He hollered as he took aim at super hottie aka the monster that had him writhing in pain. Immediately she raised her phone only to catch super hottie once again turn into a monster and rip his throat out.
Cold fingers walked her spine settling at the base of her skull. It tickled memories long buried bringing up thoughts of coldness and fear twined with hot pokers of pain. The scream she was holding back came out loud and clear. Her uncoordinated legs propelled her back down the alley. They were going to kill her and it was her fault. All she needed to do was stay hidden, not take pictures, and definitely no screaming to alert the monsters to her presence. She could feel them behind her, tracking her, their hot breath breathing down her neck.
She ran and didn’t stop when she hit the street. Vaguely she thought of going to the police showing them her phone and swearing she didn’t do anything to change or enhance the pictures. It would take her way too long to convince them of that, so she kept running. She only stopped when she found herself standing in front of her apartment.
No one had followed her there. She tried to laugh at her imagination, but the feeling of being tracked remained. Going inside, she locked the windows and the door, took a shower and fell exhaustedly in bed. The next day she huddled in a chair and ate day old pasta while the rest of the world celebrated with family and friends.
No knock sounded on her door. No monster burst in through the window threatening her life or shooting beams out of its eyes forcing her to spill everything she knew. Telling herself she felt better the next day, she woke ignoring the rumbling in her stomach and the tension in her shoulders. She got up determined to take advantage of the sales. Grabbing her phone she hesitated next to the door. Opening it she went into her camera hoping the pics would make a fool of her and there would be no monsters or a dead man on the ground.
The pic of super hottie as a huge monster once again made her brain stutter as a new reality tried to trade places with her old one. This was Earth, there were no monsters here, but her pictures didn’t lie. Taking several deep breaths she walked out the door. They didn’t know her or where she lived, not that it mattered who would believe her anyway?
Counseling herself that everything would be ok, she headed towards a large outdoor establishment. She would get somethings for her place and maybe pick up a new outfit. She parked, and as she stepped from the car she caught a tall figure out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head she let out a sigh, it was her mind playing tricks on her.
Several more times she thought she caught a glimpse of someone, but they were always gone when she turned to look. She was thinking of calling it a day when super hottie strolled right by her, stopping to stare before he smiled at her, winked, and walked away.
It was someone bumping into her that brought her out of her shock. They knew who she was. Terrified, she dropped everything she bought. She wouldn’t need it anymore. She had to get away before they came for her. She hurried into a store called Winter Gear. This was the store for people going to visit family or friends in the colder regions of the world. Of course, they catered to skiers and snowboarders too.
A clerk approached her and she asked for the thickest coat they sold. She didn’t know where she was going, all she knew was it had to be cold with several feet of snow. What else would keep those monsters at bay? When the spring thaw finally came, hopefully they would have forgotten all about her.
She took long strides to her car hoping not to call attention to herself. Going home with all the traffic to beat the next person to the most amazing sale of a lifetime was stressful but she managed it without one accident. She was proud of herself when she pulled up in front of her apartment.
Packing was easy, she didn’t have much to begin with. She mailed her key back to her landlord with a check for the last month’s rent. She was sorry she hadn’t been able to clean the place out, everything in there now belonged to him. Quitting her job over the phone made her feel like a heel, but it was her job or her life. Her life won. She grabbed a ticket to a place called Newburg, Pennsylvania. The lovely travel brochure showing mounds of snow and hills with solitary outdoor spots picked her location for her. It promised mountains of snow for the solitary type, just what she was looking for. Who would look for her up there?
She twisted around in her seat again. She had been on Greyhounds for days. This was the last one, when she got off this bus she would be in Newburg. They were right about the snow; the bus was now crawling as the skies opened up to drop more snow on a road that was already covered.
“Were almost there folks, but the last ten miles are going to be treacherous. Don’t worry, I do this every year and have never had an accident,” the driver announced over the intercom.