    ¡°Is this a kind of joke? Or is this just how you look before eating someone? I will let you know I will give you shit,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thy faces are foul sort, and your expressions art the worst. ¡°It spat like a child who¡¯d done something wrong.


    ¡°Well, you need to at least try. God, how the hell have you stayed hidden this long?¡° I sputtered, looking away.


    ¡°Come now. Thou art being obtuse,¡± it retorted, grabbing my hand.


    Like prey in the hands of a predator, I pulled back with all my strength. This lasted about a minute as I acted like a crazed rabbit, the wilder part of my brain shouted with weird wisdom with me. My rage and might were worthless as they dragged me inside.


    The house was stranger than I could even believe. It was normal. Damn nearly average, almost generic. Now, normally this would be a relief, another point to my possible insanity but not this time. I refused to be fooled. I watched it every night. I was inside the beast. My eyes were razors, cutting through everything around me. With my wit, I found all the minor issues, the telltale signs of life in the damned house. The staircase that led upstairs tilted to the right and suddenly shuddered setting itself level.


    Then I noticed the errors with the door I went through. It had a slight rig that slotted onto the door. They were like small, sharp shark teeth with a strange bony texture. It rattled like a wind chime. That juggle shook my very soul.


    .


    The monster dragged me forward through another off-tilted door frame. The damned floor that I was pulled across felt soggy and rubbery. Sometimes when I stopped managing some resistance, I became more aware of the truth. The walls were painted in normal grays but for a moment; it shimmered revealing a glossy black gel.


    Now, I was not a brave man but I was sure as shit not stupid.  Redoubling my efforts I tried to get out, but it was useless. I was, after all, in the hands of the divine.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    After struggling for thirty minutes, I moved to a couch. It was soft. Too soft, Like sitting on a ball of fat. But the fat was also sticky, slightly clung to me like a flytrap. Then that bastard brother let me go.


    ¡°Knave, stay here,¡± it said, moving up the staircase into the unknown.


    ¡°Like hell I will,¡± I screamed, struggling against the most evil couch.


    It was much harder than expected as the couch pulled me further inside. I could feel it try to hold me moving slowly pinning down under what I hoped was stuffing. Without a doubt, I needed to get off. Using all my strength I still had, I ripped myself off the damned sofa, slamming to the ground. Then I crawled backward to a weird fireplace.


    The exhaustion was getting to me, as I could barely tell what was around. My fingers grasped for the only thing I had hoped was real. Or at least it would kill me just a little slower than everything else around.


    It was a golden candle holder that seemed¡ªfor lack of a better word¡ªkind. The long stick with the ruby red orb was just an art d¨¦co candle holder. Unlike the house or that family, it felt different. Still foreign but much gentler, like a bit of goodness in this pit of madness. It felt like a hug or a warm meal after a chilly day. It even gave me a dim light to get a better idea of the area around me. I couldn¡¯t pick out a single reason it was a math question that had something I could pick out. Somehow it just radiated a strange mix of heartwarming feelings and positive affirmations. I felt calm, at least for a moment. So naturally, everything then got worse.


    My head whipped back to the strange doorway. Something white slipped out moving to the light. Terror rose through my body as I realized what it was. It was a bone-white skull that was followed by another, then another. First came a long crocodile skull, followed by a bird¡¯s with a harsh, sharp knife beak. The final skull was a large snake skull that seemed to hover between the two. The serpents and crocodiles had large gold-lined teeth glistening through the darkness. They were covered in lusty black hair crowned the head giving them a strange frame, with each hair set as a twisted mirror of human hairstyles.


    I thought they just floated there for a moment, but then I noticed the necks. They rested on long serpent-like necks that seemed to move independently of each other, connecting to a vague human torso. Strangely, it was still somewhat identifiable with the feminine curves but with a black shimmering outline. Large bat wings helped steady the strange monster as it walked on a mix of lizard and cloven legs. I prayed it was a prank, a joke, or proof that I was insane. But then the jaws snapped as the purple glow from the skull shone like searchlights burning with alien intelligence.


    My eyes burned as I stared at the monster. That familiar strangeness and the maddening illness came back with force. It was no mere weak tick like that damn worm from the hospital. I almost fell but that little light helped me stand at least for a moment. It gave me strength or rather resolved. Then the serpent''s head noticed me as if I was an intruder. I guess I was.


    The wings unfurled as it turned to snap skeletal jaws at me. Weird yellow smoke came from the creature as I held back a scream looking at the monster. If I were to be a meal, I would make that thing work. The ground became soggy like flesh, and I knew this was it. Without a doubt, I was going to be eaten if I didn¡¯t fight back. Even if I did fight back, it was doubtful it would matter but  I could sure as hell try.


    ¡°What crack have you smoked? How on this dusty earth did you get inside here ??¡± It spoke in a very cute voice.


    That voice was a sweet girly tone like a girl next door. It was so extreme to the point of mockery. This was that bastard sister¡ªthe smaller one. I had never seen her fully like this. Only minor glances at only one of the heads at time. I thought it was shape-shifting from the peeks I had at her. Like changing clothes but with flesh I didn¡¯t rule anything out. But clearly, she was a hydra. My body clung to the couch like velcro, then the teeth appeared around my body.


    ¡°I dunno, maybe you left the door open?¡± I joked.


    ¡°You''re just a spitting viper. You have been watching and staring at us for months. With men like you, who needs monsters?¡± It sneered.


    ¡°Jealous?  I mean you are not using your assets effectively ?¡± I spat as my head started to hurt.


    ¡°Ya got jokes, huh? Funny, I don¡¯t like eating humans, but comedians are the exception!¡±


    ¡°Go right ahead, I am already going crazy¡± I retorted as my eyes started to bleed.


    Another, more mature voice spoke. ¡°By nashrock jaw, must you make such a racket?¡±


    My eyes, despite my better judgment, turned to the fresh voice. The first thing I noticed was the hair. It flowed and blended in a strain of momentum and unique madness. She was oppressively feminine, like a succubus, her body shaped like a Venus with arms, with sleepy closed cute eyes. At least at first.  Her soft footsteps rocked me as her eyes opened. Three sets of pupils stared down at me with disgust and contempt, a slight frown revealing sharp jagged teeth at were even on her tongue that glinted in a pale light.  One set of eyes sat slightly above her eyebrows small a beady-like spider just like the ones under her eyelids. Strangely her human quese eyes were the biggest and the most vivid as constant lightshow. Wearing only a simple nightgown, my eyes burned as her neck unfoiled into strange vivid tendrils rubbing at what seemed to be tired eyes.


