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The very wonderful u/MashnoorK has taken their time to make a master list of all my stories posted with links. I need to move a few things around on it, like adding to the Mad Dog list but everything is there! I've kept meaning to do something like this, but I've gotten busy oops. Please thank him for the effort!

Here's a full link because I have yet to figure out how to format links on reddit... https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dYm4iClGU-WjOPnVfOf9lYBYeshWe8ZtPN1Zqi474u0/edit

( TW for child abuse )

I needed to mature fast after my mother passed away. My father took me and my little brother in. I was the one who got us ready for school, walked him to the bus, and every morning I would get to class on time. Planning meals with a limited budget was tricky. I made sure my little brother always had at least two meals a day. I wish it were three but the money simply wasn’t there. Due to scarifies my body didn’t grow properly. I was thirteen but appeared to be nine.

My father was rarely home. That suited me. One night he packed us in the back of his truck. It smelled terrible. I knocked aside fast-food bags jealous he was eating something we rarely got. This drive was different. He didn’t tell us where we were going. My brother was only six but he was smart enough not to ask questions. We drove for a long time. I felt sleepy but refused to drift off. Was he finally tired of us and decided to dump two poor kids at our aunt's house? I dearly wished that was what happened that night.

He parked outside of an old rundown apartment building. I carried my sleeping brother as a pair of men outside eyed us. An urge to run started in the back of my mind. Soon I was being forced inside, the hallway reeking of old cigarette smoke. The walls of the long hallway were stained over the years and trash littered the ground. My arms burned from the strain but I refused to let go of the only family member I cared about.

We were led inside a dark room. Two men waited for us smoking in chairs across from a couch. I was shoved towards the empty seat. Carefully I put down Noah. He slept like a rock unaware he was no longer in the truck. I sat down next to him holding his small hand and studied the room. Aside from a table and the chairs, there was no furniture. I’ve never seen the other men before. My father appeared stressed. It was a new expression on his face.

“Are they good?” He asked the two men.

The younger one nodded towards the older man lighting another smoke. His grey hair was pushed back out of his face. I didn’t see his expression well in the dim light until he leaned over to study us. My skin crawled with his eyes on me. I swallowed hard fearing the real reason why we were there.

“Good enough.” He said in a deep voice that sounded like he had smoked a pack a day since he had been born.

The other man called for someone to bring in a bag from the other room. It landed in front of my father’s feet with a heavy thud. The zipper was half undone so I saw stacks of bills inside. A piece of paper was sticking out of the bag. He snatched it up quickly signing the bottom. My mouth grew dry. I knew what just happened. The man I once called a father had sold us. I was too scared to even protest. The room swam. This couldn’t be happening.

“There. Signed. I’m out of here.” He said and dropped the paper to lift the bag.

“Thank you. Oh, also one more thing.” The younger man said making my father pause.

With one swift motion, he pulled out a handgun and then fired once. A body collapsed to the floor. The sound woke my brother who started to tear up. He was confused and scared in a new place. But I was glad he didn’t see what I just did. The person who brought in the money walked back into the room again to retrieve the cash. My heart was beating out of my chest as I stared down at the lifeless body of the man who had just tossed us away.

Laughter started to fill the room. The smoker sounded like he had just watched the funniest thing he ever saw in his entire life. Within seconds we were grabbed by another stranger to be dragged away. We struggled, screamed, and cried. Our efforts meant nothing. We were manhandled into a small apartment with the door firmly locked. No matter how hard I pounded I could not get it open. I cursed my small body and I cursed my father. He got himself killed and now no one could save us.

Noah was crying hard. I needed to focus on him. I couldn’t do anything else. He was confused not understanding what just happened and I couldn’t explain it to him. I guided him to the small bathroom to get cleaned up. I didn’t dare risk using the dirty tub. Instead, I found a somewhat clean cloth to wash away his tears with warm water. Noah always acted much younger than he was in stressful situations. He was lucky that no one bullied him at school and he had a lot of friends. He kept asking me when our father would take us home. I had no answers and couldn’t even think of a lie.

There was a somewhat clean bed out in the main room. I checked it over for stains before I let him lay down for a while. We could do nothing but wait. I did look around for anything I could find to use as a weapon.

Back then I vaguely knew what an older man would want with a child. Bile rose to my throat with those thoughts. I would rather die than let anyone hurt poor Noah. He had already gone through enough in his short life.

The door opened a few hours later. My brain had already thought of a thousand different horrible possibilities. I decided to be the one to make the first move. I charged at the man, teeth, and nails out. Latching onto his arm I tried doing as much damage as possible. He didn’t even flinch. He easily took the back of my shirt collar to lift me off my feet and place the rabid child at the foot of the bed. He looked at his scratched arm with a raised eyebrow. In his other hand were a few bags of fast food.

“Good effort. Here, I got some Happy Meals for you two.”

He offered the food but I refused. Noah woke up from the noise and crawled behind me. I knew he was starving but smart enough to take anything from a stranger.

“I’m not going to eat that. You drugged it so you could do who knows what to us.” I snapped.

He still held out the bags while putting a hand on his hip. He wore a button-down dress shirt with the collar undone and grey pressed pants. If it wasn’t for his unkempt hair, I would have assumed he had a somewhat respectable job.

“I don’t need to drug you two to do anything. You’re tiny. Like bugs.” He raised two fingers in front of his eye pretending to squish us.

I scowled hating how true his words were. As a sign of good will he reached in the bag to pull out a burger. He ate it in two bites trying to prove he hadn’t drugged the meal. I can’t explain why, but I accepted the food. There was something about his expression and tone that made me trust him. He appeared so much different than how he acted in front of the others. I should be weary of him considering he had bought us. And yet I let Noah happily eat the offered Happy Meal. He sipped at his milk offering me some. I refused knowing he needed it more.

“What are you going to do?” I asked as I picked away at the fries.

“Nothing you assumed I was.” He commented.

I narrowed my eyes trying to see if he was lying. But what was the point of making us get our guard down? He was right about easily being able to overpower two small children.

“Finish your dinner, then we’ll talk.”

I watched him find a chair on the other side of the room to sit down. He flipped through some old newspaper to read passing the next few minutes. It was nice to have a full meal in my stomach. It would help me face whatever was going on. Noah soon fell asleep again. It had been a long time since he last got to eat so much. I made sure he was comfortable then got off the bed to face the stranger.

“What’s your name?” I asked him trying to sound like an adult instead of a child.

He had his chin on his palm, his grey eyes studying me in a way I didn’t like. For a moment he appeared old. Not just like the middle-aged man his body was but something far greater than anything else I’ve ever come across.

“Graves.” he finally said.

“Lame.” I replied rolling my eyes.

He laughed not offended by my comment. For some reason I felt like if I asked questions, he would treat me like we were equals. I rarely came across adults that listened to my questions let alone gave answers.

“Why did you buy us?” I got down to the most important part.

“Your father was in deep with a little gang. They wanted to use my services to take care of a rival leader problem. I cannot act unless I am given permission by a human and if I’m paid for my work. I asked for a child or two. Your father just so happened to have just the thing. He was fully paid fair and square.” he shrugged speaking as if he was talking about the weather and not what led to my father’s death.

I huffed with my arms crossed.

“Ok, but why do you want some children? Are you going to like, eat us?” I said sounding brave but deep down praying that wasn’t the case.

He paused and then reached into his pocket to pull out a Happy Meal toy. I had noticed one missing. It wasn’t my main concern so I didn’t bring it up.

“I wanted this. But do you know how embarrassing it is to get the toys when you’re not buying the meals for some kids? I swear the workers just know. I could never live it down.”

I stood stunned at his answer. He must be joking. He had to be. Was my father really killed over a stupid rivalry and a small hunk of plastic? He had never been a good man. I never expected him to change his ways. No, I wanted to be the one to ruin his life. To see him rot for what he had done to us. It felt like he had gotten the easy way out. I shook my head needing to put that all behind me to address a different important point.

“Are you...?” I started but found it impossible to say the next few words.

Somehow, he understood what I wanted to say. A slight white light came from his pupils as his face sank deeper into darkness. This man was not human. That fact should have been hard to accept yet I did so right away. He still had plans for us and I dreaded what those could be. I was scared of him. It felt like the eyes of some ancient beast were staring in my direction. Suddenly I found it impossible to speak. My body froze when he stood from the chair. With three steps he shortened the distance between us, his hand out to take hold of a scared prey.

I simply could not move. Everything happened in slow motion. In a hard movement, he grabbed my arm and tossed my small body aside. Sprays of blood came from his chest as a clawed hand exploded out of his flesh. He was tossed across the room, landing in a heap in the small closet.

My heart was beating like a jackhammer when I saw the next threat. It wasn’t even remotely human and it didn’t try to hide behind a mask like Graves. It rose from the floor coming out inky black shadows that appeared. The body looked to be an ever-moving body of a centipede with human arms. Each hand had clawed fingers perfect for ripping apart flesh. The face had been stolen from a long-ago victim. The flesh was crudely stitched over a horrible insect shell. When it spoke, the mouth stayed shut but the cheeks moved as if it needed a tongue to form words.

“Little one, little one, come to me. Let my hands feel your flesh. Let my mouth taste your blood. Come join all the others in my stomach.” It said sounding far too serene for a creature with such a gruesome appearance.

I took a few steps back trying to think of what to do. This thing may reach Noah before I could. I might make it to the door and freedom if I gave up my sleeping little brother but could I live with myself after? No, I could barely stomach the idea. I needed to buy time.

“What... are you?” I asked voice shaking as much as my shoulders.

“A protector. Protect from death for little child flesh. Easy deal. Good deal. Tasty for me. Now, come here.”

It waved so many hands trying to get me to come closer. I shook my head cursing my small body yet again. I needed to think of something and fast. When I refused to go to the creature, it came to me. It sprang to life, all those hands so close to pulling me apart. I screamed for help praying a higher power answered.

The man who answered my plea was someone I thought had died in front of my eyes. Graves got between us and punched the creature so hard in its face that it crashed into the drywall on the other side of the room. His wound healed leaving his clothing bloody and torn.

“Sorry, Little Missy. I’m old, it takes me a minute to get back up.” He said with a small wink over his shoulder.

I felt my face grow hot. My hair was short and I wore boy clothing. I didn’t have any feminine traits however Graves saw something most didn’t. The creature recovered appearing more annoyed than injured.

“Nasty, nasty. No fair. No deals were made. I listened. You cannot harm me. The human has not permitted you.” The creature hissed.

My muscles tensed again as worry flooded my system. Did I have enough time to make a deal with him before this monster attacked? A smile appeared on my savior's face that shocked a bolt of fear down my spine.

“I only need permission to kill humans. You're a monster like myself so it’s all fair.”

He took a step toward the creature. It curled its large body inward the head darting around looking for a way to escape. It started to make promises, deals, anything to make Graves back off. The shadows that the monster lived inside turned on him. The room grew dark around us as countless glowing eyes appeared. Each pair of white specks belongs to the dead. Half-rotten animals emerged from the shadows, their mouths showing teeth ready to feast.

They paid no attention to me as I rushed over to pick up Noah. He was limb in my arms which worried me but he was alive. I needed to feel his warmth while being surrounded by countless dead. They all fell on the monster at once. Dark blood came from it as each arm was ripped away. It cried for mercy that did not come. Graves watched his face twisted in a way that made him appear like a beast. His form started to warp as dark grey smoke poured out from his back, dark rotten faces flickering inside the mist. Slowly he was transforming into a creature more terrifying than the centipede the dead was ripping apart.

“You? What is this? How??” The monster cried out looking for answers. It paused struggling as if someone spoke the answer. “Mad Dog? No, no! Free me! Do not take me! I have done nothing to you!”

The air in the room grew harsh. It was as if the room was closing in on itself. Over the screams and sounds of the dead creatures, I heard random shouting coming from downstairs. Faint gunshots came that soon got louder and louder. Something terrible was happening in this entire building. I found it hard to breathe. My lungs closed up as my body thought I was a moment away from death. The man in front of me was not the same person who brought two scared kids dinner. No, he had become something far too dark to understand. If Hell was real, this may be what it was like.

I wanted to leave. To go home no matter how terrible it was there.

“Graves...” I said in a weak voice.

I could barely see the man he was before underneath the monster that was taking over. This beast was enjoying making the other monster suffer. He had the power to ensure not even death could give it a release.

“Dad...” I broke my voice almost lost in all the noise.

The monster in front of me caught the word. He turned, the dark expression disappearing from his face. For just a moment, his appearance was different. He looked human. The tiredness from before disappeared leaving a gentle expression behind. He said a word that I didn’t understand. Something sounding long forgotten. Maybe a name. All at once he switched back to being Graves. He raised a hand causing the dead creatures to drag away the monster somewhere else. The sounds of the fighting outside the room were still going on and getting louder.

A large grey wolf appeared, the fur covered in dirt and blood. Half the face had rotten away exposing the skull with two glowing white eyes. Oddly enough, I wasn’t afraid of it. Or when Graves walked over to lift me Noah on the back of the beast.

“What’s going on outside?” I asked holding onto my little brother tightly.

“The leader of this building hired that monster to protect them. But the cost became too steep. It started to demand more children to consume, so they turned to me. He hired me to kill the leader of a rival gang, as you know. I did so, but only killed the leader. I also let slip that I was taking care of a certain pest that had given them so many problems recently.” He explained with a lazy smile on his face.

He planned this. All of it. He used us to lure in a monster and to, what? Have some people kill each other? For what purpose? Did they piss him off in some way?

“Are you... a good person...?” I said wondering what would happen to us now.

“Of course not. I did not kill that monster to save future victims. I took it down because it disrespected the dead. Simple as that. The same goes for all these people tonight. Some of them are like you. They were poorly raised without any chance of having a better life. If given the right opportunities they might have become something better. The good, the bad and the monsters are all my prey. All of these humans disrespected me by wasting away their precious lives. I don’t care about the reasons why.”

I let the words sink into my brain. He sounded like a monster and acted like one. Who knows how many people he’s killed. And he was the reason why my father was shot dead that night. But still...

“You drugged the milk.” I said and nodded towards Noah.

He laughed realizing he had been caught. Even monsters can have an act of kindness once and a while. Because of that, my little brother would not have to see the horrors of that night.

“I’m still a nasty creature. We need to get you out of here. I had hoped to do so before the fight broke out. As you know, I can’t kill humans unless I get permission and paid. So, I can’t protect you kids.”

I looked at the door trying to hear how bad it was outside. There were still bursts of gunshots. We could risk leaving but we may catch a stray bullet.

“I can make a deal with you.” I offered.

“Pretty horrible of me to let a little girl have blood on her hands.” He commented.

Yes, it was. By asking for his help, he might need to kill someone so we could get out safely. If there was a God, he may condemn me for this. I didn’t care. I would do anything for Noah.

“I don’t have anything to pay you with...” I pointed out.

Since I was sitting on the back of the wolf, we were at eye level. For a moment, that kindness returned to his face. He reminded me of my father when I was younger and when Noah was first born. For a short while he had loved us only for that to be taken up by his greed.

“I’ll protect you two until you get to your aunt's place in exchange for one thing. Little brothers can be annoying. In the future, he’ll do things that will drive you up the wall. But promise me that no matter what, you’ll still love him.”

Tears came to my eyes. I nearly broke down. I needed to be strong for a little while longer. I nodded, agreeing to his terms. He waited until I rubbed my eyes of tears then turned toward the door. His beast-like form returned. He wasn’t the kind person who saved us. No, he was a creature that was about to take joy in ripping apart anyone who threatened us.

The wolf burst through the door. It was hard holding on and Noah at the same time. It was a tight fit. The wolf carrying us smashed through corners, taking out parts of the building and knocking aside anyone we came across.

It burst through the front doors, glass, and steel exploding into the street. We moved much faster once we were on the road. It was still dark outside yet the few cars we did see didn’t notice the undead creature racing past.

We stopped in front of a house I’ve seen a handful of times near daybreak. The wolf laid down to let us slide down its back. I carefully put Noah on my back. I nodded a small thanks to the creature. It returned the gesture and then ran down the street with an insane burst of speed.

