Chapter Two
Yet again, she was out at night and yes, again she wasn't supposed to. But peer pressure was a powerful thing and quite frankly, it only took a few words to lure Edith Bilton out of her squalor, because to put it bluntly, her life sucked. She hated school, hated her parents and hated stewing in a pool of her own hatred in her room. Which was why when opportunity arose, she'd be outside, on a street corner, smoking some of the biggest joints she'd ever seen. The night air was chilly, but her black jacket hid her well, not just from the penetrating cold but from prying eyes. Like this, she could sink into the shadows and any passing cops would see her cohorts first. The three other youths hanging out near the dank, dark alleyway overlooking the empty street all wore bright shirts and gleaming white jackets, a sure-fire way to get spotted.
"How's the spliff, Edie?" asked Dennis, a rictus grin etched on his face. Edith ignored the nickname and waited until she'd blown out a load of smoke into his face before answering. Dennis was a thug and an idiot and just an all-round dodgy prick and everyone knew it. He was an unstable one, too but handy if you needed something drug-related. Edith sighed.
"It's all right. It's not exactly getting rid of my stress, though…" answered Edith and Dennis scoffed, glancing at the other two smokers leaning on the wall.
"It'll work its magic soon enough, Edie," Dennis told her and Edith scowled again, "I mean look at these two. They're higher than a fucking pair of kites!" Cutting off his raucous laughter with a sharp cough, Dennis shut up and inhaled again. At this rate, he'd die of lung cancer before college ended. Turning over her own cigarette, Edith studied it. Strange, how something so small and dull had the potential to kill so many. Unlike the others, Edith had no interest in being addicted to the pleasures of nicotine and tar for the rest of her life. It was purely stress relief and at the moment, it was doing a shit job of it.
"Damn, that's good stuff, Den," said Johnny, spluttering a little, "Got any more? I want to have a couple more of those before I go home." In reply, Dennis shrugged and scratched his shaggy mane of black hair.
"Don't know, Johnny boy, I kinda need to save some shit for some other kids. You lot aren't my only customers, you know." At this, Johnny nodded and finished the joint he was on. Next to him, his psycho girlfriend, Olivia was hugging herself against the cold, chattering teeth and drugged out of her mind. Not for the first time, Edith wondered just how the hell she'd delved into this crazy world of poisoned lungs and powdery noses. She hadn't done cocaine yet, but that was it. Yet. That yet was not promising.
After a while, Dennis and Johnny started chatting, drawing their conversation to a close. It was about the future and what it held for them. Keeping quiet, Edith silently tossed it over in her head. Dennis? Most likely he would end up as an amateur drug lord, the kind who with every ounce believed that they were cock of the walk until getting either raided by the Garda or killed in some mad shootout with another gang. Not promising for Dennis. Johnny, then? His constant demands for a quick blunt meant he'd probably be some kind of thug, maybe even one of Dennis' henchmen. He pretty much acted like one now. Maybe he'd die with his boss. That'd be ironic and just a bit hilarious if it wasn't for all the blood, guns blazing and guts flying, but whatever. As for Olivia, well…that crackhead would be lucky if she survived to go to university. This made Edith chuckle a little.
She wished she hadn't. The boys paid her no mind, still bantering away idly, but Olivia's head flitted to her, so fast she might have got whiplash. Her brown eyes were boring into Edith's blue. This wasn't good. Slowly, Olivia approached Edith, eyes never breaking contact. Edith inhaled again, for the last time, aware her fag was about to run out and focused on Olivia, maintaining a neutral expression. The last thing she wanted was to incite the wrath of a girl coked out of her mind. But, as always, life had found a way of making Edith suffer and she wasn't at all surprised when Olivia sneered at her.
"Something funny?" she asked, lip curling and Edith regarded her coolly, never letting her guard slip. Tension swept the air like plague. Olivia's glare was a piercing beam and it was breaking Edith down. It was unearthly, how long she could keep her eyes stay open.
"No," Edith replied simply, acting casual but this only seemed to enrage Olivia more.