    ¡°Why is the voyeur here?¡± Her voice was dangerously attractive.


    She was a walking honey trap. My logical thinking mind screamed, focusing on her inhuman flaws. But my weird, animal side just kept lusting. I was disgusted with myself for being so weak. Trapped, bleeding, and horny. What a disgrace.


    It was funny. Some cosmic joke washed over me. I laughed as I struggled against the sticky couch pulling free with slick pop. The teeth ripped against my skin but the pain was more of a stimulant pushing me far beyond my limit. I felt those sick eyes that seemed to see beyond the flesh. My mind buckled as dark black spots sparked on the sides of my vision. Bloody tears streamed down my bruised cheeks as I struggled in the face of these cruel gods.


    ¡°. Do you think I am afraid? No. Come on then, you star bastard. .¡± I held that gentle candle holder.


    They just stopped looking at me. The two stared at me like jaguars eyeing a rabbit. It was the elder sister who moved first, her third eye upwards with a strange twitch. Then the other sister serpent''s head shook from side to side. Thus the cosmic orchestra began. The sound clashed and snapped like serpents, hounds amongst the unknown, pushing me down to my place as a mere monkey in the animal kingdom. The two had started to laugh.  They started to laugh, and the indescribable mockery rocked my very soul. Each inhuman chuckle was a blow to my essence and left me on the ground, blood leaking from my eyes, nose, and mouth. I was barely sane, and all my thoughts mixed and clashed in a desperate way to fix it. Weakly rising, I sputtered like a broken car, interspersing between manic laughter and singing. It was a jumble of any song I could think of, mixing the ending of a movie I saw once/at least three cartoon themes, an anime intro, and a couple of sea shanties. I wandered up to the two with my hand in a death grip on that candle stick holder.


    ¡°What?¡¯ I sputtered, moving only to fall to my knee.


    I couldn¡¯t lift my head, my eyes fixed on the ground. Fear rushed over my body as something new came. Stronger, older, and much more powerful. My body froze. It grew harder to breathe. I heard a sound so defined it was unrecognizable. My mind stopped as I blacked out in a pool of blood. It was funny in a way. I couldn¡¯t even survive being around them.

 Shadow baptismal

    Victor


    I was in my bed. My room was clean and there were no cans or energy drinks around. Someone had placed me here and touched my stuff. Trying to move I found my body beyond exhausted. My fingers felt like they were encased in concrete and my eyes stung. I could smell both blood and sweat-like smog around me. I needed water. Suddenly someone gave me a cup of bottle. Without a word, I simply suckled on it.


    It was sweet and was a blessing. Once I started I didn¡¯t stop. Every gulp of water was precious and it beat back my weariness. It was like an energy drink supercharged. Any exhaustion or weakness was consumed by the strange kind of tide of energy. Still, I need to sleep tonight was a hell of a night. Drifting off I was about to finally stop, finally taking a moment but then the eldritch couldn¡¯t take a break.


    ¡°I did not expect you to be so inviting.¡±  the father of those monsters spoke.


    Terror rocked me as my eyes instinctively looked at that man. He looked like a skinny middle-aged man with a tophat. I tried to find further details but it was always shifting. At first, he looked like a caucasian in his mid-twenties with pale white hair. But slowly as I looked at the man I noticed the change. It was slow and gradual like a creeping fade effect on the outline. Before my very eyes, that caucasian became a mocha-skinned man with puffy cheeks with thin black hair. Then like a wind blowing leaves around the features shifted slowly into a tanned Arabian with strange blue eyes. Looking away I coughed as my eyes burned as I couldn¡¯t figure out the specifics. That was the worst part, he could be anyone and I couldn¡¯t even tell. His voice sounded normal but just like the face, the specifics kept changing and mutating.  The words however remained the same, a twisted constant from being of eternal change. However, I refused to be submissive to it even if it was the smarter thing to do.


    ¡°Why are you here? Why my room? Am I so appealing and attractive ?¡± I quipped terrified of what that monster wanted.


    ¡°I see why my boy finds you interesting. Despite your fear, you seem to try to fight. Still trying to strike back out at me. Along with that, you are alway fighting, seeking such truths despite the damage to yourself. Or does your family not matter ?¡± It mused.


    ¡°They are not involved. It is just me. Touch them-.¡±


    ¡°Or what human? Please enlighten me ?¡± He mused. That man just stood up with his hands outstretched like he was coming in for a hug. Then he looked down.


    ¡°Let us see if you are wise or foolish. Come make your choice.¡± He chuckled with a sung look on his face.


    Leaning up at my bed I wondered what exactly was coming for me. I would take him up on his offer maybe I could end this now. No that was stupid beyond belief. My finger grabbed a foreign object that felt kind. I stopped looking at a bat that hummed with a soft glow slowly I recognized it as that candle holder. Somehow it was changed to a form that felt right, I wondered if this said something about me. It was gold-rimmed with a strange amber gem shine that was like a bejeweled baseball bat. Still, it was shocking it was here did that thing want to trap me?


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    My eyes narrowed as the bat as I began to think. This thing must think I am dumb. This is a test. Wait something is not adding up.


    ¡°Why was I bleeding ?¡± I mused looking at the monster hiding as a man.


    ¡°Hm. Why ask such a simple question? Well, I suppose it deserves an answer. It was your body and brain rejecting the presence of us. Everything has a limit and often it is eyes and ears that begin to bleed once that limit is found.¡± it spoke with twisted kindness.


    ¡°How nice. You sound like you care. Cut the crap and get to the point why am I still alive ?¡± I spat standing up on the bed.


    Standing there I noticed its shadow. It was odd. A vague outline that was not like a shadow but visible despite the dim light in my room and was closer to a dark fluid similar to oil. I realized exactly what the hell was on the ground. It was its true form a massive unseen ocean of madness that seemed to be real but also strangely fake.


    Bullshit his body is in a super position. That makes no sense, I mused in my head.


    ¡°Interesting is that what you think¡±


    Another foreign voice rocked through my brain. It was older and colder like night and decided to say something to me.  I couldn¡¯t even breathe. The only haven it could be read sure but at least they could enter within me That shot my thought train down with the force of a tactical nuke. I damn near fell over as I felt my head throb. It invaded my damned mind.


    ¡°You motherfucker¡± I screamed, leaping at it.


    That was a mistake.