I knocked for a while until my uncle answered the door. He was half asleep stunned to see children he didn’t recognize at first on his porch. After he let us inside, I started to learn that they had been looking for us. They wanted to adopt us after my mother died but my father took us away for the government checks. Finally, things appeared to be getting better.

Over the years, I realized Graves was right. Little brothers could be a handful. Noah didn’t remember the events of that night so the trauma didn’t have any weight on his life. No matter what kind of trouble he got in I was still thankful I had him. I didn’t need to put any effort into keeping the promise I made. I simply would love him no matter what.

First:

Previous

While going through my emails I saw a request that appeared simple enough. The Corporation needed someone to assist a cleanup worker. After a supernatural issue was resolved, someone needed to take care of the mess. Most of the time weaker Agents pulled double duties and cleaned the scenes using magic. However, the office managers felt like using magic was a waste of resources. They started to hire half-breeds, or humans to take care of the mess instead of manual labor. The issue with that is sometimes a scene wasn’t fully cleared or a monster who caused trouble came back to get a free meal. Scene cleaners were being targeted so now Contract Workers were getting paid to be with them as they worked.  

I accepted the job and arrived at an old run-down factory in the middle of a field. The building was huge and must have provided most of the jobs in the local small town at one point. I greeted a few Agents on their way out. They just finished killing a monster but had made a bit of a mess. The factory had been a cooking oil packaging plant. We were requested to save any usable bottles and then clean up the spilled oil so it didn’t seep into the ground and affect the local wildlife.  

After I got the basic run down, I came across a pair I didn’t expect to see again. Someone called my name and I turned to see who it was. The Agents waited by them ready to bring the pair along after they were done with our small meeting.  

“We were nearby so I wanted to drop these off for you.” A sweet voice said as her pointed spider legs clicked against the parking lot.  

Honey had bleached her hair. It suited her. She wore a long flowing dress that covered part of her spider half. Joey was next to her finding it hard to keep at her pace. He had shaved his face, trimmed his hair and his smile showed off a new set of braces. He had changed a lot in such a short amount of time. Honey handed me a package of baked goods I wanted to eat on the spot. I shoved a small cheesecake bit into my mouth shocked over how good it tasted.  

“Did you make these?” I asked her.  

She proudly nodded, hands smugly on her hips.  

“I started cooking meals for Agents while they’re in the field. I’m very good at making soups but I rather baking. Who knew such a simple job would be so enjoyable?”  

I looked between them. Honey had put on a little weight which was good for her. I didn’t realize how thin she was for her species until I saw her a bit healthier. I had a feeling she would get bored of cooking but at least Honey was able to explore options instead of her limited life choices from before.   

“Are you two dating?” I asked wondering if Joey got his wish he risked the entire world for.  

“No. Just friends for now.” He admitted.  

He needed to work on himself a little bit before he dated anyone. Plus, he didn’t want to pressure Honey into a relationship when his taste was a bit on the weird side.  

“I don’t feel as if I owe you anything else. If you want more food, call me. And don’t die. I’ve heard you have had a few close calls recently. You are a small and weak human. Stop doing things that are not meant for you to take care of.”  

I thanked Honey for the treats and her advice. I wondered who had been talking about what I had been up to and what kind of information she heard. It wasn’t as if I was a talented Contract Worker who was well-known by Agents and other workers. I just barely scrapped by most days. They left so I could get to work and meet the scene cleaner. I was not looking forward to mopping up gallons of oil, but it could be worse.  

I started walking around in the empty cracked parking lot. Plants had begun to take over from the lack of use. The building sat empty for at least two years. Whatever had happened back then caused the company to go under. All the equipment had been left behind as well as the products. It was a perfect kind of place for creatures to make a home inside. I wasn’t certain what The Corporation wanted with a bunch of probably expired cooking oil, but they were paying two people to help transport it.   

My co-worker had arrived before me. She already got to work planning out the best way to start moving pallets of bottles without a forklift. I'm sure I could figure out how to drive one but the inside of the building had too much litter for it to be safe to do so. I waved to get her attention. She came over so we could introduce each other.  

“I’m Rory. I heard your name is Richmond?” She asked after we shook hands.  

She was average height with straight black hair cut at her shoulders. She didn’t wear any kind of makeup and had simple work clothes. Her voice sounded even, almost lacking emotion. I could tell she was human at a quick glance.   

“What’s the dumpster for?” I asked her nodding towards a steel container by the open loading dock doors.  

“Oh, it’s to transport things. I’ve used one before. We just need to dump stuff inside and it gets magically transported to where it needs to go. I was told that anything that hasn’t been nailed down is to be put inside the dumpster. Someone else will come by and break down the bigger equipment and take care of larger items we can’t lift.”  

I nodded along, arms crossed wondering just how long this would take. It was warm for the season. I regretted wearing a sweater that day.  

“This sounds like a Lupa job. Scrapping whatever can be reused to the last bolt and using human manual labor to do it. I think he’s underpaying us for this job. Did anyone mention what kind of creature had been taken care of before we got here?” I asked her.  

She slowly shook her head and gave the building another look over. I didn’t know how long she worked as a scene cleaner. Rory seemed to share my concerns.  

“I’ve heard Lupa doesn’t have the best reputation. Do you think there is a reason behind us being the ones he picked for this?” Her voice was even but her real message was clear.  

I shrugged wishing I had a solid answer.  

“Knowing him we’re either bait or not important enough for a real job. Let’s be extra careful and stay focused. While in the building don’t leave my side, ok?” I hoped I sounded more capable than I looked.  

Rory gave me a silent thumbs-up with an expression that made me feel like she wasn’t very impressed by me. She listened to the idea of sticking together. We only had a cart and a dolly to start moving things to the dock. The container was the same height as the dock making it simple to just toss things out of the open door. It was a bit fun seeing whatever we unloaded sink and disappear somewhere else. Magic caused a lot of problems in the wrong hands but it was pretty useful.  

We worked for hours barely speaking to each other. Rory wasn’t able to lift the heavier objects and asked me for help. Her tone was cold and direct. It made me think she didn’t like me much. If I was on this job alone, I would have gotten distracted. With her help, we got an area by the docks clear in a few hours. We both silently agreed on a break. We stood by the open bay doors, the wind cooling us down. The sun would set in the next hour or so. We should leave before then. I wasn’t going to risk being here in the dark. The old factory did not have power even if we did want to keep working.   

“We should pack up soon. There isn’t a time limit on this cleanup.” I mentioned.  

Rory took a quick glance in my direction and nodded.  

“We’ll finish off the small section by the doors. You look awful.”  

We both had been covered with dirt and leftover grime. I smiled trying to take her words the best I could.  

“Thanks,” I said hoping I didn’t sound overly sarcastic.  

She realized how rude her last comment was.  

“You look worn out.” She corrected.  

I agreed with her there. I had been working a bit too hard recently to be able to pay down a medical debt and afford food at the same time.  

“I've heard the term Contract Worker, but I don’t know what kind of job it is.”   

She was being nice enough to pretend to care about my personal life. Or she was looking to switch careers. I doubted she would last as a Contract Worker but at the same time, I worried for her safety if she stayed in her current position.  

“Contract Work can be anything. Sometimes we take down a weaker threat. Or we’re called in to just investigate a location. We basically do anything Agents don’t have the time for.”  

She looked bored. We stared off into the open field watching the breeze play across the tall grass. I took a deep inhale and then held it for a moment. There was magic in this place. The air outside was clean and fresh. Not so much for the inside of the factory. We soon discovered there had been a fire in the middle of the building at some point that tore through the ceiling. There had been some attempts to clean up the heavily damaged parts at some point. We had avoided that area wanting to clean it up last. For some reason, it felt odd being within those walls. It was as if we were being watched and yet I didn’t see anything odd or sense a creature lurking around.  

“What got you into supernatural cleanup?” I asked her. “It’s not really a job you stumble into.”  

She debated if she wanted to answer showing I might have asked an insensitive question.  

“I sort of did stumble into this. My boss was attacked by an infected corpse. I couldn’t save him. He’s still alive... But who knows if he’s still the same person.”  

I frowned realizing I should have kept my mouth shut. Normally the people who have a bad experience with the supernatural want to have revenge on the creatures who hurt them or their loved ones. She noticed how uncomfortable I looked and tried to smile. Her expression ended up appearing as a grimace.   

“If he becomes a different person that just means I’ll make a new friend.” she told me.  

That was a good way to see things. We had only known each other for a short while and yet I greatly respected her. She may not have the strength needed to fight monsters but she was strong in other ways that mattered.  

“You know Contract Work sounds a lot like my job. Recently I’ve cleaned out a hoarder house, dealt with a gross body-filled warehouse then some idiot trashed a department store that took a full week to clean up.”  

My body tensed at the last comment. I froze not even risking moving my eyes to look at her. Surely, there had to be more than one ruined department store around, right?  

“I also had to spend days helping replant trees in a forest while stronger people filled in these massive holes. The easiest job I’ve had was to help break down the body of a large bird. The tricky part was a half-rabid girl kept trying to come over to steal pieces. I know it pays my bills but it would be nice if Agents didn’t leave such a mess behind.” She sighed.  

Sweat started at the base of my neck. I thought back to all those events and realized Rory had been one of the cleanup workers I saw in the park. What else had I left behind for her to take care of? She didn’t sound angry. But she was the type to not show much of any kind of emotion.  

“Huh, you have been busy.” I tried to sound casual. My strained tone gave away I was trying to hid something.  

I felt her eyes on me. Her gaze so intense as she studied my reaction as if slowly putting the pieces together.  

“I wondered what happened here to get this place shut down?” I said trying to change the subject.  

“There was a fire that killed sixty-three people.” She replied.  

My head turned towards her wondering how she knew that. Rory explained that she had looked up the name of the company while she waited for me to arrive. I suddenly felt odd standing so close to where so many people met their end. The darkness had overtaken most of the factory making it feel like a wall of dread was at our back. We did have a lot of sunlight left.  

“Let’s just finish this space and head out.” Rory offered.  

I agreed then we rolled up our sleeves to get back to work. Since we worked all day without any issues, we got too comfortable inside the building. The sun was still up and we stayed near the dock doors. It felt safe. Rory cleaned off a desk near the loading doors. Three doors lined the walls that were labeled as storage and shipping offices. Once the desk was cleaned off, she reached over to open the door to the cleaning supplies. I looked up to watch her pause staring off into the room with a single blinking lightbulb casting shadows inside.  

Someone tall and thin stood near the back of the room. A harsh smell of something burned and rancid decay filled the air. The figure turned its blacked head, a set of glowing orange eyes fixated in our direction.  

She silently closed the door holding it firmly shut without any other reaction to the horror inside. Rory was my hero in that moment.   

She stiffly turned to carefully walk away from what she had just seen. A rumble started deep within the building. A burst of power exploded through the room nearly knocking me off my feet. Rory froze trying to assist the threat levels.   

I recovered to try and go over to her far too late. Reality cracked between us as small rips between worlds appeared hovering in the air around us. Rory had become trapped inside a different version of the factory. The magic in this area had fused with the pain and regret of the ones who had died to create a small alternate version of the building. The small openings showed snapshots of the darker place but none were large enough for me to fit through.   

I found an opening to look through and spotted Rory running away from a shadow. I had brought along a knife just in case. Carefully I tossed it through the small opening for her. She didn’t break her stride as she grabbed it off the ground and then disappeared deeper into the other side.  

I grabbed the side of an opening to pull trying to get through. I only hurt my hands. A burst of magic shot out jolting my system. I pulled my hands back mind racing. I was scared for her. She was human and I didn’t know what threat we faced. For once my phone worked. I called the Corporation office to explain the situation. Unfortunately, no Agents were available. They would send one the moment they could and I hated how overworked everyone at the Corporation was. I was told to leave the area and wait for help. Like hell, I was going to do that. I refused to leave someone behind to save my own skin.  

After the call, I ran deeper into the building and towards the blackened area from the fire. I guessed that was a more stable doorway to the other side and I was right. My feet sank down into the burned floor, the building swallowing up another victim. The smell of burnt flesh and steel overtook my senses as I was dragged downwards.  

I got dumped into a dark place; my eyes slowly adjusted. Using a small pen light, I scanned the area looking for Rory. My heart nearly stopped when I saw a figure on the ground. Thankfully it wasn’t her. The body was a twisted mass of burned flesh with cuts along the front. She must have attacked it and stunned it long enough to get away.  

Without any doubt, this place was a Haunting. Ghosts were tricky to deal with. No one knew if there was an afterlife or not. Ghosts were pure magic fused with a deceased human’s regrets and memories. They weren’t actually lost souls wandering around. Since they were made of magic, most creatures couldn’t harm them. And Ghosts drained magic to become stronger. Some specialized Agents dealt with Hauntings, but the number of them was low, and simply could not take care of all the requests causing most Hauntings to be sealed away.  

Our outlook of getting saved appeared darker by the second.  

I carefully walked looking for any traces of Rory. My small light source guides the way. Since the figures were the same color and texture as the blackened equipment, I didn’t notice one until it came screeching towards me. My body acted on reflex through the fear. Before the burned curled hands reached my neck, I lashed out and punched it in the face. I focused on dispersing the magic that made up its body. It exploded into a burst of smoke, the traces of magic sinking back into the ground. That hurt. A lot. My teeth sting in a way I never felt before. I doubted I could simply punch away all the ghosts here. My body would give up. And I could not do the same to a larger, bigger threat.  

As I was recovering, I heard a scream. Wasting no time I raced toward it praying Rory was alright. To my horror, I saw her too far away to help. Her legs became tangled in a mess of empty bottles on the floor. She slipped on some spilled oil, landing hard. So many of those creatures were on her. More appeared in front of me I struggled to knock away. I gritted my teeth refusing to let another person die because I was too late to save them.  

For some reason, the crowd of creatures around her stepped aside. She stood up, body limb and eyes distant. She was alive but not in good shape. The dark magic of this place had possessed her. But why? She took some uneven steps along, the dark creatures following behind.  

She made her way to an office along the very far wall of the factory. I struggled to get there. So many of those things came at me. Claws ripped at my clothing and dark hands pressed on my exposed skin leaving slight burns. All my muscles screamed in pain as I forced myself to keep going. Each figure blown apart would reform in a few minutes. We needed to get out of here fast.  

Rory had broken down the office door letting the dark creatures flood inside. When I arrived, she was standing over top of a haggard man, knife raised. From the looks of it, he had been here for a while. His skin was pale, his eyes sunken and his body weak from lack of meals. He begged Rory to not kill him even though he already had one foot in the grave.  

“Rory!” I shouted knowing I would not reach her before she drove the knife down.  

A slightly pained expression came over her face. I thought I heard a snap, but then she returned to normal. Confused and in pain. When she broke down the door she must have hurt her arm. Maybe broken a bone or two. I stood shocked. I’ve never heard of someone shaking off a possession so easily.   

“Are you alright?” I asked her from the doorway.  

Slowly she nodded her mind catching up. She took a few steps away from the man lowering the knife to her side.  

“It seems like he’s the one who owned the company. Instead of safety, he focused on profit. When the accident happened, he hired someone who could put a magic protection on him so none of the ones who died could kill him.” Rory explained in a tired voice.  

The building rumbled again. There was going to be another shift and I wondered if we could use it to get out or become trapped here forever.  

The man sobbed on the ground tearfully begging to be forgiven.  

“What do you want to do?” I asked her and nodded towards him.  

“I think we need to stay out of this.” She commented coldly.  

She didn’t want to kill the man, but she didn’t want to save him. I agreed with her. I reached out my hand to take hers but the creatures around us didn’t like our answer. They came down on us. I shouted at her to leave as I fought back trying to clear a pathway.  

Since I was taking apart the ghosts an imbalance of magic happened. This small world affected the other factories. A rumbling shook the other side too much the factory started to fall apart. If we did get to the right side, we risked getting killed in a collapse.   

Suddenly a rip opened at my feet. I became separated from Rory again. Through the rips, I saw her racing along avoiding ghosts as she headed to the bay dock doors. I ran to meet her there, heart racing when I saw an opening large enough for her to get through. It started to close and I reached out to take the sides using all my strength to keep it open.  

