She ran a hand over her ax and glanced at her hunting partner. “I thought you said this was only going to take a few minutes?”
Keegan shrugged his thin shoulders. “That’s what I was told, but…”
But the spindly vampires still hadn’t appeared after nearly an hour
She has halfway across the dirt parking lot when Keegan called out. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, stop.”
Chelsea didn’t stop walking, but she did slow down. “What do you want?”
Keegan jogged up to her. “Nothing.” Then he shrugged. “Maybe a ride to the next town.”
The smoke swirled and moved, circling a body. The creature was hard to see, more impression than presence. Vaguely human and totally translucent, hidden as much by its nature as the dancing water droplets that danced on the wind, between the leaves and wisps of smoke.
The door to the haunt both attracted and repelled Chelsea. She hunted monsters and needed to talk to others who did so. But she didn’t have too many positive experiences with other hunters.
*Dead boyfriends and broken hearts don’t make for return customers.*
Tall and thin, the brain leech’s only resemblance to humanity was being bipedal. But the silhouette offended her sense of proportion, being truly too thin to be human, and its face was utterly alien. The lack of a nose making it vaguely reptilian, but also a touch insectoid, with side mandibles.
How’s class going?”
Mr. Preppy rolled his eyes, fingers still buried in Bentley’s fur. “Crazy. And the headaches aren’t helping.”
*Bingo.*
This was her third college campus, and she finally got a nibble. Careful to stay casual, she forced herself not to fiddle with Bentley’s collar. “You probably need more sleep.”
He shook his head. “That’s just it. I’ve been sleeping constantly. I think I’m just burnt out.”
*No, you’re being poisoned.*
Chelsea flipped the wheel of the lighter. A single yellow flame burned in the growing twilight. It flickered in the ever-present wind but didn’t die.
The only signs of civilization were the blue ones on the side of the highway. They told of food and shelter, but Chelsea wanted neither.
Her breath arrived in a great shuddering gasp that she let out in something that streaked between sob and shriek. Frantic calls came from the house as she crushed the paper in her hands.
“So, we keep our eyes open, and watch each other’s back.” Chelsea leaned over to taste Amber’s neck. “And your front… the profile is nice, too.”
A smile eventually broke the plane of Amber’s fear. It rose with the color in her skin. “You might be worse than Jackson.”