    The very color black then enveloped me, tossing me down into that thing''s shadow. Instead of hitting the ground, I fell into something. It was like an ocean of ink and I didn¡¯t even get the chance to flail about. It pulled me in.  There was no shock or any action I could do. No cold nor heat it was something other. I couldn¡¯t breathe, nothing had devoured me and left me to damnation. There was no beginning to the black, There was no end to black. All was darkness, there was only ever darkness. Those features that defined me, my persona, and my every face were fading. Flailing about, I realized my hands were already gone. With no legs nor hand, all I had was that kind of light from that house. I prayed it would help in some way but it too was fading. Then it too was gone. Those memories of my youth followed the light. I was fading.  My thoughts sputtered out as the void consumed me. What was a Victor-


    My body was ripped out of the void. My body felt limp and I struggled to breathe. I couldn¡¯t feel anything for a moment. Then the pain began. It was like I was implanted and entombed by needles that stabbed through my everything. Pain consumed my body in place of the void but the worst was the shock. For some god-forsaken reason, some part of my mind wanted back into the void. My lips quivered as I looked over the void in the flesh. It held me with merely its finger as tilting the head.


    ¡°Now then I thought you were dead. The minimal thought within your weak mind is the only thing of interest to me¡± It began.¡± How do you say it? Sarerdos? Kahin? Ah yes. You are a priest to my very whims. My family will be your icons and master as your bloodline shall be mine. Your actions and your mind are now forever tied to us. No matter what you do you now our slave. No pawn working for our machinations. I would have just killed you. But there is a fire a rare strength that can be useful to us. Your body has already begun the process.¡± With a grin, it tossed me back to the bed with a flick of the wrist.


    I struggled with the world. My room felt foreign. It robbed the familiarity of my damned room. My blood boiled with rage as I spat on the ground. Daring to take a glance, I looked up with all the defiance I could muster.


    ¡°So should I get a congregation together and sing kumbana at your feet ?¡± I grumbled.


    It grinned looking at me. Then it clapped, finding my defiance funny. Then it sat up looking at me like brand new m


    ¡°I see why my son enjoys your company, Such a rare find to find someone like you¡± it mused sitting down. ¡°That can be decided later. For now, I merely want to welcome you to the family Victor Howard.¡±

 The bus boy for dark Forces.

    Victor


    Well, this sucked. I was in the middle of the woods hunting down a rabbit. It was sprinting off deeper into the forest. Keeping pace I was just going to tire it out. Holding the bat that always felt kind, I closed in on the poor creature.


    It ran, dodging and sprinting through the underbrush, making a beeline back to its home. Sadly, I expected this and headed off at the pass. I grabbed its ears, jerking it swiftly. A brutal snap echoed for a moment. I stared it down looking deeper into the dying eyes. I was jealous of it, to simply be killed. The moment I had to just think to be alone with my thoughts was damn painful. My time in the void had left me wanting things that shook my core.


    In the dark part of my head, I started to enjoy things. Things I would never describe. That I could never face. Coughing, I looked back at the forest. Everything seemed foreign, and those colors strangely annoyed me. The natural beauty of the forest offended me the greens of the leaves the soft shimmering yellow of sunlight all of it was an insult. I yearned for the peace of darkness. Scowling I turned, looking for a way out of the forest. It would ruin the secluded if I could head back in time. Someone cleared their throat behind me.


    Sighing, I turned to face the stranger. The idiot looked like they time-warped out of the 50s and got lost in this forest. They tried to approach me with a dusty fedora and plain brown jacket. Before this would have scared me, but now it was far too familiar. Now it just pissed me off. Those swift blundering footsteps crushed anything on the ground as they came at an inhuman speed. I held up my rabbit, and it came to a halt before me.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I growled.


    ¡°Just approaching you. You''re not picking up your phone.¡±


    ¡°You sound like a drowning puppy, on the phone. Plus it has been at least three months, where would I goddamn go?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps thy attitude has not changed.¡± It muttered. ¡°At least you can stand without running away.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess. Did I get the right one?¡± I gruffed, holding up the damn corpse. It was a brown rabbit with dead eyes that seemed to accuse me of sins. It was right.


    ¡°Now then,¡± the stranger poked my cheek. " Call me that nickname you decided on.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Mordues. God that name does not roll off the tongue.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome. Come now, Mother is waiting. ¡°Mordues spoke with a swift turn and wave.


    Then he walked to that place, pointing his thumb at me. ¡°Knave use my human name¡±


    ¡°That is even worse. It was damned annoying. Why Robert?¡± I whined, following it.


    ¡° It is quite common. Now let us go.¡± Robert spoke as the world bent around it.


    Quietly raging I moved along with an inhuman monster. It was wrong. I was no longer scared of the power displayed at least. We appeared at the damn house which didn¡¯t even have the decency to clean up the damn yard. The chairs were out covered in trash still wrapped in plastic. Or what seemed to be plastic. What at first glance appeared to be plastic chairs were just a mockery made from the living flesh of the house. That party was annoying as hell as I had to plan it. Who knew eldritch nightmares loved neighborhood parties?


    ¡°Two damned months since you guys got me. So why must I clean this up?¡± I bitched.


    ¡°Calm down. You are especially grumpy today. Is it that school starts tomorrow, or that we stopped you from having another five energy?¡± Robert quipped. .


    ¡°It is couldn¡¯t be more clear. Want a better mood give me an energy drink. ¡° I growled.


    Apparently, I had self-destructive tendencies which annoyed the gaggle of dark gods. Those things had a meeting about my lifestyle and decided on some changes. The first thing they decided was that I needed less drugs. The second was even more draconian.


    ¡°Not cool by the way. Fucking wonderful.¡± I muttered waddling through the mess.¡±I¡¯ll get on that after this is delivered.¡±


    ¡°Naughty-Naughty. You only have one more for the day.¡± Robert spoke from the porch that was filled with trash.


    He didn¡¯t even bother to wave at his sister, who I passed on my way inside. So far I learned two things, the entities were far too weird to truly fully understand. But what I could understand was far too mundane. A middle-class family dynamics with a strange hierarchy that was spit between the father and mother. It was strangely fun to annoy the younger sister, her fashion sense made it so easy. Sure at any moment she would kill me but that would be admitting defeat. That hot pink mess sat on the porch with those pop art sunglasses with shitty gloves and high heels.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    That hot pink tub top with that strange skirt covered most of her body giving only a glimpse of the shoulders. She looked mostly human with a pallid skin tone and slight acne. But she still couldn¡¯t hide it all, as her neck had a goth necklace that had an owl skull that glowed a faint blue. Her hair was too textured and looked a bit too close to rows of scales. And her gloves had graphics of a striking snake and a biting crocodile. Still, she had improved a bit but she still couldn¡¯t look like anything at least two decades ago.