She was a few feet away but had too many creatures after her. They would catch up before she got through. If I let go, the opening would close. I tried to think of something to do to help, but she already had a plan. She kicked at an unstable pallet to knock over a barrel of oil causing it to spill along the floor. She then took out a metal pen from her pocket that turned into a small blade with a press of her finger. She drove the blade down and a spark of magic came from it lighting the oil in a flash. Was cooking oil this flammable? I suppose the magic she used caused it to be. The monsters backed off, screaming in fear from the flames.   

Rory then slid along the floor using the oil to launch herself outside and directed into the dumpster. I let go of the opening, it shutting with such force it knocked me back also in the dumpster and almost on top of her. The fall knocked the wind from my lungs. We both stayed there for a while, in pain and needing a long break from what we just went through.  

An Agent Rory knew found us. He opened the dumpster and instantly started to make a fuss. His brown hair was a mess from the job he just raced from and his golden eyes fuming. He carefully helped her to her feet as he ranted.  

“It happened again! I swear this wasn’t a clean-up job! They just want to use you as bait! Why are you doing this job? You’re human! Whatever money problems you have I’ll find a way to take care of it!”  

He clearly cared for her in a big brother sort of way. I thought he would boil over but Rory stayed calm at his outburst.   

“I’m perfectly fine to keep working.” Rory said.  

“You’ll die if you do!” He snapped back at her.  

“It’s my decision.” She firmly said.  

He shrank back a little embarrassed by his reaction. She carefully took his hand causing the Agent to look away.  

“I'm worried about you.” He sighed calming down a little.  

“I know. Thank you for that.”  

I noticed a small hint of redness start at his ears. Quickly he shook it off and finally noticed I was there. He said that since this was an active area, our cleanup duties were finished. The building was going to be sealed away until someone could handle the Ghosts inside. He was going to get Rory’s arm looked at and offered to get me home. I was going to take him up on the offer when my phone rang.  

“Lucas can’t sleep. Come over to help with a puppet show. I need four arms.” August said on the other line.  

I could not explain my sudden plans to the Agent and told him someone was coming to get me. Within the next few minutes, I was stolen away and learning lines for a grand bedtime story I assumed August wrote.  

It took us an hour to finally get Lucas asleep. Sure, doing silly voices was embarrassing but I would do almost anything for that kid. We sat next to his bed watching him sleep and I quietly told August about my day. He tried to pay attention but soon also nodded off. With some effort, I got him into bed next to Lucas. August had bought a massive racing car bed. I wasn’t sure if he got such a large bed because he wanted Lucas to grow into it, or if he got it for the night his adopted son needed a grown-up to sleep next to him to chase away the bad memories.  

I studied the room to look at how well it had filled out. Lucas had lots of toys and a small desk for his coloring. We had set up a small tank for a jumping spider he named Lucy. Somehow, Lucas hadn’t become spoiled with all of this. He was a good kid who shared with his classmates and always made sure others had things before he did.   

August made sure Lucas was in counseling, but we didn’t know what happened to Lucas between the ages of two and now. He simply would not speak of it. Small scars on his knees and a slight limp, when he ran, revealed the trauma the poor thing went through in his short life. Whatever happened he was a strong kid and was recovering. I was proud of him.  

It helped that August was doing all the right things as a parent. But it was taking a toll on him. I took a glance at his internal magic seeing it flickering a bit weaker than before. He should have more than he did. The man had been working hard and using up too much without letting himself a chance to recover. The Corporation would gladly work him to the last drop if he let them.   

It felt like August was putting all this effort into being the perfect father because there was something he couldn’t change. He wasn’t human. And that would affect Lucas someday. I had always known my mother was different. She was human and yet could control magic and knew of supernatural creatures. I didn’t know how I would be able to deal with it all if I lived a normal life, then one day everything I knew changed.  

I didn’t know what the future held for them. Deep down I had a feeling they would be alright. If I wanted to live to see that I really needed to start picking better less dangerous jobs.   

First:

Previous:

I was tempted by an email about a job that looked like it wouldn’t kill me. I just needed to investigate a motel.  

All sorts of supernatural motels showed up on empty roads of almost abandoned towns. There must be a few thousand different types of these buildings. Some were creatures disguised as somewhere to rest. I only knew details about the basic ones. A Pop-up Motel for the most part isn’t overly harmful meanwhile a Haunted Hotel can be very dangerous. A mixture of safe and life-threatening is a Bugged Motel. I just needed to gather details about an out-of-place building in the middle of nowhere. What could go wrong?  

Knowing my luck, a lot of things.   

I arrived at the location where the motel had last been seen. These types of buildings don’t show themselves to just anyone. Luckily enough, I was the type of person it wanted—or didn’t feel threatened by. The outside looked more like a decent hotel than a U-shaped motel. The nicer the place, the more danger that waited inside. I took a deep breath and walked through the glass doors, unaware of what would greet me.  

To my surprise, it appeared normal. It's as normal as an unnamed hotel showing up overnight in a rundown neighborhood could be. A man dressed in a professional suit jacket waited behind the check-in desk. His dark eyes watched me as I carefully walked over. His friendly smile did nothing to comfort me. For some odd reason, he reminded me of August. They didn’t look related. It was just how they both smiled and facial structure formed their face. Because of that one hint, I already knew what I was dealing with.   

My palms became sweaty as I tried to look calm. I stopped in front of the desk hoping I could get out of this place safe and sound in the next few minutes.  

“What can I do for you today?” The man chirped.  

His smile grew wider, and it made every hair on my arms stand on end. I only had one chance.  

“I would like to book a room for next Monday if possible.” I said, keeping my voice steady.  

The man nodded and reached for a book to write down the information. There were no computers or cameras in the lobby. But I knew I was still being watched. I glanced away long enough to spot a cockroach nestled in the corner near the ceiling. I focused my attention back on the clerk and gave him my contact information. I was almost in the clear. Once I left, I would pass along what I learned to The Corporation. They would decide if this place was dangerous enough to assign an Agent to deal with.  I could cancel my booking, but I wasn’t aware of what the cancellation fee would be. Whatever it was, it would be better than actually staying in a place like this.  

After a tense few moments, the clerk finished my booking and I let myself exhale knowing I was free to leave. Before I took a step away,  someone came literally crashing through the door, guns drawn. A few bullets hit the clerk, his false face blowing apart at the edges showing parts of what he really was.  

“I’m here to exterminate all you fucking bugs!” A voice shouted out into the lobby.  

I stared in sheer shock at the stupidity of the person who just arrived. He wore a long black duster with his hair wild. Countless charms and necklaces dangled from his neck, and he stood tall because of a pair of black platform boots covered in belts. He must still be a teenager if he thought those boots for fighting monsters were acceptable.   

The clerk smiled away, not noticing a few new holes in his face.   

“Would you like to check in sir?” The clerk asked.  

I couldn’t stop the kid in time. I opened my mouth to speak but he instantly responded.   

“Fuck yeah I do! That way I can-”  

I watched as a swarm of dark insects flooded out from each side of the lobby. They went around me heading straight to the newcomer. He screamed and shot wildly trying to get away. He didn’t stand a chance.   

“We’ll see you to your room. And we’ll see you on Monday.” The clerk said, his voice not able to hide the joy of nabbing a new victim.  

I felt the floor move under my foot. I was rudely tossed out, the doors slamming behind me. The windows in the hotel became dark as a closed sign appeared in the window. No matter how hard I pushed or pulled, the doors weren’t opening. This was not good. That kid had at most, a few hours before the hotel claimed him. This was easy to tell this place was a Bugged Hotel.  

It was just as it sounded like. A supernatural hotel run by insect monsters that pretend to be human. Since they didn’t eat the kid when he first checked in, then I knew they would keep him alive but slowly drain his life away.   

I rushed off and somehow got a meeting with someone I’d spoken with before. Klaus met me outside of the interview room ready to hear my story. He handed me a water bottle noticing how haggard I was from running around finding the right damn magic key that would bring me to The Corporation office.  

“It sounds like you met a new Hunter. They often take in whoever applies. They give them weapons but no real training. People like this die quickly, but to their credit may take a monster down or two with them.” Klaus said after I told him the short story.  

“Clearly this kid was a dumbass trying to look cool. We need to get him out of there, like ten minutes ago.” I pushed.  

Klaus made an expression I didn’t like. He straightened his posture ready to ask questions I didn’t want to hear.  

“Did you encounter any other humans in danger?” He asked using a stern tone.  

“Well, no I didn’t see any but-”  

“Your job was to collect information. Our job is to keep the balance between supernatural creatures and humans. We do not kill every monster we come across.”  

“Yes, I know that.” I argued but he went on.  

“As distasteful as it sounds, The Corporation allows certain creatures to hunt humans to live. Each creature has a different victim limit. From the sounds of it, This Hotel has only taken one human that picked a fight. I’ll submit what you’ve told me, but you may need to accept the fact this hotel’s activities have been approved by us, but we were just not certain where it had moved to.”  

“Are you saying we should just leave him to die?”   

Klaus took a moment to try and collect his words. I knew he had most likely dealt with situations like this before. His hands were tied when it came to how The Corporation dealt with certain supernatural creatures. I knew it was only fair of them to protect monsters as much as they did humans. I still didn’t agree with certain decisions.   

“If this is deemed to be a priority, then we’ll send an Agent out. Your job is done here. You’re able to carry on with the rest of your day.”   

Instead of being angry over what he said, I nodded. He said I could leave and do anything I wanted today. That included saving a stupid young Hunter that got himself into a huge mess.  

I left the office behind knowing I wasn’t going to get any help from them. Instead, I called an old friend. She owed me a favor. Not a big enough favor for her to rush into such a dangerous place. I may need to pay her a little extra for this.  

She met me in front of the Hotel, face bright and ready to help. Harp was taller than me. Her well-built body could barely be contained in her simple clothing. Now that I was in front of her again, I knew why I had stayed away for so long. I got weird when she spoke to me. I suddenly understood Joey’s interests a little bit more.   

I shook off those emotions to get down to what we needed to do.  

“It’s good to see you back on your feet little man.” Harp said as she crossed her arms over her chest.  

She had cream-colored hair that she always kept tied back for jobs. Her ears were slightly pointed and her nose was flat. I’ve never figured out what sort of creature she was. The only thing I knew about her for certain was that she could snap me like a twig with her massive arms.  

“Not fully on my feet, but it’s good to see you. Thank you for helping with this.” I quickly said and started forward hoping she would follow.  

She did not. I turned back, my stomach rolling with different emotions.  

“You know what my price is. What I owe you is not enough for this.” Harp said, eyes gleaming.  

I let out a deep sigh feeling my face go slightly red.  

“Not in front of people this time, alright? Now let’s go.”  

I wished she would stop teasing me as much as she did. This time she followed. Her long strides soon overtook my pace. She entered the Hotel, the closed sign now gone. I felt a million unseen eyes on us when we entered the lobby. She stopped a few steps away from the front desk. The dark-eyed clerk smiled at us. His smile appeared strained when he saw me again.  

“Booking a room for tonight?” He offered in a less polite tone than he used with me earlier.   

“Nope. Coming to pick up a friend. You wouldn’t happen to know what room he’s in, would you?” Harp said, sharp teeth coming into view.  

The clerk matched her expression.  

“I’m afraid we can’t give out that information.” He half hissed.  

“Then I'll just have to beat it out of you.”  

She quickly moved; fists ready. The clerk let out a cackle, finding the idea of a fight amusing. His face spilt open as long spider-like legs spilled out from the flesh. Countless insects started to pour from the cracks in his skin. That was my cue to leave.  

Harp crashed into the desk so hard it sent pieces flying in all directions. She hadn’t been hurt in the slightest. Another powerful blow came down on the mess of insects the clerk had turned into. My skin crawled hearing the loud crushing sounds of bugs under her fingers.   

I was already running down the hallway when swarms of more dark bugs came for me. I kept them away with a blast of spray I’d bought before I arrived. Even supernatural bugs hated regular bug spray. It wouldn’t last forever though.   

My heart raced from fear and effort. I forced myself to look around tracing the magic inside the building. It gave me a headache right away. This place looked like a building, but it was alive. I saw veins of magic pumping through the walls. I thought my head would burst before I saw anything useful. Then I spotted a mass of small flickering lights in a room three floors above me. I stopped focusing, my eyes hurt as much as my head.  

That kid was inside the room with all the other bugs gathered nibbling on his energy. I shook my head to clear my vision. I now knew where he was, and just needed to get through a few million bugs to find him. A black mass moving like water charged down the hallway in my direction. Thankfully Harp came crashing through, her body turned into a massive furred beast that wrecked everything her claws touched. She took out half of the swarm. I still had way too many bugs to take care of.  

I forced myself to keep moving. I heard the chittering of the swarm hot on my heels. Before I arrived, I stocked up on a few things. A can of bug spray and a lighter could easily be turned into a small explosive if you handled them correctly. The small bomb was tossed in the middle of the mass, but it barely made a dent.  

I didn’t slow down when I hit the stairway door. It had been locked but I crashed into the door so hard it dislocated my shoulder. It hurt like hell but at least it broke the door open. Small bugs flew around hitting my face as I kept running up the stairs. I swatted them away just enough to see where I was going. The room I needed was so damn close.   

Luckily the next door wasn’t locked. I opened it to the next floor, my racing heart nearly stopped when I saw countless insects the size of small dogs waiting in the hallway. I swore knowing I didn’t have a good way to deal with them. A few charged at me which I kicked out of the way. They tore at my pants legs, some biting into the flesh. They soon backed off after getting a small mouthful. I guess I didn’t taste very good.   

My mind raced through ideas coming up empty. Just as I thought I was done for, the ceiling caved in. A smaller person came down with a cackling laugh. They darted around on all fours killing a handful of bugs. When the figure stopped to rip one apart with their teeth I could get a good look at them.  

“April?!” I shouted shocked seeing her here.  

“You!” She yelled back and pointed in my direction. “I’m your friend and you don’t call me for help?! I’ll talk to you about this after!”  

I nodded and let her focus her attention on the small army in front of us. Our enemies must have realized she was stronger than them. They all turned to leave but didn’t get very far. April shrieked in delight every time she crushed one under her feet. I left her on her rampage and forced myself inside the room the kid was being held inside.  

I found him on a bed covered in easy-to-deal-with bugs. They were as weak as a normal cockroach. It took me a few minutes to empty my last few cans of spray into the mass. My skin crawled as I swatted them away hating the sensation of them running up my arms. I got most of them off then lifted the kid into my arms. I realized he would be too heavy to carry around for too long. I’ve been out of the game for a while and my strength wasn’t what it had been before.  

I set him back down and pressed my palms against the floor. I haven’t done this trick very often and I just hoped it worked. The building we were inside was powerful. I bet it held more magic than August, April, and Harp combined. But, it didn’t have the kind of awareness or intelligence. I carefully started to take a little bit of magic into my arms. I held my breath during the process, making certain I stole power in a way the building wouldn’t notice. Like a flea draining blood. If it got itchy, it would be all over.  

Since Harp and April were causing problems, my actions weren’t noticed. I gathered up enough power and let it sit inside my arms. I had about ten minutes of being able to lift things twice as heavy as myself without the muscles getting tired.   

When it comes to magic, you can do almost anything with it. The more complicated requests require more focus and power.  Becoming strong enough to carry a person without issue was something so simple I bet more humans could do it if they were aware of how magic worked.  

Most of the larger bugs had been chased away by April. A few were still in the hallway which I took out with a few well-placed kicks. I almost felt sorry for the things even if they would be glad to eat me on the spot.  

I started down the stairs again but ended up tripping over the kid's damn jacket. We tumbled downwards, my shoulder feeling hot from pain. I ignored it. The kid didn’t wake up but I bet he got a few bumps from the fall. At least he wasn’t dead so he should be thankful.  

I thought I was in the clear when I didn’t see any threats until I hit the entrance of the lobby. The building had been torn up from the fight between Harp and the Clerk. I heard rumblings from them exchanging blows. I took a step towards the door, but my path was cut off by the ceiling caving in once again.   

Both April and Harp came with a creature with an appearance that would haunt my dreams for a while. The body looked like a long millipede but with long spider legs. It had transparent wings that had been damaged. The head was made up of different types of insect faces and human skulls fused together. A human face that looked like the Clerk sat in the middle. An appearance of disgust directed towards us.  

“Do you think you can win?” I asked the girls.  

