Monsters

Another story from the darker corners of my mind.

The busy streets pulsed with life as the city lights flooded the night sky. The nightclubs and bars that made the city both famous and infamous quickly became overcrowded as tourists and residents came out to experience the night life. Lines of people intoxicated on life and alcohol snaked along the sidewalks, waiting to continue dancing the night away. No one seemed to notice the first snowflakes drift from the clouds and land on their clothes and in their drinks. No one seemed to care when the moon, barely visible above the bright lights, was slowly overwhelmed by clouds and the stars faded out of sight.

The music pounding in the nightclubs could be heard miles away. The sounds of laughter, loud conversations, and heartbeats beckoned the creatures from the edge of city towards the commotion.

Of all the places that defined nightlife in the city, The Mist was the most popular. The nightclub reached capacity within minutes of opening each night and stayed full well after sunrise. Music blared from speakers bordering the dance floor and bartenders rushed to rehydrate exhausted dancers with sweet blends of alcohol and juice. No one who visited The Mist left unhappy, and no one left sober.

It wasn’t an unusual sight to see men sitting at tables or at the bar, staring at the women on the dance floor, most of whom were drunk enough to dance but too drunk to dance well. No one was worried by the stares, and no one took notice of the man at the end of the bar. He watched the dance floor, his dark green eyes darting from dancer to dancer.

The snow fell heavier as the creatures reached the center of the city. The bright lights reflected off the fresh snow and blinded them, so they retreated to the dark alleyways.

The dance floor quickly became too packed for comfort, forcing most of the early arrivals to take a break and buy a drink. A brunette made her way to the bar, panting from exhaustion and excitement, and called out to the bartender. “Can I get a daiquiri?” The bartender nodded and mixed the drink, working with the rum and juice in a hypnotic way, showing off his expertise. She sat at the bar and paid for her drink. She turned when she felt the piercing stare from a pair of dark green eyes. She thought he’d look away when she caught him staring, but he didn’t. Their eyes locked and for a second she felt uneasy. She turned away after a moment and tried to focus on her drink.

The creatures timidly stepped into the lights of the city, testing their limitations. After some time, they were able to tolerate the light and crept out of the alleys and pushed closer to the music, to the heartbeats.

The brunette smiled as she stumbled out of The Mist. She shivered as she left the club and pulled her jacket tighter around her body, not that her short jacket helped warm her pale legs underneath her knee-length black dress. She walked down the sidewalk, pushing her way through the never-ending line of club hoppers. Her apartment was wasn’t too far from the neon-lit buildings that populated the city’s downtown area. Her mother had warned her many times before not to walk home alone if it started to snow, but the snow was already starting to taper off and she knew the walk would take less than twenty minutes. She tripped on the edge of the sidewalk. Thirty minutes, she thought as she dusted the snow off her dress.

The creatures watched as dozens of humans stood on the frozen sidewalk waiting to get into The Mist. Few could resist the temptation and growled in anticipation and frustration as their leader denied them access to the feast. Humans were stronger together and outnumbered the creatures. Besides, none of them wanted to risk being discovered and have to leave their homes. The leader pushed the others through the city as they looked for an easier, less risky meal.

The streets grew colder and darker the farther the brunette walked from the downtown crowd. She wasn’t afraid, she was just uneasy. She was haunted by the same uneasiness she’d felt earlier that night. She pictured the dark green eyes and shuddered. She forced the thought out of her mind and continued to hike through the snow, glancing around at the shadows that seemed to follow her.

One of the creatures, feeling cold, impatient and hungry, strayed from the others and padded through the snow. It watched as a female human walked alone through the snow. Her long, brown hair made it impossible for it to see her face. Her appearance didn’t matter, though. Blood was blood, no matter what kind of package it came in.

Someone was following her. She could feel it. The brunette twirled to look behind her. She stood on an empty sidewalk with nothing but her footprints following her.

The creature held its breath. It had almost been spotted. Not that it would have been a problem. It could have easily overpowered a lone, frail human, but stalking the prey was half of the fun.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She was being followed and she couldn’t stand it. “Leave me alone!” she cried as she ran up the sidewalk. She was only a few minutes from home, from warmth, from safety. Then she heard the growl. She screamed as it tackled her to the ground.