    ¡°Sup, doll.¡± I began, fully expecting death.¡± How is the porch? Should you be cleaning that up?¡±


    She grunted, tilting her sunglasses down at me. Then she pointed at her chest and pulled down her top slightly. She flashed me with her breast and had a strange bra that looked like enclosed wings. Then in that serene voice, she retorted,¡± No. Go do that. This should be right as you are a filth degenerate?¡±


    ¡°I am not a scaly, and you are not as hot as your sister,¡± I retorted, stepping onto the porch. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m busy. Got the rabbit for your mother, and your lipgloss set won¡¯t be here till tomorrow. And yes, hot pink as always.¡±


    ¡°Thank darling. Would you explain why you''re draining that into the house? You realize you''re making it hungry?¡±


    ¡°Your mother. You want to be the reason this is later than it is?¡± I strode past her into the den of insanity.


    ¡°You are getting a bit too big for your station. Should I take a finger to remind you of your place ?¡± she mused with the flicker of a serpent¡¯s tongue.


    ¡°Please do. Make sure you take my thumbs, I wouldn¡¯t rather be doing this.¡±


    I pushed the door open. A whip-crack rang out, followed by my yelp of pain. She hit me with her damn tail but if I reacted any harder it would amuse her, so I limped forward, to her sugary laughter. Walking as lightly as possible I moved to the damn back of the house. Every step bent slightly as the blood awaked the ground, and it attempted to take the prey. Of course, I smacked down every misshapen form, and the weird out-reaching tendrils on my path to the kitchen. Then I met the mother.


    I still couldn¡¯t fully withstand her nor identify her foreign existence. That being of unknown qualities grabbed the rabbit, devouring it, as I was forced to kneel to this higher power. I could feel the pressure like I was under a great waterfall that seemed to stretch forever. There were no words, never just words. Her thoughts engraved themselves on my very soul leaving brutal ragged impressions on my soul.


    I had pleased it and then with a massive gust of wind it tossed me back to the entrance. At least this time I was not in a puddle of my blood. Standing slowly, I turned to the door. Then like clockwork, I felt something unsettling. It was a throbbing dull pointing in the back of my head as my mouth dried. Odd feelings danced around my mind as lust sparked within my chest. The air became a caress and my breathing felt strangely pleasurable.


    My eyes darted around looking for the cause. The eldest daughter was watching me from her perch with a sick grin on her face. Unlike the other younger siblings, she had hidden her inhumanity with the facade of beauty, but the little things gave her away. The dimples on her face were a bit too unformed and her skin had slightly misshapen lines like a mix of stretch lines and tattoo ink. Her clothes at least were within the 2000s ¡ª simple jeans and crop top hoodie combo that had a very appealing fit. Well, she could wear a literal monkey suit and somehow make it appealing.


    Sadly, that was the annoying side effect of her being around. It inflamed the lust and other emotions of the mere mortals around her. Of course, those idiots would do or be anything at a word. Like a constant jezebel, she knew this and made slaves of all those fools who followed like fish to bait. But never to be the face of the group, simply the shadow who was in control. I hadn¡¯t yet gotten used to her presence, but I had a simple coping mechanism. True contempt.


    ¡°Sup Witch. What do you want?¡± I sputtered looking down. ¡°I am kinda recovering from your mother. Can you come back later?¡±


    ¡°How goes it, thrall? I need a favor,¡± she spoke with that seductive tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    ¡°I will and make it quick I need to nap.¡±


    I sputtered It was too much, so I moved to step two. Pain. Pinching my leg as. I was reaching my limit and she was always taxing.


    ¡°How are you able to handle this? I need to know. Come to me.¡± She mused like a siren.


    ¡°Hm hm... Later,¡± I spat, opening the door back to the younger sister.


    She smiled, her fang points glittering in the midday sun. She chuckled at me, looking from her simple book. I sighed as I was stuck between two massive loaded guns. I leaped forward to the younger forcefully slamming my head into the ground. The pain was the roaring river that cleaned away the madness that this hell hole always brought. Grumbling, I pushed myself from the ground only to see the younger sister laughing at me.


    That was my struggle, a hell of my own making. Grunting, I got up, limping back over to my house. The world faded as I merely moved over hoping for death. Every step was agony, a painful struggle forward to a soft bed. I imagined Sisyphus felt this way after every push of that damned rock.


    I did the basic pattering bullshit to my parents and all that they were talking about. All of it was absent mildly I couldn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t important. Only my room was where he sat waiting. Like a prisoner to the gallow I shuffled toward the bastard.


    Every evening once a day the father would appear in my room and we would talk. Well, talk if I could manage to open my mouth. Sometimes he would just invade my mind read through the day, and then try to day something that would never really stick. So like any other day in my wonderfully enslavement, I flopped onto my bed.


    That man those entities father sat on my chair reading a book. His brow raised as he saw me on the bed. With a slight smirk, he began ¡°You seem more glum than normal. What was that today?¡±


    Sighing, I turned to face the father of the monsters next door. The bastard always had that annoyingly calm voice. Every word sounded like a doctor prescribing medication, despite his ever-shifting features. Still, the only constant on that face was a smug smirk. Slowly lifting my head I looked at the living void and began my report. Every evening I had to start at the beginning, for some reason. I felt like a lab rat that was being cataloged during an experiment.


    ¡°Do your females have a concept of restraint?¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Oh dear, what makes you say that ?¡±


    ¡°Both your daughters are hitting on me. Can they stop? I am already trying not to betray humanity more than I already have.¡± With a simple turning in my bed, I had hoped to find that bat.


    True enough, I fought it again. That strange bat that always seems to hold a level of awareness. It felt kind despite it being a bat. Sometimes in the lonely night, it seems to hum a strange song from a prehistory before the existence of civilization. That sorrowful dirge seems to end the same an eternal wave and the sick laughter of hateful gods. Along with that weirdness, it seemed to alway appear beside me and gave me resolve. It made the months relatively bearable. Sure it clearly had a catch but beggars can¡¯t be choosers.


    ¡°Ah, the Elephant tusk is still there.¡± The father mused.¡± How does it make you feel ?¡±


    ¡°Wait, you know its name? Does it have a name? Well.. it is kind. Can you give a little info please?¡± I begged.