"Oh yeah, well why are you laughing then? Chuckling away, like that, huh? You stupid bitch!" Olivia's teeth bared, but her face remained deathly pale, instead of turning red with rage. That was unsettling. As was Olivia smacking the cigarette out of Edith's hand and proceeding to throttle her. Shit. Hands around her throat and Edith flailed, one palm hitting Olivia in the nose, but the onslaught was relentless. The boys were fading fast as the world rocked and tumbled, but their objections and shouts echoed all around her. The pressure was hard, but Olivia stumbled and Edith seized her chance.
Both arms spiking up, Edith broke the grip and shoved Olivia off her at the shoulders, sending her tripping back. She wasn't going down easy, though and rolled around like mad before getting back to her feet. Not giving her the opening to inflict more pain, Edith charged, punching Olivia square in the face. It hurt her knuckles but it sent Olivia spinning, and to finish her off, shot a fist into the mad girl's stomach. A gurgle of agony and a groan and Olivia went down. Edith backed off, unsure what the reaction would be. She looked at the boys. Dennis seemed amused, holding back a laugh but Johnny was mortified. He flocked to Olivia's prone form, face locked in fear. After checking her, he stepped to Edith.
This time, Edith was scared. Would Dennis intervene? Or would he let the chaos ensue and watch? There was no way to tell. For the moment, though, Edith had much more pressing matters on her mind. Like Johnny, towering over her, fists clenched and mien contorted in unbridled anger. She took a breath and held it. There was not a sound in the world. No owls, no crickets or nocturnal animals on the prowl. Just Olivia's whimpering and Dennis' snorting.
"Why'd you do that?" Johnny asked his voice clear and calm despite the flaring nose and eyes brimming with promises of viciousness. Edith hesitated. "Well?" Johnny pressed and Edith swallowed, and then hoped he hadn't seen her swallow. She didn't know why she was like this. Showing weakness was way better than a beating at this point.
"She attacked me, Johnny," Edith answered, hoping to God he recognised the honesty bleeding into it, "She just came up and-"
"Shut up!" snapped Johnny and Dennis barked a laugh. "What gives you the fucking right to hit my girl like that, you dumb bitch? You know what you've done? You've earned this."
Johnny swung a punch and Edith saw it coming. It crunched against her cheek and sent her reeling but she felt the hard brick wall with her hands, rebounded off it and as her vision cleared, launched herself at Johnny. He wasn't expecting it, but he adapted well enough and threw her off. Dennis stepped in and held Edith at bay.
"Now, now, Edie," he said, in that horrid posh voice he put on all the time, "Naughty, naughty. If you want to sample the goods, you better behave. Got it?"
Edith frowned. "What?"
"Apologise, Edie," said Dennis, gesturing to the others, "Just a little thing. That's all."
"But she attacked me first!" Edith argued but Dennis was too stubborn and besides, he'd rather lose one of his customers than two. In the end, she realised it wasn't worth it and stomped off, departing in a huff.
"This means no weed for you, Edie!" Dennis jeered after her, "Not anymore! Have fun, bitch!" He chortled and Edith left him and his laugh far behind and embraced the cool comfort of twilight.
She'd only been asking for it, hanging around with those cretins. A control freak, a temperamental prick and a fucking ket addict. Hardly good company. Edith had no idea when or even how she'd started out on this road. She'd never really been the top marks student in class, but she got by. Now, her grades were a mess and her life was a shit heap, a collage of one disaster after disaster. At college, she was an exile of friendship. At home, she was a recipient of abuse. At least at night, she was alone and alone meant peace. Not for the first time, dark and muddied thoughts bounced through her head, running away from her troubles was tempting but where would she even go? She had nowhere to go to. She'd read countless stories detailing these outcasts and loners seeking solitude and eking fresh and fruitful lives, but couldn't for the life of her figure out how to do that for herself.