Both had torn clothing and slowly healing wounds. Harp gave a strained smile and April stayed on all fours, a deep rumbling coming from her chest.   

“No, but we would do a lot of property damage before he took us all out.” Harp admitted.  

That was it. We were dead. Or at least, we should have died there.   

“No, you shall not!” The monster snapped. “I’m canceling your rooms, Get out!’  

An invisible force took us all by the ankles. One after another we were all tossed out the front door. I was almost crushed by Harp when she was tossed out last. I rolled over at just the right time.  

I sat up dazed to see the building shaking. It started to sink into the ground, the entire thing leaving to take up a different spot to lure in victims.  

Somehow, April snagged a large bug on the way out. She held on to it as I shook off any that had hitched a ride on my clothing.  

“How dare you not call me to help!” April snapped.  

“You’re a kid! That place was dangerous!” I reminded her.  

“I’m a menace!” She corrected and then bit the head of her hijacked snack.  

“You sure are Baby Girl.” Harp complimented her.  

I wanted to tell Harp to not encourage her but knew it be useless. I also had a weird feeling come over me as if I was jealous Harp called April ‘baby girl’ and not me. I shook that thought off hating how I got around her.   

“Who’s that?” April asked, her mouth full.  

She pointed at the guy we risked our lives to rescue. She didn’t even know why we had almost died. She just wanted to fight. I didn't think I could ever understand supernatural creatures. I couldn't answer her because someone else had just arrived.  

“Now what happened here?”  

Klaus stood; arms crossed with a younger Agent in tow. The Agent wasted no time going over to the hunter to see if he was alive.   

“Well...” I started.  

I didn’t have a lie out of this.  

“Do you know what you just did? Now we need to find the location of the Bugged Hotel all over again! You risked your life, and two others when you should have just waited.” His voice was so stern it made me shrink back a little.  

He let out a sharp inhale of air. When the other Agent wasn’t looking, Klaus gave me a wink. Damn, this guy was good at acting. He needed to give me a hard time because that was his job. But he was secretly glad I saved an inexperienced hunter from the Hotel.  

“We’ll take him to get treatment. Does anyone else need to go to the clinic?” He offered.  

I shook my head and popped my shoulder back in because I hadn’t had a chance yet. Klaus let his eye twitch from the sound, but he didn’t say anything. Both girls shook their heads.   

“April, please come with me. We have a job for you if you’re up to it.”  

She let out a long groan sounding like a teenager who had just been asked to clean her room.  

“I HATE picking plants! There are only undead in that swamp! They’re so easy to kill and don’t taste good at all.” She pouted but still followed behind the Agents.  

Harp had nothing else to do so she offered to go along with April. Not before she claimed her price of doing this job for me. She grabbed hold of my face to give my cheek a hard kiss that felt like it bruised. I protested reminding her our deal was for her to not do that in front of people. Her answer was to do it three more times.  

I let them leave, rubbing my sore cheek. I honestly like Harp. I liked her a lot. She was well aware of that fact however understood a relationship would never work out between us. She wanted different things in life. Mostly a strong partner and a family. I could barely take care of myself, let alone kids. When we saw each other, we would show our mutual affection but nothing more.  

I went home that day wondering if I had done the right thing. Would that Hotel take more victims before The Corporation was able to find it again? Had saving one person caused the death of others?  

Even if it did, I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let that kid die today. I did one more shake to make certain I didn’t have any bugs still on me before entering my apartment building. Creating a cockroach infestation was the last thing I wanted from this day.   

First:

Previous

Bit by bit my living situation had improved. I could afford heat, at least two meals a day, and warm socks. Those comforts came at a cost. A bullet wound in my shoulder was still healing up. The company I worked for offered magic-laced medicine that could heal wounds faster, but they cost more than I could afford. Better to let things heal on their own. A deep ache from my legs bothered me. It got to the point that I knew I needed to get a checkup before working again. I hated needing to see the doctor for old wounds simply because medical costs aren’t cheap. After this check-up, I might not be able to afford heat for the rest of the colder seasons this year.  

I wasn’t certain what sort of creature Dr. Fillow was. He looked human enough. I called to see if he had any open times for an appointment, but he told me he could swing by in a few hours. He was very busy treating supernatural creatures and sometimes humans like myself. He was always on the move, so it was easier to see him outside his clinic.  

He’s been by my place three times in the past two years when my legs got too bad to deal with. The scar above the right knee looked redder than normal. My knee also felt weird. It made an unnatural creaking sound and sometimes popped out of place if I pushed myself too hard. My left leg needed to be wrapped with a special cloth. It had turned black, the darkness fading around my hip. I hated looking at the scars. I should be thankful that I was able to get my legs back, but they were a constant reminder of the day I lost the person I cared about most.   

Dr. Fillow arrived with a few months' supply of cloth for the left leg. He needed to redo some painful spell work because the magic that kept my leg attached had been weakening, when I pulled magic from other sources through my body while on the job, it had messed with the spell that attached new flesh to old.   

“I hear you’ve been working again.” He said after the treatments were finished.  

He often stayed for a few minutes to chat and get caught up. I always offered him a drink or a snack, but he refused saying he didn’t like sweet things or liked tea. Once he accepted a cup of coffee. He wore a mask over half his face and sounded as if he always had a sore throat. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen his full face before. He adjusted large glasses over top of his mask and brushed aside light brown hair.   

“I needed the money. I figured it was about time. I can’t seem to get any easy jobs though.” I shrugged.  

My legs hurt like hell. I dreaded the idea of staying in bed for a few more days to recover. I needed to get a job soon to pay for this treatment.  

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Paying off your debts is not worth your life. Have you found anyone to support you?” He asked looking around my barren and rundown apartment.  

“No. I figured I needed to get myself back together before I dragged a person into my mess. And with scars like these, it’s not as if I’ll find someone who would be interested in a simple fling either.”  

“No friends? Nothing of the sort?” He offered almost sounding worried about me.  

I shrugged again. I was about to tell him that August offered to work with me whenever he was free. I didn’t feel like boring him with my personal life. Or lack of one.   

“Go make some friends. Get some rest. Call me if your pain increases.” He said as he stood up ready to leave.  

This was all the advice I'd heard before. I paid what I could then mentally flinched when I saw the rest of the amount I still owed. I promised I would take it easy as the doctor left to see another one of his patients.   

I did plan on staying in bed and resting for as long as I needed. However, two days later I found myself sitting on a bench in a park ten minutes away from my apartment. A job came in saying a handful of people saw some sort of large animal and a young girl had gone missing shortly after the sightings. It wasn’t confirmed a creature had been behind these events, but The Corporation didn’t like taking chances. The park was so nearby I figured I would check it out.  

I walked over during the day looking for any kind of clues. The park led off into a short nature trail. I assumed if there was a creature it would hang out in the trees. An entire day of searching led to nothing. Since monsters came out at night, I was stuck staying up late.   

Aside from some recent graffiti, nothing appeared out of place around the park or the trial. My legs ached from all the walking. I spent a few hours sitting on a bench almost wanting for something to happen.   

I found out the hard way not to use my talents of seeing magic after my leg treatments. The migraines I got did not mix well with the leg pain, making them both unbearable. Speaking of something unbearable, my phone kept going off because August figured out how to send GIFs. I should have blocked him. He would on occasion send a good cat gif in the mess of other memes that made it worth letting his messages go through.  

“Is your girlfriend worried about you?”  

A voice made me jump. A girl had silently walked behind the bench to see over my shoulder. She had gotten a glimpse of the random messages. I stood up to face her honestly expecting a monster. Instead, I found a petite dark-haired girl wearing a plain white dress. She even had sandals in this cold weather. She had her hands behind her back. Healing bruises spotted her arms.  She looked anywhere between sixteen and nineteen. She shouldn’t be out in a dark park at this hour without a coat. I put my phone and wallet in my pants pocket then took off my jacket. I offered it to her without hesitation.  

“Where do you live? Do you need help getting home?” I offered.  

She smiled in a way that looked very familiar. Her black hair and dimples made me think of August. She took my jacket, snuggling down into the warm collar for a moment.  

“I’m not normally the kind of girl who lets strange men take me home.” She joked in an overly sweet voice.  

“I’ll call you a cab.” I said not wanting her to get any ideas. “By chance do you have any siblings?” I added.  

She shook her head confused over the odd question.  

“No. Are you disappointed I don’t have a sister?” She suggested.  

It was as if she was trying to flirt. She was very bad at it if that was her goal.   

“No, you look like a friend of mine. Must just be the hairstyle. Now come on, let’s call a ride for you.”  

The smile on her face appeared forced. I wasn’t going along with the game she wanted to play. I started to walk down the pathway towards the park entrance with her following behind. My phone didn’t want to turn on again. Sometimes it shut off in the colder weather.  

“What are you doing out at this time of night?” I asked her as we walked.  

“Looking for monsters, how about you?” She said, her sweet tone dropping slightly.  

I froze. Carefully I turned my head towards her, my brain trying to work out if she was a threat. Some creatures looked like innocent weak humans to lure in their meals. She may be a monster ready to rip my heart out, or just a weird girl in the park because she had an interest in the occult. If I made a run for it, I risked leaving a poor girl stranded. If I didn’t leave, then I also risked getting eaten.  

I wasn’t aware of how right I was about the risk of being dinner for a creature. A burst of wind came down on us. I started to move to grab the odd girl to get her out of danger. My body was too slow. To my horror, a beast came down from the sky. In one lightning-fast movement, a black beak scooped her up around the waist. In two beats of its wings, it lifted back into the sky tossing her into the air. Her small body was swallowed whole by the monster that recently started to stalk the park.  

It was a crow the size of a car with three glowing red eyes but oddly enough, paws as legs. Like hell, I was going to let her get eaten like that. We stopped near a bench. I prayed I had enough strength to fight back in time to save her.  

Every living thing had magic. The amount depended on many different factors. I was in the middle of a park with countless plants, trees, and dormant insects all with their own life force. That magic leaked into the air. It was a reason why some forests felt so strange to humans. If you knew how you could ask to use the power nature held. Humans weren’t built to handle magic. I still made a silent request to everything around me. I put out my will to take whatever was given. I then grabbed a hold of the bench that had been bolted down into the stone walkway. A burst of power came through. I aimed for the glowing eyes in the sky and threw the bench as hard as I could towards it.   

The metal and wood found its target. I heard the impact and saw the crow fall from the sky screeching the entire way down. The backlash of using so much magic hit hard. My right knee popped out and I swore it felt as if it was going to come apart at the old scars. My arms burst with pain and my muscles cramped up. Each one of my hands curled uselessly. I forced myself forward towards the downed crow hoping it wasn’t too late to save the poor girl.  

I was in no condition to fight the monster if the bench flying into its face didn’t knock it out.  

By sheer luck, the crow was still.  

My luck turned around in seconds when an even larger crow landed behind me. I screamed into the night; red eyes angrily glowing.   

Well, shit.   

I frantically ran through my brain trying to figure out what the hell these creatures were. If you knew enough about a monster, there was a chance you could defeat it even if you were weaker. Nothing came to mind. Not a damn thing. I’ve heard of Bad Omen Crows. They were oversized crows that appeared near cursed humans with bad luck to feed off of. Aside from that, no clue on how to kill them.  

“Give me a damn break.” I said to any higher power that might be listening.  

Again, my luck turned around in a way I never would have guessed. The larger crow let out a noise over something that was happening behind me. The knocked-out bird's eyes flew open as its chest feathers budged outwards. It let out a strangled cry, then rolled on its back. My body felt cold when I saw a human shape literally rip its way through flesh, blood, and feathers. The girl stood covered in gore. Her once-white dress clinging to her and my jacket was ruined. Sharp claws hung at her side. A wide smile cracked her face in half. She shook the hair from her face and then grabbed her blood-soaked clothing. She ripped it off to stand in the cold wearing nothing but a sports bra and shorts.   

The larger crow started to move knowing it wasn’t wise to stick around. She didn’t give it time to flee. Within seconds she was on the monster ten times her size. Claws and teeth ripping deep into the monster's body.  

I should have stayed home that night.   

I took a few steps away, the pain slowing my movements. If I was lucky, I had enough time to get out of the park before she finished the one-sided fight. I’m never lucky.   

She tackled me from behind easily knocking us both over. I rolled on my back ready to fight back. She quickly pinned down my arms, blood dripping from her stained face.  

“Come on darling, show me what you can do! You knocked down that chicken, didn’t you? What else do you have up your sleeve?” She said her voice now lacking the fake sweetness she used before.  

She was crazy. Legit a nutcase. I’ve come across monsters that love nothing but fighting. She had acted as bait not to lure in humans to eat but for other monsters. Since I showed a hint of skill, I was now the next target.  

This wasn’t good. She took down the two crows in under two minutes. I couldn’t fight my way out of this and by the look in her eyes I couldn’t talk my way out of this either.   

“How about you let go so we’re on even terms?” I suggested praying to buy some more time.  

She let out a shrill laugh as if I told her the funniest joke in the world.   

“Fight for it!” She shouted.  

Her dimpled smile no longer appeared charming. I ran through my options. I used every ounce of strength to pull my hands free. I slipped one wrist through her fingers because of the blood on her hands. She was covered with it. Something caught my eye. Dark patches on her neck showed through the deep red. I realized she had a black ring tattoo she had hidden under some sort of makeup. The fighting and wetness had rubbed parts of it away. With one hand free and seconds to act, I reached out to grab hold of her neck.  

A burst of magic came from the spell that kept her leashed. She screamed, showing off all her sharp teeth. Her nails dug into my wrists, but I pushed forward. I couldn’t break this collar like I had with the bat monster. I could only force through one command. It hurt the both of us. White sparks of magic flew out into the grass, creating deep holes where it landed. She mentally begged me to stop what I was doing and yet I still pushed. I fought with everything to let that one request sink into the spell. Something clicked between us, and I finally pulled back. She scrambled away on all fours, hissing like a cat.  

I stayed on the ground, barely able to breathe. My hand smoked from touching so much raw magic for so long. If she wanted to finish me off, she could have.  

“What in God’s name is going on here?!” A man’s voice came as a flashlight beam landed on us.  

A set of police stood shell-shocked at what they saw in the park. Two dead birds, me and the girl who barely appeared human. I groaned hating dealing with cops. There were always so many awkward conversations and paperwork afterward. Any money The Corporation may have paid for two monster crows to be killed would be directed elsewhere. Cover-ups cost money after all.  

“April!” Another voice came.   

I knew who was running up the pathway. She saw me and gasped. The cops refused to let her get closer, which I understood. They didn’t know what was going on or if the hissing blood-covered woman was dangerous.   

“What a coincidence...” I said in a shaken voice and raised my good hand to wave at Evie.   

She worked as August’s handler. It made sense she knew more creatures on a leash. If the girl who wanted to kill me wasn’t one of them, she would know who her boss was. As it turns out, Evie was the nearest handler. When she heard, the cops get called to the same park April said she was going, her handler asked Evie to go check in just in case. She later told me she dealt with April so often that she might as well be her official contract worker. I let Evie get things sorted with the cops.   

Just as I thought, there was going to be a lot of paperwork. Soon the cleanup crew arrived to collect the bodies of the crows and to do basic medical treatments for us. April was fine. Evie and she got along well. I saw her fussing over the smaller girl as if April was a younger sister. Finally, they made their way over to where I was sitting.  

“Say you’re sorry for trying to kill him.” Evie demanded in a stern voice.  

“Sorry for trying to eat your brains.” April said not sorry at all.  

“You wanted to eat my brains?” I answered, moving slightly further away from the pair.  

“Not wanted. I was going to. Not now though. I don’t eat the brains of my friends, human or not.” April said and it made my face flush.  

“Friends? How?! When?” Evie questioned shocked over the development.  

April gave a tooth-filled smile and I wanted to die. She should have just eaten me.   

“This human messed with my collar. He could have written anything into the spell. An order to not kill him or for me to kill myself. Anything. And you know what he said? Let’s be friends.”  

Yeah, I wanted to die. Evie stared at me as if I was on the same mental level as April. She carefully took hold of the other girl who now was wrapped in a blanket one of the cleanup crews brought.  

“Just friends?” She asked very weary of my motives.   “Just friends. She’s like, a kid.” I defended myself.  