    ¡°Sure you have earned that much. That you hold is a bone of a race creature that was fond of humans. They have long reincarnated into your species but what remained had some power and perhaps some will. Their bloodline is more connected to your.. Asian subrace? species ever you call that. Still, they would have already come to confront me if they were anywhere near here. Ah, It is time for this talk to end. I must thank you again but be aware. It attracts its own demons.¡± He gently spoke leaving something on my table. ¡° I trust you will survive but my dutiful servant I fear others may want to use you. ¡°


    With a cryptid and random warning, he disappeared leaving my room in a strange blur. Of all the things that annoyed me the most were the cryptic warning and that disappearing. I glanced by at the setup that led me to this situation sighning. Dispute my better judment I moved towards it, and began to document what was happening. Someone had to keep this record.

 Another deal

    Rico


    I preferred nightmare creatures to physical recovery. Every action was slow and clumsy, like a toddler. Then everyone talked like some poor wretch couldn¡¯t know left from right. Still, my body was hit and healed, but that may have been its own trouble.


    Without the time, my body had phantom pains, still believing a wound was there and my nerves still flared up with pain. It was only topped in bullshit, was the god damned paperwork. I had to rewrite the major event at least seven times. That and my supervisor was a red flag.


    She was an older woman, clearly in her fifties, and had a strange pose. Her pale gray hair had luster and fluff that seemed to oppose her harsh facial features. It was rather hawk-like with sharp eyes and a hard sharp nose constantly set in a slightly annoyed expression. She never smiled only wrote on the observations at me  Those eyes noticed everything I did. Honestly it pissed me off  the slight muscles on my lip twitched in irritation. She was always spot on like she had divine help. Her suit was always well-pressed with golden hair clips keeping her hair in a simple bun. If not for her weird thermostat and her strange golden tie she would be almost annoying bland.


    ¡°So to review the teenager breached your cover, revealing this to you after you saved the kid from a potential kidnapper. Then you appeared in your hospital? ¡°She responded after a fourth recollection of events.


    ¡°Yes. I have said this every time you asked. Must you repeat it every time?¡± I said doing my daily routine.


    Twenty stretches for my lumbar, then twenty brigades for my back muscles. Then, using the treadmills, I began my seven miles thinking about what those bastards were. After that brutaquestion,l sprint, I began then took a moment downing a half liter of water, and only then began my squatting. Chests and lifts were out of the question so the weight in my apartment was useless. Then I went to the bridge lasting for at least a minute. Then I ended my workout with fifteen minutes of planking. And of course, she was still just watched with cold eyes sipping the harsh black tea.


    After the first day when she stayed, the day was weird but now I had just given up that complaint. After working out I had stopped looking back on the strange woman who simply sipped down the rest of my tea.


    ¡°So why are you still here?¡± I asked.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Simple just making observations and things of what to say for my report on you.¡± she snapped looking at me. ¡°I am a happily married woman and my husband is twice the man you are¡±


    ¡°Ok, no need to get aggressive. So, am I cleared for the field ?¡±


    ¡°Before the week is done, your test would be done. Then you should be able to work on that,¡± she responded. ¡°Something interesting is coming to that town. At least from what I can see¡±


    ¡°All right what is it? Russian counter operatives or gangs moving to that little town?¡± I half-joked. I fully expected something weird to happen, it would be impossible for odd not to happen.


    ¡°It could be. They would be sloppy and maybe clean up loose ends.¡± She retorted, finishing the tea. One of her many peculiarities was the fact she always had a thermostat with tea in it. It was always yellow with a metallic sign carved into it.  That offensive blend of spices always messed up my apartment, making it that much worse to live in. Cinnamon, pimento, mint rose and vanvila all drifted from the bitter yellow liquid. But she never stopped and I confronted her about it.


    ¡°Wait, why do you say that?¡± I questioned through coughing. ¡°Anything off about the killings ?¡±


    ¡°All the identifiable bodies were exsanguinated. They were with unknown liquids surrounding some bodies. ¡° she began. ¡° Stab wounds were the sign of course of death. The puncture marks similar to ice picks were also found on the body at both the neck and the arm region. There were also signs of a struggle and gun casings. There is also the pattern of victims. ¡°


    ¡°Let me guess what is the type? Women? Kids ?¡± I guessed based on my recollection of facts. Most serial killers had a group and worse preyed on the weaker people in society.


    ¡°Nope, Criminals who got out on bail or on loopholes. Race and age don¡¯t apply really, we still don¡¯t even have five victims but the fact the death made a trail to that place is unsetting.¡± She shivered and made a hand sign. It was strange, indiscernible like specifics were blurred out from my vision. What I knew was it went in the major directions and ended with a circular motion with her left hand. A familiar strangeness danced down my back like I could feel my cell age.  It was just like that picture I had on my phone.


    ¡° So what a vigilante? What did you just do  ?¡± I sputtered moving to the table. I was no fool grabbing the box cutter on my path over to her. It would be helpful I hoped.


    ¡°Your resistance to this it not very good. But if you must know it is an older sign. ¡°She sighed, reaching for her canteen. ¡° Tea ?¡±


    ¡°No. What is this? You working for those things ?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Ha. Please. Why would I work for something like that? No, my allegiance is with humanity. It is simply a matter of god.¡± She replied smiling for the first time.


    ¡°Oh ok. That is not reassuring. Why should I just out you ?¡± I mused annoyed. This was a game in which I was never shown the rules. I need working intelligence luckily I found a source.


    ¡°I have both vital information for you and nothing you have on me would be enough of 48 hour lock up. You can do the checks nothing is out of order¡± She said smirking at me.


    ¡°Why are you telling me this? I could offer myself as testimony.¡± I sputtered confused.


    ¡°Your word against mine. Plus I can ensure you don¡¯t end up dead or worse¡± she said.


    ¡°Worse ?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Trust me, it can always get worse.¡± She said.


    Fugging my brow, I was looking at her. She was right, but I couldn¡¯t trust her just yet. But so long as I can save Victor I wouldn¡¯t mind dealing with devil.


    ¡°Fine tell me what you know of those things,¡± I asked, signing my fate to one of these devils.

 New Arrivals

    Normally life was painful, but today was a special new flavor. I sat in the class, barely listening to the innate chatter of the students. Honestly, I couldn''t even tell what class it was, it took all I had just to pretend to care. But there was energy in the air. I felt crazier than normal. Despite that, I was not asleep or dozing off like usual. Again I blame those bastards for making me their pet project. So  for my meager revenge, I focused on them.


    My primary interest was ¡°Robert" the eldritch monster, who was in class playing the part of dutiful students. It was not the teacher''s fault nightmares, beyond words simply sat in his classroom and enjoyed his class. But I couldn¡¯t ignore it despite what it wanted.


