After yesterdays mishaps today turned into a domino effect of one bad thing after another.
First the butterflies brother pulled a houdini out of his arse and managed to provide proof of legitamate income for the unexplained funds that he had hold up in an overseas account.
Which I promptly rebuttaled as a forgery.
Easily done but an inconvience to say the least.
Then the priaire vole made an in person appearance which resulted in her rodentized drama to be picked up and thrown out right along side her ladies in wait who figured that three screaming shifters would somehow make us change our minds.
Then to top it all off the internet decided that today of all days it would one up me with a cherry on top of take this bitch.
Only to be thwarted by my very cleaver don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
All in all let’s just say I was done and wanted my full body pillow wrapped around me like a swadled baby while I pigged out on what can only be classed as food for the soul.
Meaning a whopping great cheesburger.
“You’re still here?”
Seth who undoubtedly was oblivious to most of todays happenings except of course for miss vole and her entourage.
Considering he did the throwing.
Had finally submerged from his den of doom and gloom to peer at me with tired eyes that put a panda bear to shame only to realise for the first time that I’d been here all along.
“I’m leaving now.”
“Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
“Don’t let mister protective wolfhound get the better of you. I’ll be fine.”
Seth’s aversion to the dark always had him fearing for my life whenever I disobeyed his orders to “not be out at night.”
“Don’t argue and hurry your arse up.”
Groaning like a two year old who’s just been told she can’t have that ice cream cake she’s been eyeing for an hour, I start grabbing my things.
“Don’t groan at me woman you know the rules.”
“Idiotic rules that make no sense at all considering what I can do.”
“You can be hurt without being touched Rexy. Haven’t you ever heard of guns, knives, basically anything and everything that can be thrown or weilded.”
“Yet one touch and poof.”
“There’s far more to it then that and you know it. The way you downplay what you actually go through really makes me mad, You know that right?”
“Downplay? I don’t downplay.”
“Tell me then. What’s it really like?”
I stared at him fully intending to throw yet another sarcastic smartarse remake that would’ve blown his socks off.
And yet.
I couldn’t do it.
He was right.
It was horrible.
Sure I hid it well but in all honesty even just the thought of going through it again makes my heart race in fear.
Every time someone almost touches me, even the near misses make me want to vomit.
I could hear the regret at what he’d said in one word.
“Rexy-”
“Don’t.” I cut him off not even caring if I hurt his feelings.
Remaining silent his eyes showed just how much he wished he could take it back.
Exhaling a deep breath I choose my words with calculated stillness.
“The reason I downplay as you so eloquently put it. Is because, if I don’t then I’ll just be a shadow of myself. Someone who just goes through life surviving rather then actually living. If I give in to what it does to me, what it turns me into. Then I might as well let it take me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Rexy wait!”
I was already out the door and halfway down the street before he even had a chance to turn around.
A few blocks later I finally stopped running.
The tears I didn’t know I had were already streaming down my cheeks.
That’s when I heard it.
Even though the rain had stopped.
The water lay stagnant on the ground making the sound that much louder.
Someone was following me, and it wasn’t Seth.
On instinct I spun around to face whoever was behind me with an involuntary small step back.
It only took one second for the large red tentacle to snap out and wrapped around my ankle.
Looking down I realised where I was.
I had one foot inside the ally.
“Crap.”
My hands hit the ground as I was dragged with excelerating speed deep inside the allyway.
The octopus shifter had me beneath him in a matter of seconds.
His beak open and ready to snap me up like shrip fry kabab.
Seconds away from being tonights dinner my scream echoing off the allyway walls when Poof.
The octopus was replaced with a human body.
His eyes stretched wide in fear as he stared down at me from where he stood.
“What. Are you?!”
My eyes never left his as I lifted myself off the ground to face my attempted murderer.
A man who had killed countless shifters with relentless appetite.
Staving in the slums he’d taken to eating his own kind.
With an insatiable hunger.
killing by the hundreds.
No longer starving but nor did he only eat to survive.
With an aquired taste for the kill.
A greed for the hunt.
He killed with malice taking pleaser in thier pleas for mercy.
Becoming the monster in the dark.
The predetor.
When I spoke it was with a voice that was not my own.
“Blinded by gluttony. You can’t hide what you have done.”
“No please I beg you. I didn’t have a choice!”
“We always have a choice. Yours was the wrong one.”
He tried to run.
Tried to escape what I was.
Who I was.
He couldn’t.
none of them could.
He didn’t get far before I dragged him back.
His gurgled scream muffled as he was scraped along the ground.
“Please! Don’t eat me!”
I towered above him.
It lasted all of five seconds.
The second his screams stopped.
I knew it was over.
~
“REXY!”
My eyes fluttered open at Seth’s voice.
“Rexy get up!”
Rolling over I looked towards the mouth of the allyway where Seth was standing with his hands cupped to his mouth yelling into the darkness.
Fear in his eyes.
“GET OUT OF THERE NOW!”
His eyes were fixed on something behind me.
Bracing myself I pulled my knees up.
A hand to my stomach as bile rose to my throat.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw what he was so scared of.
Futher down the ally was another bigger octapus.
This one.
Looked pissed.
Gritting my teeth against the foul taste in my mouth I started to hobble my way towards Seth as fast as my stomach would allow.
I thought the octapus would come after me.
Thought I’d be hit with another bout of sushi bile to go with the last one.
The touch never came.
Even after I’d stepped free of the allyways entrance the shifter in question just turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Panting like a dog on heat I passed Seth still staring wide eyed at the bare space where the octapus had disappeared.
Exhuasted I sank to the ground with my back to the brick wall behind me.
Head between my knees I started projuctile vomiting up the contents of my stomach.
At the sight of what emerged from my insides I threw up again.
“Rexy, are you alright?”
Seth’s question remained unanswered as entrails continued to spew out from between my lips.
Finally after what felt like my whole life flashing before my eyes I managed to lean back against the wall my head resting against the hard surface.
Staring up at the sky thankfull that it was all over.
Seth who hadn’t touched me for obvious reasons could only sit beside me while I suffered the aftermath of this whole ordeal.
He hadn’t said a word since the start of my detox of the man I’d just devoured.
Just sat and waited.
A comforting presence letting me know he was there for me in the only way he could.
A true friend even after seeing the evidence spill out of me at what I’d just done.
“I’m ok Seth you can stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
Lowering my head from the stars above I turned to face him fully.
His blue eyes shining like shaphires as the moonlight reflected off them.
“Like I’m going to fall apart at the seems.”
“Well aren’t you? Judging by what you just stained the ground with I’ve got cause to worry.”
My ironic laugh was interupted by another lot of bile but I was quite sure there was nothing left.
“Rexy. Tell me what happened?”
His voice was soft.
Full of concern like a father with a small child who’s just done something she shouldn’t have.
That’s the moment I remembered what caused this whole thing to begin with.
“Someone was following me.”