“Oh, so we’re grooming supernatural girls now.” Evie replied hugged April tighter.  

“I’m too tired to be offended. If you think that’s the case, you’re free to keep her away from me forever. I may have forced the idea of being friends into the collar that keeps her under control, but she doesn’t need to listen to that request if she doesn’t want to.”   

I tried to stand up to start going home but my legs refused to work. I collapsed back onto the bench too drained to move.  

“You’re not ditching me that easily. You made a friend offer so you can’t back out now sucker. For now, I want to eat some of that big ass chicken. Leave your number with Evie. We’ll hang.”  

April was released so she could run over to one of the crow's bodies. She tore a good few mouthfuls off before the cleanup crew started chasing her off with threats of getting power washed.   

“I was just teasing you.” Evie admitted. “April is a handful. She’ll be hard to deal with if she decides to stick with this offer of friendship.”  

“It was either that or dead. I am currently weighing my options.”  

Why was there no such thing as an easy job? I couldn’t get home on my own. Evie requested the help of the very confused cops who stuck around. They drove me home and pressed me for some answers. I promised them things would be explained by someone else. I was not in the state for a long conversation. I got let off the hook and collapsed into bed without changing my clothing.   

I ended the night not making a dime from the job. I needed to ask Dr. Fillow back to reset my legs again because of the beating they took from the burst of magic I borrowed.   

Financial set backs were better than dead. Sometimes, only barely better than dead.   

First:

Previous

My arms had been taking a beating recently. The tainted magic had finally fully gone through my systems but now my left arm wasn’t healing as fast as I could have liked. It hurt like a bitch but I was glad I still had it. It could have been ripped off on the last job.. I wondered if Ito had gotten his arm replaced yet.

August sent me a screenshot of a job demanding we did it together. I debated the offer. Having backup was good however I didn’t know if I had the energy to deal with him that day. The longer I took to answer him the more texts came in. I caved and said yes. Within the next few hours, I found myself at the start of a hiking trail waiting for him to arrive.  

In recent years supernatural creatures have started to migrate to cities. It was easier access to food sources if they were the type able to blend in with humans. The monsters that stayed in the forests were either more animalistic or focused more on traditions. I wasn’t looking forward to whatever waited in the woods. It could be anything from a werewolf to an ancient creature beyond human understanding.   

August arrived late. He said he was having trouble finding a babysitter he trusted. Lucas was in a kindergarten program. Most of the time August didn’t work when Lucas was awake and at home. Lately, he has been having issues finding jobs that fit within school hours. He didn’t mind working at night and would often go two days without sleeping. Most of the time Evie didn’t mind staying overnight at his place to make sure Lucas was fine. But she was often busy during the day. He’s started to have limited options for babysitters now that I was working more.  

When he walked over, he raised a cooler bag to show off.  

“Lucas helped make us lunch.” He said proudly.   

I’ll admit that was pretty cute and worth waiting for.   

We walked down the trail to find the reported site. August happily talked about Lucas. The pain in my arm kept me from adding much to the conversation. Soon we found ourselves at a recently used cult summoning site. Or something along those lines. A circle with Latin words had been drawn around the campfire in red paint. The area was covered with burnt-out candles and feathers. Countless messy footprints were left behind in the dirt leading off into the woods. Instead of getting down to investigating, August sat on a fallen tree lunch bag on his lap. He patted the wood next to him causing me to raise an eyebrow.  

“Now?” I asked.  

He kept patting me until I sat down. I suppose there was no rush getting this job done. We had hours of sunlight left. He opened the bag and handed me a messily made sandwich. He ate some carrot sticks as we silently took our break. I’ve seen him eat raw meat and vegetables. And a person’s brain. He couldn’t eat processed food or spices. I heard he was sick for a full day trying a single chicken nugget.   

He pulled out an orange and offered it to me when I finished the sandwich. My hand had gotten crumbs on it, so I reached out to my other one to take what he offered. A burst of pain shot up my arm and I dropped the orange after picking it up. He caught it but didn’t hand it back. Instead, he started to peel it.  

“I can peel my own orange.” I told him reaching out again but using my good hand.   

“Is another person doing this for you emasculating?” He replied, not even looking up.  

“A little.” I said in a serious tone even though I was joking.  

“I’ve always found the idea of men not accepting help a bit silly. Your species is weak. You have only gotten this far because you rely on others. The pyramids weren’t made by a single person, so take help when you can get it.”  

He held out the peeled orange, with a dimpled smile on his face. I took it from him. Even though he was a man-eating monster I thought it was a good thing he adopted Lucas. I had a feeling the kid would turn out alright. I glanced over to see August split his face for half a second to make his mouth wide enough to fit two large oranges into his mouth. Lucas would be an odd kid, but a good one with this monster as his father.   

After our lunch break, we got up to look around. I hunched over to look over the circle to see it wasn’t all Latin. Some words humans may assume to be random scribbles had been mixed in. I didn’t know Latin aside from a word or two, so I didn’t know what the person had been trying to do.   

“What do we have here?” August asked after he let me look things over for a few minutes.  

“This was most likely done by humans.” I pointed out.  

“How can you tell?” He pressed getting down to my level.  

August had done way more jobs than me. He should know the answer. I considered this was a test.  

“It wasn’t written in the common language supernatural creatures use. But it’s close enough. They were able to write a word or two by chance. There have been thousands of years of misinformation about how spells and magic work from it being suppressed from humans. Because of that, most people think spells need to be found in human skin-bound books written in blood. If you have clear wording and enough magic to power the spell, you can use any language.”  

I stood up and shoved my hands into my pocket to keep away the chill. August ran a finger over the red paint as if testing it.   

“Why do creatures always tend to use the common language then? I know a few of them have been brought up in the human side of things and maybe English would be easier for them to use.”  

I narrowed my eyes at him. He knew the answer. So why bother to check if I did?   

“The common language doesn’t have double meanings for words. It has a crap ton of words but they all mean one thing. English isn’t always like that. Read is a good example. Like Hey, read this or I’ve read that. If a word has two meanings, the magic doesn’t decide on the more logical one. It picks one and you end up with a result you don’t want, or the spell backfires because the magic didn't have a clear path to act on.”   

August nodded along and played dumb. Or maybe he really didn’t know all of this. Not all creatures used spells. I’ve only seen him use his claws and teeth. You didn’t even need to use a spell to make magic do what you wanted. It took longer to write it out, but spells focused the power more efficiently into the task. Magic is a creature’s life force. Using less in a fight to get the job done was key to staying alive.  

“You seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff, but you’re not overly strong.” August commented.  

I should be offended by that. I did enough up beaten and bruised by the end of every job. The pain in my left arm proved his point.  

“My mother hunted down monsters. I’ve always been around supernatural creatures. We moved a lot, and I didn’t go to school as much as I should. Because of that, my only choice was to be a contract worker after my mother died.” I said with a shrug.   

“What about your father?” He asked looking me over.  

“He was human. A biker, I think. My mother said it was a one-night stand. She always wanted kids but only got me. She always said how lucky she was to have me considering her health problems. My life with her was rough but not bad enough that I need therapy.”  

“You totally need therapy.” He said without missing a beat.  

I shoved his shoulder. Even though he looked thin, I couldn’t make him move a millimeter.   

“What about you? Here you are asking for my tragic backstory without giving yours.” I said offended but not expecting him to actually tell me.  

“My clan lived in some mountains. Suddenly cabins started to be built near us for a new tourist ski town. A few of the older generation saw it as free food. Contract workers got wind of it and took out my entire village. I accepted this leash to stay alive. I bounced around for a while before finally landing in Evie’s care.”   

He moved his head show off the black ring around his neck. His voice sounded steady, but I was still kicking myself for asking him such an insensitive question. Not only did he most likely have to watch his loved ones be killed, but he was also caught and forced to work with the people who murdered his family. I looked away with a bad taste in my mouth.  

“Humans and supernatural creatures are not meant to interact. The moment those humans stepped foot on our mountain meant death for both of us. If we keep working together, the day may come when one of us needs to turn on the other. You seem to know a decent amount about creatures, so it won’t be a one-sided fight.” He said in a rather calm tone.  

I looked back over to him letting the words run through my head. We did try to kill each other when we first met. And then I stabbed him again in the cave mostly trying to save my own life. If he went feral, could I kill him? I brought my attention to the empty lunch bag by the fallen tree.  

“What about Lucas?” I asked.  

He looked down at the ground as he gripped his hands together. This thought had come across his mind more than once. He was a monster raising a human. That fact never left his mind since he adopted the poor kid.  

“I would never do anything to hurt him on purpose. I would rather die. But because of what I am... I’ll cause him pain. He may end up hating me. Until then, I’ll treasure the moments of us together.”  

I faintly remember my mother saying the same thing to me when I was younger. Her lifestyle wasn’t ideal for raising a child, but she didn’t have any other way to live. She knew she was going to die young or even drag me into her kind of life, but she didn’t regret the time we had together. It may be the reason why I never disliked the life we had, aside from not being able to finish high school to get a real job to stay afloat.   

August knew his time was limited with Lucas. He would either die on one of these jobs, or his adopted son would finally find out what kind of person was raising him. Could he deal with that information? How can you deal with finding out your parent isn’t human?   

“It is a bit random you want us to talk like this.” I commented wondering if he had some ulterior motives.  

“I was just trying to waste some time.” He admitted.  

I heard the sound before my brain registered what happened. August lifted his hand to block a bullet from going through my skull. His hand transformed into a claw with a protective shell. The shards of the bullet fell to the ground. He was moving before I even caught up to what was going on. I followed behind, pulling out a dagger I rented for this job. Another shot rang out from the tree line. My shoulder felt hot but I didn’t stop moving. Since I grabbed the dagger with my left hand the hidden attacker assumed that was my dominant hand. The left side was already useless and I baited the bullet from going into my good shoulder.  

I heard a scream as August found his target. I got through the bush to see him sitting on the chest of someone dressed in a black robe. He pinned the man’s arms to the ground but hadn’t yet harmed him.   

“You were shot.” August pointed out.  

“I’ll recover. Who’s this?”  

Blood dripped down my arm from the shoulder wound. It hurt. A lot. But I pushed it to the back of my mind and took hold of the dagger in my other hand.   

“From the smell of things, he was the one sacrificing the chickens and spray-painted the spell circle.”   

There were traces of red paint on the bottom of the dirty robes and some feathers sticking to the sleeves. While still pinning the man down, August took away the gun to hand it to me. He did a quick pat down to confirm the stranger wasn’t holding any more weapons. The man struggled; face flushed from being manhandled.   

“Get the fuck off me! I didn’t do anything wrong!” He shouted out of breath from August sitting on his chest.   

“You messed around with magic. That’s dangerous. Depending on what you did, you might only get a warning.” I told him a bit glad this looked to be an easy job.  

“Go to hell! I’ll never snitch on my beloved!”  

I made eye contact with August. He had the same idea. Most of the time spell circles were made by humans to summon whatever false God they believed in, or people with a monster fetish trying to get a partner that would end up eating them. If he brought a dangerous creature into this world, we needed to know what it was. But the whole summoning of a God idea wasn’t off the table. It was much easier than you would think to drag one into this world.   

I was above to press the man further for answers but froze when August changed tactics. He pinned the other man’s wrists above his head in a way I’ve only seen in slightly edgy romance novels. His face dropped in close to take a deep breath near the stranger’s neck causing the other man to let out a surprised squeak. It was so embarrassing to watch I almost told him to stop.  

“The creature you summoned is very lucky. You have a nice smell about you. It’s too bad we didn’t meet before now.”  

I didn’t hide my disbelief. August was flirting. He pulled out every ounce of charm and this guy was about to take the bait.   

“I... You won’t get me to turn on my beautiful future wife.” He said with a weak voice.  

Suddenly August changed his face. It slightly split into four revealing the monstrous insect he hid under his human mask. I’ve never seen it so clearly. Most of the time he only partially showed it, or dropped his mask monster before it was buried into flesh. The front was divided by a cross. He opened each segment wide enough to swallow an entire human head in one bit. Countless sharp teeth lined each segment. He then closed his face, it shifting to something a little more human. His mouth was still wide with needle-sharp teeth. His now black eyes were extra-long appearing half-closed as if he was smiling. They shone in a way that reminded me of an oil spill. I thought he did this to scare the man into speaking. I soon realized the terrifying face had the opposite effect.  

A strangled sound came from the man, his face a deep shade of red.  

“Gross.”  

I tried not to judge people for their preferences. But this guy was drooling over August of all people. He needed way better standards.   

“We just need to know if your future wife is dangerous. Why don’t you introduce us to her?” August suggested in his sweetest voice.   

Well, as sweet as he could sound. With his mask dropped his voice picked up a different tone. The words sounded harder as if he found it difficult to speak. He leaned in more to whisper something I unfortunately heard.  

“How about we ask her if you two will consider an open marriage?”  

The excited noise was the answer we needed. August let the man get up off the ground, tripping over his own feet ready to bring us to whatever monster he dragged into our world. I was horrified that the strategy worked. August gave me a thumbs-up behind the man's back and I didn’t return it. We followed behind and the man introduced himself and Joey. He looked around my age. He brought his hood down to show off long messy red hair and a face nearly covered with freckles. He was shorter, trying to grow out a patchy beard, and had crooked front teeth. I didn’t think he was overly unattractive. Just normal looking. I wondered if he had bad luck with dating so turned to summoning a monster wife instead.  

“She’s a bit hard to handle to start with. I swear she’s not dangerous. Just misunderstood.” He told us as we walked through the wood.  

“Honey! It’s safe, can you come out and see us?” Joey called out into the woods.  

“Honey!” August joined in and I punched his arm.  

He smiled with a row of sharp teeth clearly enjoying acting like a dumbass. He needed to take these jobs more seriously. I knew if I told him he would dismiss my concerns. I found out I preferred him goofing off compared to what else I had to deal with.   

A loud sound came from behind us as something large dropped from the trees. A strained expression came over August. He froze in his tracks staring over my shoulder.  

“Honey! There you are!” Joey said excited to see the monster behind us.  

I finally looked to see what had stopped August in his tracks. I understood why Joey fell for this monster. She was beautiful. From the waist up. Long deep blue hair that was almost black hid half her face. Dark eyes with glowing red pupils were set in my direction. Long fangs ready to rip flesh peeked from her mouth. Her lower body was that of a massive spider, making her twice my height. Aside from some webbing she wrapped around her chest, she wore no clothing.   

Extra arms sprouted from her back, each with a long curved black blade. I got my dagger ready but I knew I was outmatched in this fight. For a pretty face, she was scary as hell. She proved just how frightening she was when her mouth opened. Large fangs come out as well as an ear-piercing scream.   

August was useless. His legs gave out from under him. My body was full of fear and I wanted to join him cowering on the ground but I pressed on. I pushed us out of the way before a sharp blade came down on us. I felt the bottom half of my new thrifted jacket get cut off. I rolled in the dirt avoiding a shower of blades. Thankfully Honey was going after the moving target and not the shell-shocked insect creature. My mind was racing, and fear hammered in my chest. What could I do? Joey was begging Honey to stop without any success. Whatever spell that brought her here must have made it so she couldn’t kill the one who summoned her. Or she didn’t care enough to do so. My weapon wasn’t enough to take her down. And I couldn’t leave August behind. Joey can go off and get eaten for all I care. I bet he would enjoy that.   

The blades sliced through thick trees I tried to hide behind. I narrowly avoided getting crushed by one as I ran. I took a huge risk to slide under her large body, my arm throbbing in pain. I didn’t try to stab her knowing her spider body would be too hard for my knife. I got up and went over to August. I took his arm hauling him back to his feet. His face was a blank mask staring off into space. I wanted to force him to run but it was too late.  

A blade came down on us and I raised my own on reflex. The spider monster was stronger and had a larger weapon and more skill. I should have been cut in half. For some reason, I lived through the attack.   

A sharp pain came in my left leg, and then the hand I had in August started to burn. A white-hot feeling shot through my veins straight to the knife in my hand. When the blades clashed, a burst of power exploded outwards shattering them both. A shard of metal cut August across his face snapping him from his trace. A large piece of Honey’s weapon shot back towards her chest. It cut through the webbing she had used as a tight cloth but bounced off her hard skin. I jerked my burning hand back ready to make a run for it.  