    ¡°"Robert"¡± silently watched the homeroom making a note of everything. He watched everyone, keeping every micro-expression in mind, unlike his sister, who ignored the world. It made sense "Robert" was far more honest about his innate curiosity. Unlike his sister, he would only watch so much as to find a weakness. At least it was much better than the elder sister who would fit right in with the comic book villain lineup. At least I could understand the motives of the children.


    The father was an enigma, and I couldn¡¯t even understand their mother''s words. It was funny in the cosmic sense, but I was too close to the punchline. All I could do was pretend it was just okay as they altered my being.


    First, they cut my coffee and energy drinks from a respectable ten to a pitiful two. Either a cup of coffee or an energy drink, but not both. Never at the same time. Then they cut my vocabulary, as I was too wild for my own good. I could swear seven times a day, and even my mind was not safe. They even changed my wardrobe, getting me more formal clothes. They even banned me from sleeping in class. This left me crazed and far too sensitive to the damned world. Hoping for some peace, I shifted my gaze to the other people in class. They were talking with each other or acting like self-righteous fools while a genuine threat sat ready to kill them at any time. Then my body reacted to a new unknown.


    It was like staring at a dead body, one that was half-rotted and left in your yard. Strangely, all I could feel was the bitter bite of annoyance that focused me on the teacher. He was introducing a new student who honestly looked like the goth girlfriend meme.


    She didn¡¯t have any mature bust or sexy appeal; being far more normal for the school. Her eyes strangely attracted me despite how plain they looked, almost like mangled meat. There was no strange pose or weird quirk and it should have been smooth, but I felt disturbed. A deep loathing from my very being swam through my body as I watched her. She paired the vest with the skull with simple jeans.


    ¡°This is Victoria. She is a late transfer, but she is going to be with us. Move beside Victor and make sure you all know about the midterms coming up. Sure, Victor has improved and you seem less zoned out than before. So show her around, ok?¡± Mr Richard gestured to my desk.


    At least I know he earned the name Dick, I thought, looking at the teacher. Smiling, I nodded, desperately restraining my rage. Those dark beings also seemed to be aggravated by this stranger and it made me even more uneasy.


    Those thoughts consumed my being as I answered, ¡° Sure.¡±


    She smiled with near-perfect teeth that strangely annoyed me. ¡°Ok now back to it.¡±


    Only I flinched. The others didn¡¯t notice the stranger''s oddness, or the monsters sitting beside them. Terrified, I attempted to mask it, to blend in. Of course, the other people couldn¡¯t feel shit as usual but something stirred in them. Like the sheep- people they were a predator sent a primal panic across the room. But it was the monsters who grinned. Their faces barely maintained the facade of humanity as flashes of inhuman power stared at the stranger. That girl didn¡¯t seem to notice, merely smiled at me.


    This made my class uncomfortable, like a prisoner watching a judge read a criminal record. Slowly the feeling of uncertainty got to me, like waiting on the first shot in a war. I alone could see the monster bristle. ¡°Robert"s  hand clenched as his fingers became claws. Fur warped around his wrist poking out from his trench coat. His sister simply stared with a hollow, bitter look. Like the predator she was, she recognized the new threat. Slowing down, she watched and looked at others ready to kill. She made me even more nervous and more reason to escape. It got so bad it affected the normies.


    Even those idiots who never noticed the massive claws or strange limbs but they were on edge. The skin paled, and sweat dripped off tense faces that suffered under a phantom threat. It was like a sheep watching a hungry wolf. Everything was secondary to the threat, and I saw at least three teacher compose shatter. I only lasted until noon, in the middle of math class. It got to me. It was enough. I needed a quick way out.


    Acting on that impulse, I held up my hand using the oldest trick in the book.


    ¡°Sir, can I use the bathroom, please?¡± I responded by leaping up from my chair.


    Frowning, the math teacher stared at me. She was a mousy woman with a simple black pantsuit that seemed somewhat crumbled by movement. As a teacher she was ok, focusing on the technical and preferring the notebook to improvisation. But Math was annoying, and she didn¡¯t help.


    ¡°Fine, but when you get back this question on the board is yours. And again it is, miss. Now hurry back¡± she responded.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Nodding, I leaped up scampering out of the room. Sparing no looks back I dashed forward to the bathroom. Truthfully I didn¡¯t need to pee, it was just the fear of the room. That would make the list of I never want to do again. But I would never get that chance. I slid down the wall coughing violently as I struggled to maintain sanity. Tears streamed out of my eyes as I curled up onto the ground. My mind crumbled. It was a worn cloth that slowly was ripping apart. That made sense, I was a used bastard. Used by my own obsessions and by dark gods for whatever they were planning.


    I needed the bat. It always helped, I needed it. Reaching out onto the floor my nails scraped across the ground. Sure it hurt but the pain I prayed would hold me together. But if that light would hold him the darkness could consume me. Desperately I kept beating my fist on the ground in growing strength.  After the fifth slam of my fist somehow the bat appeared, and my hand crashed down onto it. That warm kind light helped me slowly helped me like a patch to my mind.


    Grasping it I simply bathed in the weak light, the panic fading from me. Then the shame came. Has anyone seen me freak out? Was I too loud? I panicked. Glancing down at the bat it grew insane. How did that work? Where did the bat come from?


    Breathing heavily, I was about to toss it away, but that light wields it to my hand. Perhaps it was evil, but it helped me a bit. I need that sparking stick at least for my mind.


    Standing, I rubbed my face. Slapping it I stared at the rotten fuck up in the mirror. Then I washed my face attempting to clean up. My hair was still greasy and my face looked dead. Whatever spark of life I had did not expect my appearance. The water didn¡¯t help either, it just made me feel worse.


    But like most things, I just sucked it up and kept going. So I did a simple routine to clean up. First washed my face then gargled with the tap water ending a couple slaps to my face. After an hour, I focused. Slowly, I reconnected with the normal life and, for a moment, I thought it was all a grand delusion.


    But a hammer to a guy''s skull. Another twisted nightmare came on my weird detector. Turning to the door I noticed another shadow. Something was outside and was approaching even faster. Raising my eyebrow I pointed my weapon at the stranger.


    ¡°If your human, please don¡¯t¡± I pleaded. ¡°But if not, you''re entering the fuck around, I will match it with the find out.¡±


    It was not my best threat, but I hoped it was effective. For a moment it was the stranger who simply stood at the door. Then at an inhuman speed, it ran forward with a hand of tendril and hooks. It was like the one from the hospital was vaguely human, but the eyes were a bit too shining, the skin had a glistening texture and the hair just looked fake.