The creature pounced and caught the human in its paws. It bared its sharp teeth in satisfaction. It had worked all night to find a meal and he wanted to enjoy every bite. It stared at the human. Her blue eyes were full of fear as she screamed for help. Keep screaming, it thought, I’ll be done with you before anyone knows what happened. It licked her cheek, tasting the sweat and tears that mingled on her skin. It was about to take the first bite when it felt a sharp, warm pain in its side.

She heard the creature yelp in pain and leap off of her body. She stayed still for a moment. I must be dead, she told herself. After all, she had been attacked by a monster that seemed to come from the deepest pits of Hell. She listened silently to the noises around her. She heard the creature growl, whimper, and limp away to whatever place it called home. She didn’t say a word until she saw the dark green eyes. “Help,” she whispered, too scared to say anything more. He gently picked her up. She felt oddly safe in this stranger’s arms, safe enough to close her eyes and let him take her away.

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A middle-aged woman stood in her kitchen and flipped through an old family cookbook. She wanted to make something special for her husband’s 55th birthday. She wanted it to be a surprise, so she would have to have it ready before he came home from work. She shivered as she skimmed the pages. Although the last snow of winter had melted away weeks ago, the air was still unseasonably cold. She wondered if her daughter would visit anytime soon. The woman hadn’t heard from her since January, but that wasn’t unusual behavior for her daughter. What was unusual was that she had begun to visit nightclubs in the city almost every weekend.

The last time she saw her daughter was shortly after her friends had taken her to a nightclub for the first time. Her daughter’s blue eyes had brightened as she shared stories of dancing, drinking, and having fun. The woman just sat and smiled at her child. She knew that her daughter was just enjoying life, but the woman still felt worried for her child’s safety. She had pushed the thought aside, assuming it was caused by a mother’s sense of over protection, and the rest of her daughter’s previous visit went well.

A knock on the door pulled the mother away from her cooking. It was too early for her husband to be home, and he wouldn’t have knocked anyway. Maybe it was her daughter coming to surprise her father with a gift. More likely it was one of the woman’s church friends bringing her a cake for her husband. Although no one questioned her skill in cooking delicious meals, they had little faith in her baking abilities and often brought sweet treats to the house. She opened the door and found neither her daughter or her friends. Instead, she was greeted by a police officer. He was a tall man who seemed to be fairly young. She noticed that his hair was almost the same shade of brown as her daughter’s but of course not nearly as long. She invited him in and offered to make him a cup of coffee, which he politely declined. The officer asked her several questions. He asked her what her name was, if she was married, where her husband was, if she had children, when she had last seen her daughter, if she had any pictures of her daughter... Finally, the woman grew impatient. “I don’t see why you’re asking all these questions. Did something happen to my husband? Is he in trouble?” she asked. He didn’t answer, but his eyes told her more than enough. “My daughter?”

The officer sat down, “Ma’am, we believe that we found your daughter’s remains in a wooded area not far from her apartment.” The woman gasped as tears began to slide down her cheeks. “What happened to my daughter?” she asked. The officer hesitated, “The case is still under investigation, but the details discovered so far aren’t easy to share.” The mother screamed at him, “Tell me what happened to my baby!”

“Ma’am,” he said softly, “she was found naked and there is evidence that she was sexually assaulted before her death. There was also a note found at the scene. It was written on a napkin from The Mist, a popular club in the downtown area.” The officer pulled a folded piece of paper from his shirt pocket. “The original is of course still being examined, but I was hoping you could look at this copy. Perhaps you could understand its meaning,” he said as he unfolded the paper and handed to the woman.

The mother cried out, confused and upset. “What is this? I don’t know what this means!” She pushed the note back to the officer, went to the bedroom she and her husband shared, and shut the door. The officer could hear her crying even as he walked out of the house and closed the front door. He looked at the note and read it again.

“Sometimes you can’t tell who the monsters are.”

Author's Note

The grammar is probably awful and I'm sure there are spelling errors. I'd like to know what you think of the story itself.

Reviews

[Marie]

The grammar and spelling are fine. The story was good, exciting; had a nice twist at tne end. One thing: I don't believe a woman would be quick to invite a police officer into her hope without seeing his badge, and even then people aren't likely to socialize with law enforcement. I may be biased...