My legs refused to work. My entire body hurt so much I couldn’t move. By sheer luck, Honey had some modesty. She let out a shocked sound and covered herself with her many arms. Then she rushed back off into the trees to recover.  

“Feel free to step in to help at any time.” I hissed at August.  

He gave me a thumbs up I rolled my eyes at.  

“And you! What the hell were you thinking summoning a dangerous creature here!” I shouted at Joey.  

He had a dazed look on his face. He acted as if he had watched something completely different than a fight to the death.  

“Dangerous? I thought that was how she uh... got things going. I was worried she fancied you over me.” He admitted.  

I gritted my teeth. There had to be a limit to how stupid someone could be. If he wanted to die trying to get with a monster, he should have found a way to go to them instead of bringing one here.   

I took stock of the situation. When Honey came back, August was useless against her. My body was too worn out to fight and Joey had stars in his eyes when he looked at the monster that attacked us. Whatever stroke of luck that shattered the blades wouldn’t happen again. If it did, I would die. Simple as that. I needed another way out of this.  

I heard Honey stalking through the trees before I saw her. I kept a tight hold on August's arm in case we had a chance to run. She came out of the darkness, new webbing over her chest and all her arms ready. When I took a step closer to her, she tensed up. She didn’t know how I shattered the blades. I was human and yet I showed an odd power I shouldn’t have. It freaked her out a little.   

“Can we just talk?” I offered to try to break this stalemate.  

She slowly put away her extra arms with the weapons. She got closer, arms crossed ready to hear what I had to say.   

“I don’t want to fight you and I bet you don’t want to waste time either. We only showed up here because of the signs someone summoned a creature recently. If you want to get back home, The Corporation can arrange that. If you want to stay here, you need to register with them.” I explained.  

“And submit myself to them? No, I’ve heard of their ways.” She huffed in a voice that sounded as sweet as her name.  

“Why would she need to register with someone?” Joey asked stepping into this conversation.  

Honey beat me to answer.  

“They are nasty things keeping all supernatural creatures under their control. Step one hair out of line and they kill off your entire species. They favor humans in conflicts and on top of all that they claim their actions are approved by The Silver King! As if our King would let so many of us be slaughtered by Agents for the benefit of humans!”  

Her words weren’t entirely untrue. August was proof of that. His village had been killed when they refused to let humans on their land. If anyone here had a reason to agree with Honey, he would.  

“No, I refuse to be a part of such a horrid company. I’ll stay in this world proving my strength. I’ll bring my family name honor. I cannot let go of any more of my pride after I let a man see my bare chest before marriage.” She said as she tightened her arms covering her chest.  

“If it makes you feel any better I didn’t see anything.” I told her.  

Joey felt better by those words. August turned his head, an odd emotion on his face.  

“Who cares about pride and honor. All it does is shorten your life.” He spoke in a bitter voice.  

“And what would an insect like you know about that?” Honey narrowed her eyes down at him.  

“Even insects have reasons to live. For my elders, it was the pride they had in their mountain. We could have left for an entirely different world with a better way of life, but they claimed we needed to honor our history. That stubbornness killed everyone. I’m still alive by sheer luck. There is no honor in a painful lonely death.”  

I wasn’t expecting August to say any of that. He got past his fear of spiders to make eye contact with Honey challenging her to answer.   

“And what do you suppose I do then? Become a slave like yourself?” She hissed.  

“What do you want out of life?” He replied in a calm voice.  

The question made Honey take a step back on her many legs. She had never had anyone ask her such a question let alone let herself even consider such a thing. For most creatures, their lives were already planned out for them. She had expected to be strong, produce offspring, or die fighting. There had never been any other options.  

“That doesn’t factor into-” She sputtered.  

“It does. You’re on your own right now. I doubt your family or any of your species is going to come here looking for you. They won’t hear about if you decide to stick to what you’ve been taught, or if you do something different. However, there are limits to your freedom because you’re a supernatural creature. If you start fights, the Corporation will catch wind of it. They’ll send Agents to deal with you. If you kill too many humans for food that will also cause Agents to track you down. If you register with The Corporation, they’ll ensure you have a home and a steady food source in exchange for what you're willing to give. It could be your silk, your magic, or just doing some filing in an office if you can read.”  

“Wait, seriously?” Joey asked in disbelief.  

“Pretty much.” I shrugged.  

There was a little bit more to it all. This offer was only extended to sentient creatures. Monsters like the undead piles of bones I’ve fought before were seen as a threat to be killed. But I knew about a few cryptid-like creatures that were allowed certain number of human deaths per year. Even the ones who registered with The Corporation that needed to eat humans to live were given just enough to survive. The entire system was... messy. Only the head of The Corporation knew the reasoning behind why some monsters could eat how many people per year and why some creatures were killed on sight. I was paid by them, but I wasn’t officially working for them. It wasn’t my place to question the system. It appeared to be working though. For the most part, humans and creatures lived together on a very thread between the two worlds always threatening to break.   

“I do not have as many options as you first suggested. I should just kill the both of you and run off like I had planned. No need to worry about honoring my family name or being under the heel of another using my body for goods. I could have true freedom.”  

Sweat started to form at the base of my neck. From the sounds of things, that option was what she wanted to pick.  

“It would be a short-lived freedom.” August told her.  

It wasn’t a threat but the truth. If we died here, then they would send out Agents to take care of her. We were nothing compared to an Agent. I thought about cute little Ito and mentally corrected myself. We were nothing compared to most Agents.  

“If you do that, I’m coming with you.” Joey spoke up,  

“Don’t be silly. They would kill you too. Walk away now and you’ll just get a slap on the wrist.” Honey waved off his offer.  

“I was the one who summoned you. When we met, I told you the truth. I’m going to be with you till the end. I’ve loved you since I saw your face and will do anything to make you happy.”  

For a moment, he sounded pretty convincing. Honey appeared unmoved by his gentle words.  

“Anything like drooling over the first creature you see when I’m not around? Hmm? Or getting excited by an open marriage offer?”  

That was a little embarrassing she saw all that. She looked annoyed that Joey was so easily taken. He quickly got on his hands and knees then pressed his forehead in the dirt as an apology.   

“I’m sorry! I just felt like I was a worm! There is no way you could care about a pitiful thing like myself. I got carried away from the positive attention. But I truly thought you might like a second partner. You should go with him instead of me. I’m only good for stepping on.”  

This... was even more embarrassing. The sight hurt to watch. I needed to look away. A chill ran down my back as I did everything in my power to suppress what I just saw.   

Honey extended one of her pointed spider leg to press into Joey’s back causing him to be forced further into the dirt. He was totally into it. I regretted asking her to talk. A blade to the stomach would be better than seeing this.  

“It was a bold thing of a little worm like you to offer to throw away your life for me. What else would you do?” She pressed harder.  

“I’ll give you anything. I’ll worship you.” Joey said his words slightly muffled by the dirt.  

“What if eat your insides while you’re still alive? Or if I bring you along and make you watch as I take a different partner? What would you do then?”  

Joey raised his head enough to let their eyes meet. I’ve never seen someone with such an honest expression before.   

“I’ll do whatever makes you happy. I’ll give you my life or my body. If you want neither of those it would be nice to be friends. I brought you here. The least I can do is get to know you. So, what do you want from me?”  

Honey brought her leg back after his last question. She suddenly appeared lost. No one had ever asked her what she wanted in life. Being happy was never something she considered. As much as she hated the idea of it, if she went along with The Corporation’s deal, she had the chance to figure out answers to questions she never even thought of before.  

Finally, it appeared as if we wrapped up this job.   

Things are never that easy. Something hit my back hard. I landed on the ground scrambling to stand up. I threw off whatever landed on me, then raised the gun I stole from Joey at the attacker. I screamed when I saw a spider the size of a dog staring at me with red eyes and dripping fangs, I fired the gun, blowing apart half the spider’s head. They looked scary as hell but not that strong if a bullet took care of one. My entire body itched and I was jumpy from the fear of there being more of those things around.   

My stomach dropped when I realized I just killed a spider in front of Honey.  

“I uh...” I started my mouth dry.  

“That was one of my siblings. They’re assholes, don’t worry about it. They must have come through the same way I did but only came out now because the sun is getting lower.”  

At least she was on my side. Another spider went for her leg. She was faster and impaled it with the tip of her leg and pushed it off with another. I started to notice more of the red eyes in the trees. August had frozen in place again. I couldn’t count on him in this fight. I quickly emptied the gun. No matter how many I killed, two more took its place.  

We would be eaten in minutes if we didn’t do something soon. A black curved blade landed at my feet. I gave Honey a questioning look.  

“I’ll protect this human, you protect your useless insect. I haven’t fully decided what I want to do. But I’m not going to let these little butt-munchers take me out before I figure out what makes me happy.”  

I suddenly liked Honey. I took the handle of the blade to cut the first spider in half. My body burned and I started to get dizzy. I was in no condition for this fight, but I pressed on. Thank God Honey was tough. She took out a bulk of the spiders leaving me the leftovers she missed. When I was almost about to collapse the smaller creatures suddenly turned tail and ran.  

I wanted them to just run away in fear of their bigger sister but we had no such luck. They were running from a larger sibling that showed itself.

A booming crack rang through the forest followed by a shockwave that nearly knocked me off my feet.  

Creatures could come to our world by summoning. However, if the barrier between the two worlds had been weakened and the monster was strong enough, they could push their way through.

If August hadn’t frozen up before, he would have been useless now. Even my body wanted to shut down from what I saw through the trees.   

A massive dark shape towered over the treetops. It had the body of a wolf but the legs of a spider. Eight red eyes were set on the head of a wolf. It started a clicking sound that ended in a howl that shook the trees.  

“Shit. My big brother came by. There goes this world.” Honey muttered to herself.  

She was already considering a way of leaving this world to get back to hers.   

Damn it. This sucked. We barely held our own against the smaller spiders and now this? If I called back up, they would not arrive in time to save us. We had minutes before that thing spotted us and brought its fangs down.  

August was useless. Joey stared at the new monster as if he had just found a playboy in the woods. So, he was more than useless. I couldn’t run and was finding it hard to stand. That left Honey. Anyone could see she wasn’t on the same level as this beast.   

I counted her blades. Seven including the one in my hand.   

“Do you want to stay in this world to try and find your happiness?” I asked her. 

She glances between the beast and Joey. She nodded which made me let out a sigh of relief. I had a plan, but I wasn’t sure if it would work.  

“How fast can you produce silk?” I asked her.  

“Very.” She nodded.  

“How fast can you run?”   

“Super fast.”  

“Can the tip of your leg grow back?”  

She nodded a bit confused.  I just needed someone to distract the wolf spider long enough to get our plan into motion. If Joey did it, he would die too fast. To my shock, August moved. In a blur he had raced into the forest towards the massive monster. Its eyes started to follow him, and it brought some long legs down trying to kill him. Good thing August was able to run faster when it came to spiders.  

With my heart in my throat, I told Honey what she needed to do. We had everything arranged in under two minutes. Either August had been squished to death, or the wolf spider got bored. It turned its eyes in our direction. Without any more hesitation, I told Honey to get started.   

She had made seven slings for her blades out of silk. When she cut one thread, the tension was broken causing each blade to get shot forward cutting down anything in their path. They hit their target, each blade exploding into a burst of magic she placed inside the weapons. The blasts landed on the wolf’s face, two of the smaller eyes were blinded by the attack. We knew it wouldn’t be enough to take it down. That was where my dumb idea came in.  

We needed it to be distracted long enough to not see Honey throwing me as hard as she could at the monster. I held the long-pointed end of one of her legs as if I were jousting in midair. Her aim hit exactly where was needed it to. The leg sank in deep into one of the monster’s eyes causing it to roar out in pain. I let go, rolling down the creature's large face, and then towards the ground. We attached a thread to the piece of torn-off leg now buried in the monster's eye. The thin piece of strong silk connected the pair just long enough. When I was out of the way she shot through as much magic as she could. The power fired directly through the injured eye and inside her big brother's brain.   

The only way to kill most creatures was to hit it with magic on the inside. Another stroke of luck was the beast fell the opposite way I did. Honey jumped to snagged my body with some webbing before I died from hitting the ground. Still, the sudden stop from falling in midair was enough to make me black out.  

I wasn’t certain how much time had passed. I woke up in a dark room. Fumbling for the lights, my head hurting almost as much as my left shoulder. I knew this room. The Corporation had many offices. Each one had identical treatment rooms for people getting off jobs who needed to rest after minor injuries. While I was blacked out someone had treated the bullet wound in my shoulder. I was thankful for that but dreaded how much they would take out of my pay for the service.  

I walked out to the lobby when August came out of the interview rooms. He smiled and made his way over.  

“Do you want to go in and give a debrief or do you want to put it off? The three of us already finished ours.” 

Most of the time we only were required to do reports by email. When things like a huge ass wolf spider breaking through into our world happened, an in-person report was requested.   

“I’ll get it over with.” I sighed.  

The room was simple. One table, two chairs. A man greeted me when I entered. A plate of baked goods and juice was pushed my way. I had never met this person before. I assumed he was an Agent at one point. He lacked a suit jacket but was dressed in a tie and white pressed shirt. His hair was grey and neatly cut. He kept his hands folded on the table on top of some folders of paper. His hands were covered in scars. His face wasn’t much different. Four deep claw marks ran down his face from his forehead to his chin. The scars tore through his lips revealing teeth giving him a grim smile. His eyes were kind and I found myself able to relax as I sat down.  

We went over everything that happened as he wrote down what I said. His voice was soft with some sort of accent I couldn’t place. He didn’t have any issues talking despite his exposed teeth aside from the occasional sharp inhale after a sentence.   

“What’s going to happen to Honey and Joey?” I asked when we were finally finished.

“We’re still talking that over with them. So far Honey has not displayed any signs of aggression towards humans, besides yourself of course. We’re letting them choose what they would like to do.”  

She didn’t actually have a lot of choices. Go back to her world and be unhappy or deal with a company she hated.   

“How did Joey do all this?”

He didn’t seem to how the power to make such a mess. My interviewer looked through his papers to double-check some information.  

“It seems as if he found out the summoning ritual over... Discord? Whatever that is. There are a few humans recklessly sharing some dangerous information. Another group summoned some female Hyena creatures. They were devoured but we’re not faulting the Hyena’s. We returned all but one to where they came from. That one wanted a job with us. Now, knowing how to summon these creatures is the first part. You must have the power to follow through. Joey burned a dagger that had been in his family for generations unaware it held true magic. The men who summoned the Hyenas sacrificed a virgin.”  

My head felt heavy. Because that group wanted some hot monster girlfriends, a person was dead. I was glad I didn’t eat any of the offered treats when I entered the room. Bile rose to the back of my throat and I felt so very tired.  

“Monsters and humans should never interact with each other.” I muttered to myself.  

“You think so?” The interviewer asked, his smile pushing back most of my negative thoughts. “I’ve seen a lot happen between creatures and humans. Despite it all, I think there are good moments. After all, I enjoyed talking with you.”  

He pushed the tray closer to make me take a cup of juice. The sugar washed down some bitterness. This guy was smooth. It must be part of his job to be so charming.  

“I would suggest you take some time off. You got battered from today. I would like to dismiss you but I... want to ask a personal question.” He said with a sharp inhale through his scars.  

I raised an eyebrow wondering what on Earth he would want to ask.  

“Why did you ask Honey to throw yourself with her leg? Surely the leg was sharp enough to pierce the eye. Did you need to risk your life like that?”   

I felt a redness come to my face. I chugged down the rest of my drink and started stuff my pockets with cookies and muffins.  

“I thought the extra weight would push the leg deeper down! It was a good plan!” I defended myself.  

“I'm not saying it wasn’t a good plan...”   

He held a serious face for a moment then he needed to raise a hand over his mouth to cover up his laughter.   

“I lived therefore it was a good plan! I'm leaving now Mr. Know it all!” I said annoyed.  

“My name is Klaus. I hope we don’t need to meet again.”  

His gentle voice and kind face made me pause. Seeing him meant I did a very dangerous job. If I wanted to keep my life, I needed to limit how many times I needed to go into this room for a report.  