    In a strangely sweet voice, it screamed ¡°Come here, bright boy. Give me a kiss¡±


    ¡°Kiss a train. Bitch you''re not even in my top fifty.¡± I retorted swinging my bat at the head.


    It was like hitting a pole, the bat echoing as the creature was tossed back. Unlike before, I wasn¡¯t just high on life or in my soup of madness. But now I was bent by the forces around me and more capable of handling these nightmares. My hand held my strange bat as I dodged a flurry of blows from the left. It tried to bite my head off with a sudden pair of jaws on the face. Slipping back I avoided the blow only to get hit by a savage knee to my gut.


    Spitting I rose, wraith burning within my every soul. It mocked me for striking a classic kung-fu pose. The arms out with a wide stance and a shaking head, like it was screaming. Who knew the monster liked Brue Lee? I mean who didn¡¯t? I thought.


    ¡°Come taste death¡± It sputtered with a flick of the wrist.


    I narrowly escaped that attack ducking forward to the beast. It tried to capitalize leaping forward, right into my trap. Suddenly shifting I swung my bat with all my strength, shattering the creature''s head with a world-consuming clang. The blow was so strong it sent that monster back at least three feet away from me. Rushing forward I slammed my bat down to the monster.


    I will not lie, I overdid it. After ten minutes I beat any human feature out of the body. My clothes were covered in a strange goo. I assumed it was the beast''s blood, as it painted the ground. It was mind-clearing. That was until the bell rang.


    How would I explain the corpse? Would I get locked up? I panicked looking at the dead body on the floor. Damn it, I didn¡¯t even have time to clean it up. Maybe the bathroom then what of the rest of it, and what about the blood on the ground, and the smell? Before I could not even do anything someone stepped through the door. Tossing the bat I fixed my eyes on the body I tried to fake shock, a gasp escaping my mouth.


    ¡°Who could have done this ?¡± I sputtered.


    ¡°That was a bad lie, Victor.¡± the stranger spoke.¡± If you must kill at least have the decently  to keep it tidy.¡±


    Turning to a stranger terror consumed me once again. Honestly, this was going to make me the biggest coward around, almost everything jumped me.  The damned new girl gave me a cheeky grin. Her perfect teeth caught the sunlight as she quipped.


    ¡°Wow you kill messily¡± she critiqued with a twink in her eyes.¡±You killed a Shoggoth with a bat. That bat you should toss it it ruins your pretty face¡±


    ¡°How the hell? No. Damn it not again. How many inhuman fuck faces do I need to meet? Is it some kind of magic ritual bullshit?¡± I growled.


    ¡°I.. oh that is the worst. What are  you ?¡± I mused.


    ¡°Until you become less cute.¡± She retorted looking at the body. ¡°Got any way to clean it up ?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I am just gonna have to settle for jail. No magical hero can come and save me. But I know you are planning something. Can you just fuck off ?¡±


    ¡°Nah I can¡¯t do that. Is it your friend Robert? He seems fun and rather powerful too. Will he solve this? ¡°


    That gave me pause. How did she know that? Was she like them? No, she felt weird but not like a monster or a great demon. It was more like looking at a corpse which was a special ew. They did not like each other.


    ¡°No, this would be funny to him. He would watch.¡± I grumbled looking at the door.¡± So you gonna rat me out ?¡±


    With a strange predatory stare, she smiled pointing at my bat. ¡°No. But I will even offer you help with your body if you just give me a bit of information on that. Just a bit please¡±


    That was not a bad deal. I had no way to clean it up and with no way to fix this, it would ruin everything. But just like that another monster digging into me seems to be even worse but I couldn¡¯t find any other way. Well, moral way.


    ¡°I could blame you ¡° I attempted with a shitty smirk on my face.


    ¡°No, that is your word against mine. Then there is your reputation and your appearance. Nice try tho.¡± She snapped with a smug look on her face. She was like a damned cat who just found the perfect toy. It was my luck. I put superheroes and manga characters to shame.  Rubbing my temples with rage I sigh, making another damned agreement.


    ¡°Damn it all. I know my future,  I will be a lawyer. It is the only way to deal with you damned monster bastards.¡± I growled finally. ¡°Sure I got the bat from Roberts''s house. No, I will not toss it, It is mine and you can fuck right off with that¡±


    Giggling, she got close her black hair falling loose from her head. There was a faint smell of metal, like a copper coin, or a battery coil. She grabbed my hand and held it kissing it. This zapped me with the strange current that felt like being tased. I couldn¡¯t even scream only a weak gargle came from my throat. Then she stopped, leaving a black kiss mark on my hand.


    ¡°Right, my name is Shelly. Get out of here as this will not be pretty¡± she said with a much colder tone.


    ¡°Well damn, wait what? Ok pikachu, warn me next time.¡± I spat turning to a stall. Quickly entering it all I sat, letting the strange noises happen outside. But I couldn¡¯t care, I just couldn¡¯t handle another deal with some inhuman.

 Eyes in the fog

    Rico


    I hated not being in the action. My partner had taken my place and, strangely, seemed to enjoy it. Her usually snapper persona faded away as quickly as my dreams. She slipped into the teaching role like a glove and even enjoyed how each student reached out to them. Her constant statements about the students were not only annoying, they were worse because of my inaction. I, however, sat in a new safe house in the middle of a mess of papers, reports, and notes ranging from logical topics to information on the ¡°Dreamlands.¡± Slipping my coffee, I read through my partner''s statements around Victor like a judge. Something rallied her, and she wasn¡¯t alone.


    Those monsters hovered over him and slowly they molded him to their liking. Then he changed. Before he was a crude bastard of a child who would be the classic shit poster, the one friend that was always watched was gone. But he was whipped and eating out of his hands.


    They made him formal. Rico had no better way to describe it. Somehow, they sanded down all the rough edges of his persona. Black loafers that always glistened in the light replaced his constant sneakers. Hell, he looked clean and ready for the world. In any other case, it would have been a miracle and damned divine revelation. But those things were involved.


    Victor was different. But unlike the scales, it was better hidden. Those little things that are only on reflection would be weird. His eyes were too quick to dilate, his fingers were too narrow, forming into his fingers into a claw-like appendage. Those once dirty nails were now too clean, sharp, and slightly angular. Like a claw. Most people would never notice that, and not even almost jumpy readies to action was weird. Most of the changes could be written off as nerves or his antisocial personality.


    But I knew the truth. I saw the truth, the strange new intensity of his eyes, the sudden changes to his very body. He became like them, an inhuman monster. I hope to get to him before everything when fubar.