Better yet, just end it all. Very rarely, she contemplated suicide, but during times like this, when so much boiling fury and paralysing sorrow was pent up in her like this, she fixated on nothing else. It was a release, but self-harm? She'd have to be really down deep in the chasm of depression to properly analyse that option. How? She often asked. She'd ended up thinking that beheading was the best method. No pain, unless it was blatantly cocked up. A guillotine was reliable, but did they even exist anymore? Maybe in museums. There was a reason she'd failed history. Better to not dwell on it, she reasoned. Still, what was there to live for, in her case?
She had no idea what to do with her rapidly dwindling life. She'd wanted originally to be an author or writer of some kind and had always been enraptured by drama as a subject. She'd been praised as an aspiring actress, but her talent had been cut short when she'd fallen into the encroaching abyss that she called her existence now. These days, she cared less about her future and more about where the next hit was coming from. If tonight was any indicator, she doubted she'd get any offers on sharing a spliff anytime soon. As she walked further through the deserted streets, she held back a shiver as a whole new wave of chill passed through her. Pausing a little, she glanced around. She clenched her jaw. This was a bad part of town. Not even the hardest kids ventured out here for a smoke. Edith wasn't even sure why. It just felt…unnatural.
Puffing out her chest, Edith kept striding along, but watching her surroundings, in case of any ruffians or muggers lying in wait. She was eighteen after all, she wasn't a kid in the sense of the word and she could go where she wanted after dark. It was that typical rebellious attitude of hers that she hated. It always landed her into trouble and tonight was no exception. Something bad was going to happen. Something awful. It burrowed deep within her mind, scrambling her reason, poking and prodding the raw fear festering inside her. It took only a second for her own footsteps to become foredooming to her ears. Something was wrong. So terribly wrong.
Then, a click. Whirling, Edith scanned behind her, looking for something, anything threatening or out of the ordinary. But there was nothing. Just thick, dense smog settling down. Weird. It wasn't like she kept up with weather forecasts but they'd been nothing about this. That click had been strange. What had- Breathing? Rapid panting. From somewhere to her left. Turning, that's when she saw the quaint house. Although it was less of a house, and more of a…well, a tiny house. A humble dwelling, it had one visible door and a couple of tinted, cracked windows that were smeared with grime and slime. Unpleasant as it was, Edith felt a bizarre calling to that house. Whether it was something supernatural, or just her own brazen curiosity, she had no idea, but…what the hell? You only live once, right?
She strolled across an empty road, the silence of the grave emanating in on all directions. She instantly regretted it, but before she could register the distance she was crossing, she was facing the door. This was something like out of a horror movie. They're just movies, Edith, that voice in her head reassured and not doing a good job of it. They're just freaking movies. She tried the knob, a thick thing that maybe once had been gold, but was scratched and sullied into dullness. It was open. That caught her off guard. If it had been locked, she could've just forgotten all about this creepy dwelling and the tingling fear dancing up her spine. But it opened, and she just had to continue.
Inside the not-so-big house, Edith took in a bland assortment of walls, floor and ceiling, all stained and bombed in. There were a couple of doors ahead, and wouldn't you know it? One of them was open. It was beckoning her. Curiosity killed the cat, they said, but there was another part of that, about reviving or something. Whatever, it was enough motivation to carry on with this insanely unwise journey. She tentatively stepped inside, expecting a creak in the floorboards. Thankfully, there wasn't one. Too cliché? Nevertheless, Edith walked through the room, scouting it out. She realised there was an old, tattered couch in the corner, shrouded in darkness and a table on the other side, again, concealed. Whoever had lived here wasn't exactly decorative. Then, it hit her like a fist. Another click, from behind the open door. Vaguely, she made out incessant moaning and rasping that got louder and stronger with each heavy second. Running was the right to do, but she approached further. That click, though…It had been a lock click, no mistake about that. Edith had locked her room door to escape her parents' ranting and raving many times to have become acquainted with the sound.
Heavy breathing, like lead, less like a human being and more like a wounded beast. Edith's senses overtook her and she froze, thinking at a cracking pace. Whatever it was, something told her not to interfere. But whoever, or whatever it was, was in agony. They might need help. And no one was around to give to it. Except Edith. She knew how that felt, to need something dearly and be denied it due to others' selfishness. Steadying her stance, Edith snatched a breath and held it tight. She opened the door wider, enough to see into the room. What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.