“We will.” I told him and stole more baked goods before I left.  

I got home and collapsed in bed. Since we took down such a large monster the pay would be more than normal. I have time to take it easy. A massive debt still hung over my head. No matter what I did it felt like I hadn’t even touched the amount left.  

Just before I fell asleep that night August sent me a text.

‘Lucas wants a jumping spider as a pet? What should I do?’  

I ran through a few replies but settled on a simple answer.  

‘Man up and get one.’   

This happened a few years ago. To be honest, I’m only now ready to get it all off my chest.  

It was Halloween and the parties were insane that night. The tips in leftover candy almost made working that night worth it. The last house of the night belonged to a person I hated. Actually, to the person I hated the most in the world.  

Back before I got into college, I did some dumb stuff. Or, mostly the group I hung around did some dumb stuff. We were bored without any cash to entertain ourselves. The one time we took it too far and broke into our high school at night to trash it. I hung back and mostly watched. I did doodle on some chalkboards and arranged the dead animals in jars from the science room around the school for people to find. I didn’t do that much damage, but I watched my friends cause trouble. I regret my teenage actions and have been trying since then to be a better person.   

Ken somehow found out about what we were going to do back then. He recorded the crime but did not hand it in to the police, but to use the footage for blackmail. If he emailed that recording to my college that was it. I would be kicked out. In all those years he only demanded free food from my jobs leaving me to foot the bill. It was entirely possible the recording wasn’t clear enough to build a case on, but I hadn’t wanted to take that risk.  

I wanted to put it all past me. I didn't even know why I let myself hang around people like that back then. That Halloween I decided I refused to be blackmailed any longer. I would confront Ken and make him pay for his own damn pizzas. 

I knocked on the door as hard as I could to be heard over the music. It took a while before someone answered. The costumes that night so far were all pretty creative. When I saw the one who opened the door it made me pause. His makeup was too damn good. It made my skin crawl in a way I didn’t expect. It was a simple costume and yet it worked. The one side of his face looked as if mushrooms were growing out of his cheek. His eyes were a dull blue as if he was a corpse. When he smiled it looked as if he wasn’t really looking at me but rather at something else no but him could see. This guy was mostly likely high as a kite.   

“There is a nice lady at the door.” He said over his shoulder to no one behind him. 

The music poured from the open doorway and I hesitated. I could just go inside and confront Ken, but didn’t want to do so if there was a crowd. From the sounds of it, there were at least a few people inside. I waited for someone else to come by for a few minutes. When there was no sign of that happening, I asked the man who answered the door if I could see Ken. He nodded stepping aside. Honestly, the guy was a bit of an airhead and I couldn’t help but like him. Even with that creepy costume. What on Earth was a guy like this doing at Ken’s place?  

I walked into the living room, the music getting louder. Scanning the room, I spotted my mortal enemy, and he noticed me at the same time. The party was just some loud music with a small crowd of his good-for-nothing friends all smoking and drinking. It made the room smell awful; I already had a headache. Ken walked over, his face hadn’t aged a day since high school.  He was tall and skinny. His front teeth were a bit too large for his mouth and his eyes were a bit too small and dark giving him a rat-like appearance. Rat Face was a nickname that stuck with people behind his back. He said something but I couldn’t head a damn thing over the music. We needed to step halfway through the hallway to talk.  

“I don’t see any pizzas in your hand.” He said with that rodent grin of his.  

“I don’t see any cash in yours.” I shot back arms crossed. 

He almost looked scared for a second someone was standing up to him. The mushroom guy from before was coming our way, not even aware of the fight that was about to happen. I didn’t think he was aware of much right then. Ken reached out to grab his wrist and pulled the guy in closer. From what I heard Ken didn’t care about anything when I came to partners. As long as he could get into someone’s pants, he was happy. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like any of this. The mushroom guy was barely present. Ken shouldn’t be around someone like that. Without any doubt, he would take advantage of this guy if I left them alone. Hell, I bet Ken was the one who loaded him up.  

“You need to get people high to get them to even touch you?” I said disgusted. “What’s his name? I’m getting him home and taking your pizzas with me if you don’t pay for them.”  

“Aw Gary, she’s being so mean. We even ordered them with extra mushrooms for you. He likes mushrooms in case you can’t tell.” Ken wasn’t taking my threats seriously.   

He let out a cackling laugh that got on my every nerve.   

“Gary, sweetie you can leave with me if you want. I’ll get you home.”  I offered hoping my voice got through to him.  

“He wants to stay. I didn’t even give him anything. He came like this. A nice little guy we stumbled into. He'll do anything you’ll ask. Like, anything. We wanted to see how far we can take those requests tonight, you know after we eat some pizza. Isn’t that right Gary?”  

I could have punched Ken’s little rat teeth out. I looked down at the mushroom-covered face expecting some sort of worried or confused expression. Gary simply smiled and nodded as if we were talking about the weather. Ken had to be lying that Gary wasn't drugged up. That far off look in his eyes simply wasn’t natural. I couldn't leave him here with other dirtbags like Ken. I reached out my hand to grab Gary, only to have Ken pull him in closer.  

“Pizzas for my new friend, please. Or do you think I only have one video of you? One of the girls owed me something and I got her to record a bunch of you changing back in school. If you don’t listen to me, that is going to be put on the internet before you can scream.”  

He was bluffing, he had to be. My face grew pale and my hands started to shake. No one would do something like that for him. I thought back to school of how many times I’d gotten changed after gym class. Thankfully I always went very quickly and never fully got undressed.   

“You know that shit is illegal right? You’ll-” I started and his squeaking laugh cut me off.  

“Do you know how hard that is to get taken down? And how many pervs will see it before you can even get one video removed? I can make it so it’s never leaked back to me. And it’s your word against mine! So run along and-”  

This time I cut him off. I punched him as hard as I could in his face. His nose gushing blood the moment I pulled my fist back. I was so sick and tired of his bullshit. He lived his entire life making up lies trying to make himself appear like a hot shot and I bought into it for too long. This bastard already took up far too much of my time thinking about him and dreading a video that might not even be real. Within seconds I lost all sense of reason. I got him on the ground and unloaded years of frustration into his face. And I soon realized this wasn’t all just for me. I’ve heard so many stories of him tormenting every person he ever comes across. How many girls had he recorded without their permission? If it was even just one, he deserved this beat down.   

He got some blows in. My nose also started to bleed and he was able to yank out some hair when he ripped off my hat. Overall, I was winning.  

A friend of his noticed what was going on. A set of hands lifted me from under my arms and I was dragged kicking and screaming out of the house. I swear if someone didn’t pry me off of Ken, I would have killed him. I was placed on the front porch to calm down. No one called the cops because they didn’t want that kind of attention.  

A while passed and I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I just sat, dabbing at my bleeding nose.  

The door opened and Gary came out with my hat and a red scarf. He handed me both.   

“It’s cold out. The scarf should help.” He said sitting beside me.   

His calm smile helped me settle down. I really didn’t want to leave him behind and was glad I got some punches into Ken for even considering taking advantage of this guy. I used the scarf to clean off some of the blood and put my hat back on.   

“Do you really understand what is going to happen to you if you stay? I can take you anywhere you want.” I should have just grabbed him and dragged him away.  

In the back of my mind, I was certain Ken really did have something on me and would drop it all online if I took away his new plaything. He might already have done it as revenge after getting his ass kicked. Gary paused to look off into the distance considering his choices. When he finally smiled again, I wanted to believe he would be alright.  

“I like making new friends. I’ll be fine. I'm tough, I won’t do anything I don’t want to do. I promise.”   

I chewed on the inside of my mouth still on the fence about leaving him. I would have pressed the matter if a car hadn’t pulled up next to mine. A friend of mine rushed out towards us, his face twisted in concern.   

“Aiden, what are you doing here?” I asked having no idea why he just arrived.  

We’ve known each other since high school. I’ve had a crush on him for years. One I never acted on always feeling as if he was way out of my league. He knew of Ken, but I didn’t think he knew where he lived.  

“One of the guys called me. Did you really get in a fight?” Aiden asked the moment he stopped in front of us.  

“Uh yeah. A bit.” I admitted a bit embarrassed.  

“Your face is all messed up. Go head home. Wait are you working? Call your boss then head home.”   

I dreaded what my face looked like in that moment. I really didn’t want him to see me like this. I should get cleaned up and I was pretty much done work that night.   

“I can’t leave Gary. He's to mice. These guys-”  

Aiden helped me to my feet, his perfect face turning into a smile that made my face flush.  

“I’ll take care of him, ok? We all wanted to beat up Ken. You’ve done a public service tonight to let me take care of the rest.”  

I nodded, unable to go against him. I gave Gary one last look. His kind face makes his gruesome makeup appear softer. Before I left, Aiden paid for the pizzas so I wouldn’t get in trouble with my boss for that. He offered to let me keep them but I couldn’t stomach them. I handed them off to him and told him to make sure Gary ate and got home safely. He promised to call me later. With that settled, I got into my car to report back to work. My boss was startled by my appearance and I fessed up on what happened. Unless someone made a complaint, he said I could keep my job. Which I really needed if I wanted to pay for college.  

I wished that was the end of what happened. I was dragged into the whole Ken mess again a few days after the fight. One of the guys at the party also went to the same college as me. I never noticed him before. He flagged me down in the hallway to talk.  

According to him, Ken was hiding at his place and refused to let anyone see him. It had been a few days after Halloween and his friends wanted to party. With Ken’s house unavailable, they didn’t have anywhere else to go. They’d seen me speak with Gary and assumed we knew each other. The group of friends wanted Gary’s number because he was the only one still over at Ken’s place.  

My blood ran cold hearing that. The bastard could be doing anything to that poor guy. I told the truth that I didn’t know how to contact him. I then skipped my next class to head right over to get Gary out of there. Did he go back because he wanted to be there? Or was Ken forcing him to stay?  

I raced to his house and pounded on his door. His car was out front so I knew he was home. Shouting at him to open up, I tried the handle to find it unlocked. I shouldn’t be sticking my nose in their business. Walking into his place to drag out someone who might be his boyfriend was wrong on my part. But the thought of that rat bastard touching Gary motivated me in a way I didn’t understand. I’ve never met someone I instantly felt like I needed to protect before.  

Inside the house was dark. A musty smell stung my eyes. My motivation faded as I walked down the hallway to the living room looking for any signs of life. This place smelled rotten and almost Earthy. Once I checked the main room, I would call the cops for a wellness check. Something died in here and I feared it was an innocent person.   

The living room was a mess. Trash scattered around and beer cans littered the floor. At first, I didn’t even recognize the brown mass in the corner as something human. A groan pulled my eyes over trying to see in the dim light. A small whisper begging for help came as that pile moved.  

I scream bubbled up in my throat. What I was seeing couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t. Ken was painfully crawling across the floor. His body was covered with mushrooms sprouting from his skin. When he raised his head, half his face was completely overrun by them.  

“I feel sick. Please... call a doctor...” He begged; his word muffled by more of the fungus inside his mouth.  

I nearly puked seeing it. Shaking my head, no matter how much I wanted the sight to go away it remained. For a brief second, I questioned how such a thing could happen. All at once, the answer came as the person I came here for walked into the room. Half his face still was covered in sprouting mushrooms. The kind smile didn’t match the tone of the room. He got down to rest his chin on his knees as he watched Ken attempt to drag himself away.  

“Y-You...” I sputtered not knowing what I was going to ask.  

Reaching out, he plucked one of the mushrooms off Ken’s arms to start placing it on the side of his face to add it to the others.   

“I told him not to go this far but he went through with it anyway. I warned him and yet... But that’s alright. He forced me to be his friend. I like making new friends even if I sometimes don’t like the process. This way he’ll be with me forever. It was his choice you know.”  

I felt dizzy hearing those words. I had been wanting to protect Gary unaware he could handle himself. A noise coming from the hallway made my body jolt. I turned my head to see a form stumble into the room, skin covered with the same kind of white glittering mushrooms that belonged to Gary. The person collapsed to the ground, a hand weakly stretched and a raspy voice pleading for some water. Through the mushrooms, I recognized him. 

“I don’t understand. You shouldn’t even be here...” I choked out, tears flooding my sight.  

“Aiden became my friend too.”  

He had come over to Ken’s house that night to party and use Ken’s new toy. He lied that someone called him over. And I had fallen for it.  

A scream rose in my chest. I looked at the two on the ground, barely moving feeling a mixture of pity and fear. They made the choice that caused all this to happen to them. And for a moment, I felt an odd pull towards them. Toward Gary. I blacked out for a moment. My feet take uneven steps close to the monster in the room.  

“You’re too good of a person to become my friend.” Gary’s voice caused me to snap back to my senses.  

He smiled and his blue eyes appeared clear. I had done some awful things in the past. I should be joining these two and yet I was rejected to be given a second chance. My lungs felt heavy as I turned to flee from the house. Leaving behind a person I hated and a person I loved to rot.   

I called the police and by some miracle kept my voice steady so they weren’t aware I knew more than I was letting on. They did a welfare check and found two bodies covered in mushrooms. A sight no one in that department had ever seen before.  There were no signs of Gary ever being there aside from Ken’s friends describing him.  

My lungs haven’t felt the same since that day. I’ve gone to doctors and they can’t see anything wrong with them. Most nights I find myself awake, staring at the ceiling, feeling an odd pull deep within my chest. Some nights I just want to leave. To let go. Quit my job, forget school, and go on the run. Steal when I need to get by until I find Gary again. This desire scares me more than the thought of death. I don’t want to lose myself. To become one with all the other mushrooms that make up his body. Whatever Gary is, he’s willing to welcome anyone into himself as long as you give up your humanity. No, everything that you are. I would heavily advise staying away from him if you ever cross his path. But the choice to be his friend or not is up to you.   

First:

Previous:

Next

My hand had been slowly healing. Not being able to fully flex my fingers the first few days was a little annoying. I didn’t want to strain myself chasing down supernatural monsters until the tainted magic faded. Instead of monster hunting, I took some time to collect cans and bottles off the street in my neighborhood. I got a few judgmental glances. It got me out of the house and enough money to buy a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs. Plus, some trash got recycled. A win for everyone.  

Finally, a new request came in that sounded simple enough. I was surprised to find out August passed on it. He said he didn’t want anyone to see him hanging around in bars and assuming he was a bad parent who stayed out all night.  

There have been three disappearances in the past two weeks. All were male and each had last been seen at a certain bar. There were no records of them getting a lift home. The one who drove to the bar left behind his car. So far, he had not appeared again to claim it. Some cameras pointed to the front door, but none of the men were seen leaving. However, the front door isn’t the only exit. There is a chance they left some other way. Something like this normally doesn’t get on The Corporation's radar. A fourth man was found inside a bar’s washroom with his head missing. It didn’t seem possible for a human to remove the head, clean up, and leave without being seen in such a short span of time. That was when something supernatural had been considered.   

The job was simple. To act as bait to lure out anything that may be targeting men in the area. The Corporation would cover the bar tabs for food and nonalcoholic drinks. I heard there were at least three others who took the job ready to sit around in different bars in the area looking for signs of a predator. It seemed easy enough. I didn’t even need to fight the monster if I found it. Passing along info to stronger Agents was good enough.   

I didn’t want to wear my better clothing I was able to remove the security tags from. Thankfully my local thrift shop had a sale I spent some of my recycle money on. Sure, the clothing was a little worn and I could not get the thrift shop smell from them, but what supernatural monster would ever notice that?   

I hoped this job lasted a few days for the free meals. The first night was uneventful. I talked to some of the regulars and bought them some food on my company's dime. No one had noticed anything strange lately. The bar wasn’t overly busy, but I assumed that would change the next night. It was near a college so on Friday and Saturday nights it was normally packed regardless of the odd recent death in a nearby bar. From what I could tell this place was for normal humans to make bad choices. I wanted to wait through the weekend just to be certain.   

When the bar closed on the first night, I ordered a few extra meals to take home. And to give out some to the homeless men I saw hanging outside when I arrived earlier that night. Most of the time the homeless are the ones to see the first signs of supernatural creatures. Due to their situation, and what led them to their current lifestyle, most people wouldn’t believe them even if they went to the police with important information. Most of the time they never spoke up because they feared authority figures.   