    Then it got worse. The report was brutal, as it was brief. Four new students appeared at the school. Of the four none were human. Two were humanoid, but the soft factor of those little things gave it away. The blood was too vivid, and the eyes were not quite right. The edges of the iris had a bit too many red pigments, like a tattoo. But I knew the truth. It was blood, but the dead giveaway was the reaction to water. Like an acid, it burned the two, but the worst was the girl.


    Static cling hung over her very body like a god damned spirit. The worst was the strange strength she showed. She not only crushed a coin in her hand, but bent a railing by grasping it. She was just a dumb muscle. The name was given; Victoria Lanchester. The last name of an actress. Who played the bride of Frankenstein ; it was a wonder she wasn¡¯t already found out.


    The other one passed all the tests, but there was a lack of any irregularities or variations. No heartbeat changes, no pressure spike, nothing that would suggest stress. It suggested nothing at all. It is the perfect chameleon, with no changes or even issues. But that was the problem. Most people had slight fluctuation changes in some glucose levels and other preserves. This thing didn¡¯t change at all. No matter the time of day or moment, it had the same blood pressure, sugar content and even blinking levels.


    As I scanned through the reports from my new safe outside, something caught my eye. That one girl with red highlights matched another report. Scrambling up from my table, I dashed over to another stack of paper. Those lay across from the kitchen, among the other major report notes and information from that cult.


    It was helpfully finally opening my eyes to the monster that stalked that town and the genuine danger of the world. It also involved many weird things, with notes as old as those in the USA. Yes, as old as the country with stranger inscriptions and drawn images of events that would be right at home in the old pulps. The muscle-bound hero facing the monster that would rule those classic 1-dollar pulps.


    It even put a name to that monster the new arrival was a vampire. Any specialist I had that something could not exist. After dark gods and nightmares from beyond reality, a mere vampire wouldn¡¯t be out of range. But I found that the term vampire needs a scholarly review and a new edition. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Thousands of entries that all matched the idea of a vampire. At least half contradict each other, some feeding of differing things. Some like bone marrow, some like blood, some like the sparks from someone''s mind. If it were ten months ago, I would have tossed it and turned my badge after the third mentioned of virgins. But now I had seen crazier, and this was just plain interesting. After three hours of reviewing about a century''s worth of notes, I had gathered four major points.


    The first of the major lines of vampires was a damned monster. This then branched out to strange new monsters, but they all seemed to be ¡°vampires ¡°. That trend seemed to extend to all the vampires a broad cauterization with strange subspecies. The oldest lines were the most monstrous and seemed to be around from prehistory, the oldest note coming from at least Romans.


    An ape-like group of monsters, with elongated limbs and strong brutal hands who seemed to enjoy women ripping each of the flesh of men, all the accounts were hellish. Luckily there was a translation of it, but the litthim was not pretty or at least had a poor publicist. They seemed to prefer to eat people without being pitchy about what. Honestly, they would be closer to ghouls. But that was another race of nightmares and were much more pitiable than this kind of vampire. The strange fact is most of these vampires were, well, hybrids. Something was mixed with human DNA and it was not pretty. This then led to the middle child, who was in some ways weirder than ape men.


    The middle child seemed to be over the east with reports reaching from China, to Japan all the way to the Fuji islands. Mostly they seemed more human but preferred most body mutations and even when to get blood. Hell, some didn¡¯t want blood, with weird cravings. Some preferred tears, some liked brain matter, and one specific kind enjoyed semen. One notable hopping version even took souls. Each kind had it own lore method of collecting victims and there were rarely any survivors. That was not as common as the first line but they seemed to enjoy leaving dead. However, they also seemed to have methods of enslaving them, and notable names of some individuals with pictures that were last dated 2019. Finally, that left the youngest version, which was the hardest to believe.


    It was a trove of tropes clich¨¦ and horror stories that had vampires. All the generic vampire information fits them. Holy water, crosses and the silver the whole nine yards that seemed kinda boring. Besides, the fangs and minor alterations to iris fingers and markings on the body they could have passed for humans. Perhaps that was the point they could be anywhere and in an age that had little faith they were much more dangerous.


    The powers were also far stronger than the myths. No mere wolf they would become a pack of wolves or a whole fog cloud. At least the older ones. They had two major sources of food, energy, blood and people. Like the needy young brats, this line seemed to be filled with the always gravity to places of power in the world, or at least nearby it.


    Reading it, I noticed the monsters had a need for humans. That was reassuring somewhat, but the why changed from line to line. Whether for food or offspring and other nightmares, it was always there. But not as important, more so just things in the background. They were never truly a major threat, more a nuisance that people and groups had to deal with once in a while.


    As I read through, a sudden wind blew through my house. Swiftly turning, I found something staring at me. Those blood-red eyes with a strange fang maw that smirked at me. Watch me like a fool, like prey to be devoured. I fled, dashing away from it with my hand on my pistol. Clearly, if it wanted me, it would have to do so behind my bullets.


    Falling behind the counter, I took the safety off the 9 millimeter and held the gun. Peeking upwards, I saw the damned eyes staring, looking at me like a damned hound. Those pins of red hellish light, that saw me, with the blood, sweat, and tears of the world that shook me. So that was it, I thought, frantically reaching into my cabinet. Vampires were not a major nightmare they were a personal. Not to groups of people, but a simple one-to-one, much like a bullet to bomb.


    With my hand on the bag, I ducked to the left, avoiding a chilly wind that chilled my bones. Was this harassment or some beginning of a power? Who knew, but I didn¡¯t like it either way.


    Sliding my safety back on, I took a much more effective weapon to deal with the undead. With a pop of the bag, I threw out the crystalized substance forward, forcing the nightmare away. Salt was the last through line of the vampires. It ranged from a brutal burning acid to horrible irritation to basically a potent narcotic. The third line of Vampire is basically pepper spray and boy, did it do wonders.


    That smirking fog went from a smug pride to burning outrage. It screamed full of rage, burning bloody fury that would have a special place in my nightmares. It would be a bloody miracle if I ever got a good sleep again. Well, that was for the pills to solve. That wail that came from the pit of hell lasted a minute, rallying my very bones. Then, with another gust of wind, it was gone.


    Inching back away from the counter I shivered, bitterly looking away front where the monster. It was purely involuntary, like looking away from a murder. But before I could spiral down, an alert rang from my phone. Fishing it out of my pocket, I merely gazed at the text.


    ¡°Welcome back to the field. You going back tomorrow.¡±


    Grinning despite myself, I knew what was first to be done. Clean this house then deal with monsters one step at a bloody time.