There was one window in this room, a shaft of moonlight shining through into a rustic grey cage, barred and sealed with a complex-looking lock device. Basking in the power of the moon, trapped inside the cage, was something that could only be described as nightmarish. A true monster in every essence of the word. It crouched on four legs, its spine sickeningly visible beneath its chalk white skin. Even from here, Edith could see the claws on its hands and feet, like enlarged daggers, ready to slice. Its head was cast down, facing the floor. Beyond all the fear stabbing at her, Edith frowned at the pile of rags down there. There were bits of clothing, she realised, black fabric, and something else too…Skin. Oh, God. Either this creature shed its skin like a snake or it had just skinned someone else alive. Either possibility made her force a step back in confusion and ever growing terror. That one step triggered something.
The monster's head reared up, and Edith recoiled at the sight of its fangs, jutting out like carving knives. Its mouth was an abyss, eager for blood. Those teeth, though, they were too huge for the beast's maw, and they reached out at Edith, wanting to feed. It took a big sniff, and pounced. Yelping, a bolt of adrenaline tinged with dread, Edith jumped back and fell through the doorway, as the monster hit the cage and rebounded inside it, going absolutely mental. The cage swayed and threatened to topple. No matter how secure that lock looked, Edith was not going to be there if that thing escaped. Scrambling up, Edith shot out of the house like a bullet, shutting the front door. Hard.
She ran. Through the streets and through alleyways, seeking refuge in the dark corners of night-time and still she heard the roars. They were scraped out of its throat, echoing around the town, planting its way into her dreams. Not long after, Edith ran far away enough so the house was no longer in sight. Not even remotely near. So why was she still breathing madly? The danger was over. But that roar, those bulbous bauble-shaped eyes, black as sin, observing her, scrutinising her for meal potential…and that roar. It was stuck in her head. She felt cold. Not just chilled, but seriously, horribly cold. Her hands were shaking. She only just noticed how badly her hands were shaking. And pale. Deathly white. As white as the monster…It couldn't exist. How could something like that be there? What the hell was going on? Now that her survival instincts weren't kicking in, Edith's mind was racing instead of her body. No way had that just happened. No fucking way.
Monsters. They didn't exist. Only in legend and myth and such. Edith grasped her head with both hands, focusing on one empty space, trying to think straight. She couldn't. She didn't believe she ever would again. She needed to immerse herself in reality again. Fumbling around in her pocket, she searched for her phone. Found it. Took it out. Checked the time. Nearly one o'clock. How long had she been hiding out in this alley, huddled, and petrified in fright and alarm? Too long. Even for her, this was late, and she had bloody school in the morning. So much for sleep tonight. But still, she needed to return home. Her parents would skin her alive if she- No. Wrong choice of words there.
Pocketing her phone, Edith poked her head out of the alley. She doubted the thing had followed her, if it had broken out of its prison. She'd had a major head start on it, but something about it had been so…animalistic. She knew it had picked up her unique scent and like a true predator would remember it. Track it. Track her and find her. Panic crawled into her chest and thumped. She sped home, losing her way twice because of glancing over her shoulder more times than in front of her. When she finally reached her house, she tiptoed to the door. If she was unlucky, her parents would still be up, anxiously waiting for her return and lining up for a reprimand. If she was lucky, they'd be in bed and she could quietly slip into her own, and pretend she'd only been out till 10. If she was incredibly lucky, that monster would follow her and kill her parents for her. Dark, yes, but reassuring. Suddenly, it didn't seem so scary any more. Who knows? Maybe it hadn't really happened. Maybe it was all just some sick side effect from those joints.
But that mouth, those eyes that scream of anguish and of a denied feast. When that popped into her head, it smacked her like stone. It had been real. Not even on her most depressed day did she conjure up such crazy shit like that. The stuff of nightmares. That thing was real. Like a thunderclap, the tormented roar appeared in her head, and Edith closed her eyes and grabbed her key. Fingers trembling, she unlocked the door and went inside, leaving the beams of ill moonlight behind her.