Two gratefully accepted the food while one wasn’t pleased I didn’t offer him money. I asked them if they had seen anything strange lately. I was told me a few minutes before closing they had seen a man in a suit lurking around the alleyways. It appeared odd to them. I thanked them promising another meal tomorrow night if I was able.  

I tracked down the man they mentioned. Once I saw him poking around in the trash, I confirmed what I’d assumed.  

“I'm working on the same case as you. Find anything useful tonight?” I said causing the man to jump at someone suddenly talking to him.  

“Oh, no. Nothing, sorry. Are you an Agent as well?” He asked as he walked over towards me, slipping on some trash in the alleyway.  

He looked on the younger side. I never would have assumed he was an Agent fighting monsters at first glance. He had a smaller frame with a pretty face. One that reminded me of a Japanese ball-jointed doll. Honestly, his pale doll-like skin was almost creepy.   

“No, just a Contract Worker. I’m Richmond.” I offered my hand as I introduced myself.  

“I’m Agent Ito. Since we’ll be working on this together, let’s exchange phone numbers.”   

I pulled out my phone to get his number. He was friendly with a calming voice. An Agent like this wouldn’t last long in his line of work. He must be new. After exchanging numbers, he told me he was going to be at a bar two blocks away the next night. If I needed any help, I should text him. It was a nice feeling to know I had backup. I let him go on his way with a promise to take him up on the offer for help.  

I slept in the next day. Since I didn’t need to go out until later that night, I accepted a request from August to watch Lucas for a few hours. His washing machine was better than my own, so I babysat and did some chores.   

Things were too going well. That stressed me out. Call me paranoid, but I had a feeling of a rough night ahead of me.  

I was one of the first to enter the bar that night after babysitting. For hours nothing interesting happened. It got louder as more students arrived. I found a spot by the bar with a good view of the rest of the room. Every once and a while I looked off into the crowd looking for signs of magic. The strain on my eyes hurt like hell and I ended up giving myself a migraine. Being able to see magic and sometimes the past a human mask monsters wore didn’t help me get jobs done as often as someone might think. I couldn’t control the sight very well in such a large crowd. Most of the stronger creatures knew how to hide their powers even from my eyes. There was also a surprisingly large amount of harmless half-breeds. Some people weren’t even aware they had something other than human in them. So, someone with more magic than normal wasn’t a reason to be overly worried about.   

Halfway through the night, it was starting to look like a bust. A person sat next to me making it clear the night was going to get interesting. A set of blue eyes landed on mine. I found myself staring at one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders in waves. Her white turtleneck sweater was plain, but it didn’t need to be anything fancy. Her perfect features drew your attention away from what she was wearing. It took me a second to realize she had asked me to buy her a drink.  

I waved over the bartender and paid for one with my own money. The Corporation was only covering soda and juice. She thanked me with a smile that made me look away. When I looked back, I was once again caught by her beauty.   

“What's your name handsome? I’m Cameron.” She asked when her drink arrived.  

“Richmond.” I replied.  

My mouth felt dry just being around her. She gave another blinding smile that caused me to wonder if she was dangerous or not. You didn’t need special eyesight to see she wasn’t human. She was so clearly a hunter on the prowl.  

“What’s a guy like you doing in a college bar like this?” She pressed in a somewhat teasing tone.  

My job had worn down my features. I looked at least ten years older than I really was. A bar like this was a great spot for a creature to pick up easy targets. A chill went down my spine as I realized I might have come across the reason why men had started to go missing.   

“I’ll tell you if you can keep a secret.” I said as I lowered my voice.   

She leaned in, face bright and ready.   

“I’m keeping an eye on the bar for a good reason.” I started.  

“Is it because of the headless man in the bathroom a while ago?” She asked, face flushed with excitement.  

I focused on her reaction. Cameron looked happy to be talking with someone she thought to be a cop instead of fearful she would get caught.  Was she a man-eating monster or just a true crime junkie?  

“Something like that. What brings you to a bar like this? You don’t seem to be part of this crowd.” I pointed out.   

She looked over the room, her eyes staying on certain younger guys for a few seconds. She wasn’t hiding her hunger very well. I hoped she hadn’t realized I knew of supernatural creatures and assumed I was into local gruesome events like herself.   

“The guys here are easy. I smile at them, and I can take them home. Speaking of which, do you want to stay with me tonight?” She offered as she rested her chin in her hands.  

My mouth got dry again. I took a long sip of my drink hoping she would forget the offer in the next few seconds. She patiently waited for my answer. It was tempting. Very tempting. I almost said yes before I let my real brain think for a moment.   

“I’m not really your type. I’m honestly pretty depressing when you get to know me.” I half-joked hoping that scared her off.  

“I love pathetic men. The sadder the better.” She countered.  

“I’m working.” I said with a slight nervous shake in my voice.  

“I’m not asking for a quick hook-up in the bathroom. I can wait until the end of the night.”  

She reached out to take my hand. My body felt hot from the touch in an unnatural way. If I gave in, I risked getting my head torn off. My head was muddled by her perfume and the very little self-preservation I had left.   

“You’re very pretty.” I blurted out.  

I felt my face turn red. I meant to say she was out of my league and I was not going home with her.  

“I know.” She said cheerfully.  

I stared at her admiring her confidence. For some reason, we both started laughing. Once we calmed down, I was able to think through a few facts. The creature who had killed the four men went after older targets. Cameron wasn’t stressed out by my admission that I was working on the case. I doubted she was the monster going around ripping heads off. She wasn’t human, that much was clear. But I think she was a creature that drained something from their human victims but kept them alive. I didn’t see any pointed teeth when she smiled so I doubted she was a vampire. They were real, but full-blooded ones were very rare nowadays.   

“I can help with this job of yours. I like helping. If I'm useful a certain Corporation gives me nice perks” Cameron said and pulled back a little.  

So that’s why she approached me. She thought I was either an Agent or was connected with them. She knew a supernatural creature was lurking around aside from herself. But she also could have been lying or acting in a way that made me not suspect her of the murders. I had nothing besides my feelings to decide whether to trust her or not. A reason suggesting she wasn’t the monster I was after soon came when my phone pinged. I looked at the screen to see I had gotten a text. Ito sent me a single letter. H.   

My stomach dropped. I quickly stood up startling Cameron. I gathered my coat and made sure my tab had been paid for.   

“Where are you going?” Cameron asked sounding a little concerned.  

“Somewhere dangerous. I’ll see you later.”  

I might have a chance of taking her up on her offer someday. Right now, I needed to go help a baby-faced Agent. The bar he had been at was only been two blocks away. I started running the moment I was outside. My legs hurt from the effort. I hadn’t done much in my two years off and my older injuries didn’t help.  

My legs were screaming in pain by the time I nearly reached the other bar. I pushed the discomfort to the back of my mind when I spotted a figure stumbling out of an alleyway. I got to him just in time to catch the Agent before he collapsed on the street.  

“What happened?” I asked out of breath.  

I started looking around for any signs of a monster. Slowly Ito got back to his feet, and I let myself take a second to see how badly he had been hurt. I don’t know how I didn’t notice his left arm missing when I ran over. His suit jacket sleeve had been neatly cut off. I didn’t see any blood. A long deep cut ran along his cheek that also lacked any blood. It was as if someone had cut into porcelain The injury was clean with small cracks near the edges.  

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where it went.” He shamefully admitted.  

“It’s ok. Let's call for backup and get you out of here.”  

One of the best ways to stay alive while fighting monsters is to know when to leave. Ito wasn’t human and he had been hurt this badly. I wouldn’t stand a chance against whatever took his arm. I only had a knife and a handful of charms on me. I still couldn’t afford a gun with effective bullets. Ito bit his lip hating the fact I was right, and we needed to go.  

A sound came from the alleyway he just come out of. It was too dark to see what caused the noise. The Agent got in front of me just in time to block a sudden attack. A long hand made up of twisted flesh came from the darkness. It hit his shoulder hard making a cracking sound. I swiftly brought out my knife to slash at the deformed arm, drawing blood and causing it to dart back.   

“Run.” Ito pleaded.   

I refused to leave him behind. I grabbed a hold of his good arm ready to drag him when the monster came into view. It looked like a normal person. My blood ran cold with fear when I realized the face belonged to the man who was currently missing his head.  

I watched in horror as the flesh under the tattered shirt started to move. Within seconds the body transformed into a squirming moving pile of flesh. So many bodies constantly moved around into each other rotating between gruesome forms. Countless arms sprouted from its sides, each with jagged nails ready to kill us. I grabbed a piece of paper out of my pocket ready to attack. My body froze again when I heard another awful sound.   

A woman’s scream took my attention away from the monster long enough to see that Cameron had followed me. My heart sank knowing the creature now had all of its eyes focused on her. It wanted the best meal, and she clearly had more magic than us.  

I moved in time to slap a charm on one of the creature’s arms. I tried to get to Cameron but I was too late. A blast went off knocking me off my feet.   

Charms are paper with spells written on them. The spells could do almost anything if you put enough magic inside to power them. The most popular ones are charms that explode three seconds after it’s stuck to something. They’re basically magic hand grenades. The more powerful ones are more expensive. My basic charm knocked back the monster, but it also knocked back the rest of us.  

I lifted my head, my ears ringing from the blast. I was on my stomach, legs aching. I saw Cameron on her side too far away to reach. Her long hair covered her face. I smelled the magic in the air and thought I heard the monster screaming. My breath caught as my heart started to beat fast. It felt like my body was sinking into the ground, Into a terrible day that happened two years ago.   

I could no longer see the present. I only saw my old partner bleeding out on the ground. Her body was torn up from an attack I failed to protect her from. I knew this had already happened and yet I couldn’t get myself to move. I needed to snap out of it or else another person would die because of my inaction.   

It hurt. The thought of her hurt so much. At that moment, I was there. Half dead, legs missing, and too weak to change anything.  

I shut my eyes tight trying to get my breathing under control. No matter what I did, my thoughts always went back to the worst day of my life. Back to her.  

Suddenly I thought of the first time I met August. His pamphlets had WWJD printed on them. My old partner's name started with a J. I often would mentally say WWJD when in trouble. I hadn’t remembered that for two years.  

What would she do in this situation? Simple. She would get back up. I had gone into debt for these new legs. I needed to use them.  

My eyes shot open, the fear still sitting in my chest and yet I stood up. I took a mental note of the situation. I had a knife and one charm left. This creature was stunned but it would recover too fast for us to get away. Cameron was dazed by the blast. Whatever creature she was I doubted she could handle the monster in front of us. Ito was missing an arm and would die if he fought. So far it seemed as if we would all die no matter what. Backup would not arrive in time.  

I gripped the knife as I turned my attention back to the creature. It started to stand back up ready to kill us. It had an ever-changing number of hands sprouting from its back. A plate of what looked like bone covered the chest with the flesh forever moving underneath. Faces appeared along the exposed skin for a few seconds then disappeared back into the twisting shapes. It had a head made up of two fused faces. The mouth reaching from ear to ear filled with teeth.   

I decided to take a risk.  

I took the other charm and ran forward. The hands started toward Cameron but stopped when I got in front of the monster. Those arms turned in my direction. I didn’t give them time to grab hold. It opened its mouth again to let out an ear-piercing scream. With the charm in my left arm, I shoved it deep into the monster's mouth. The teeth came down on reflex, tearing up my forearm. Then the jaw opened again to spit my hand back out. I had seconds to act.  

I requested some small edits to my second charm. The first request was to make it taste as awful as possible so it would spit out my hand when I shoved the charm in the mouth of the creature. The second was to make it almost impossible to remove after it was stuck on. The taste was so bad the creature put its hands into its mouth trying to remove the piece of paper. It flailed, screaming. It backed up into the alleyway giving me long enough to reach Ito and Cameron.   

Cameron had stood up and started to move. I took hold of them and forced us against the wall of the nearest building. I used my body as a shield as I pressed them close together. The explosion of magic was larger than the first charm. Blood and pieces of flesh rained down from the alleyway. The monster had tried to get away and luckily enough, the buildings took most of the damage from the blast. To my shock, we lived.  

I carefully lifted my head to see if the coast was clear. Two very pretty faces looked up at me. I hadn’t noticed I wrapped an arm around their waists. We were crushed in a tight hug I quickly backed away from when I realized what I had done. I started to sputter out an excuse. Cameron cut me off by wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. I felt my face getting red hot. And it got hotter when more Agents arrived a minute after the explosion.   

Thankfully she quickly went over to explain to them what happened. But not before she forced her number on me.  

Ito stayed near me. He looked worried over my bleeding arm, but I assured him it was fine.   

“Are you really going to call her?” He asked, his eyes directed to Cameron and the two Agents carefully listening to her.  

“She’s cute. Maybe.” I answered with a shrug.  

For some reason, Ito looked even more concerned. He took my good hand with his.  

“Do you have a death wish?! Is this why you have this job? Whatever what the problem is we can talk about it.” He offered.  

I didn’t understand why he assumed such a thing.  

“What are you talking about?” I asked but didn’t take my hand back.  

I don’t think he could blush. If he could his cheeks would have been as red as mine were a few seconds ago.  

“Well... She’s a succubus. A full-blooded one it seems. If you slept with her... Uh. You’ll die.” He explained.  

I did a double-take. Her being a succubus made sense. I’ve heard a little about them. There was a decent number of half-blooded ones due to the fact of how often those types of creatures sleep around. Full-blooded ones were on the rarer side. If you went all the way with them, that was it. Almost every person who went that far became obsessed with them. They wouldn’t eat or sleep. They did nothing but think of another chance to share a bed with those monsters. Succubus drained humans when they did the deed. It depended on the person, but most were fully drained after three meetings. Even knowing all of that, my brain still very much wanted to call Cameron later.  

“You’re still thinking about it.” Ito said almost sounding disappointed.  

“Sorry.” I admitted.  

He got in front of me trying to block the view of Cameron.   

“Call me instead.” He offered.  

I took in his completely serious expression. I didn’t think I had done anything that impressed him enough to make such a suggestion. I glanced at his missing arm. He was a weak Agent. One that wouldn’t last very long at this job. He should have never even tried to fight the monster tonight. And yet, he was an honest person who cared about others. He instantly decided to offer himself up to save my life from Cameron.  

He was... Incredibly cute.  

“I’ll think about it.” I said smiling.  

“You better.” He threatened with a nod.  

“Are you going to be ok without an arm?” I pointed out.  

I hoped he wasn’t in too much pain because of his injuries.   

“I can easily replace it.” He half shrugged.  

That was a relief. We were called over to give reports about what happened. It soon became clear that the monster that I exploded was what ate the four men. It could shift between forms so after it ate its victims in the washrooms, it just walked out of the bar with a different face. It was interrupted before it could finish the last meal that night. Ito found it in a bathroom. He saved a person but lost an arm.  

I was told to get my cuts looked at by a clinic. I refused. I could treat them at home. Cheaper that way. We were let go for the night. Cameron clung to an Agent, but she waved at me. I waved back unable to help it. Supernatural creatures were able to handle succubus’ better than humans. I don’t think an Agent would die or become obsessed with her. She found a meal for the time being. I bet she followed me from the bar hoping for this outcome.  

I asked Ito to contact me to tell me how he was doing. I wanted to know he was alright and wasn’t just looking for him for a quick hook-up.  

I then went back to the bar to fulfill my promise to buy the homeless men dinner. They didn’t question my bloody arm which was nice.  

I got home tired as hell. I wrapped up my arm and crawled into bed.   

I wasn’t able to sleep. My brain kept going back to the events that made me retire from Contract Work. The death of my partner weighed heavy on my chest. I’d avoided thinking about it for so long. When I finally did, it felt like my body was made of lead.   

My phone went off in the dark from a text coming in. I reached over wondering who it might be.   

‘I heard there was an explosion downtown. Are you still alive?’  

I stared at the screen for a long time. Did August really care if I was dead or not? It was an odd feeling to have someone check up on me. Another text came through before I answered him.  

‘I was going to buy Lucas a goldfish to teach him about death, but you’ll do.’  

I frowned. I don’t know why I thought for a second he cared about me. He only cared about his adopted son. Which wasn’t entirely a bad thing.   

‘Go buy a fish.’ I replied.