Chapter Two: Lily and the Cuddly Crocodile
The rays of the rising sun somehow fought their way through the dingy glass and into the bedroom. Myrriah buried her head under the pillow to block out the dream-shattering light. Suddenly, she felt something drop onto the top of the pillow with a thud! Whatever it was, it was not so heavy that she could not lift her head up, but it was just enough to be an annoyance. She blindly reached over and grabbed her glasses off of a bedside table, pulled them underneath the pillow, and put them on. Knowing that she would eventually have to look at whatever had dived onto the cushion, she pulled her head out from under it and came face-to-face with the largest spider she had ever seen.
It was a giant orange beast with a pair of dripping fangs and long, hairy legs. Multiple shiny ebony eyes followed her as she slowly and carefully slid back. For every few inches she moved, it took several steps towards her. She finally reached the edge of the bed and she stepped onto the cold, wooden floor. Keeping her eyes on the arachnid, she reached for her cane. "Steady," she murmured. The creature crouched, as if preparing to pounce.
Myrriah wielded her weapon above her head, ready to bring it down onto the eight-legged monstrosity.
It tensed.
She tensed.
A pain like thousands of fiery pinpricks raced down her left leg. It cramped and she fell with a scream. Right at that moment, the spider jumped. She clenched her teeth, picked up the cane again, and swung it like a bat. The gold dragon head made contact with the orange attacker and with a sickening squish it hit the wall, splattering guts across the room.
"Well," she said as she wiped slimy, green spider innards off her glasses, "that was fun." Using her cane for support, she stood up and hobbled over to the bed. She massaged her leg for a few minutes and tried to work out a muscle knot in her calf.
It's getting worse, she thought worriedly. Still, it's not as bad as the time last week when it woke me out of a sound sleep. The spasm had been so severe that her screaming had woken up the neighbors, who dialed 911.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright light coming from the spider's corpse. She looked up and watched as the light began to take shape. After a few seconds it dawned on her what was happening.
"You've got be kidding me!"
The spider ghost turned to her and let out an unearthly shriek. It ran at full speed and then leapt for her face…
…and was caught in the jaws of a fat, ghostly crocodile. Myrriah scrambled onto the bed and stared in shock at the scaly apparition. The transparent reptile smacked his jaws together happily and looked up at Myrriah as if he expected her to throw him more treats. The young woman, however, seemed torn between patting him on the head and saying "Good boy!" or just running out of the room.
"Oh, so sorry! I've been looking everywhere for him!" cried a woman as she poked her head into the room. She was young, maybe a couple of years older than Myrriah. She had large, hazel eyes and a heart shaped face. Ringlets of brown hair fell nearly to her chin, and the rest of her hair was pulled up into a little bun. An orange parasol was clutched in her dainty, gloved hands. Her pink dress with its flowery design on the skirt, and her pink ballet slippers gave her an air of femininity that did not seem to suit a woman with a pet crocodile.
"Nathaniel, bad croc! Bad!" the woman chastised. With the parasol she lightly smacked his head. The creature cringed sheepishly. "I'm sorry, is he bothering you?"
Myrriah closed her mouth and shook her head silently. "He's…yours?" she managed to ask.
"I guess you could say that. He's been following me around for years." She stuck out her hand for Myrriah to shake. "Hi, I'm Lily, Lily Gracey. You must be Miss Harolds. We didn't get the chance to meet before."
Myrriah shook her hand and studied her for a moment. "I recognize you! Your portrait hangs in the gallery." She looked at the crocodile. "I take it he was the one waiting for you."
"Yeah," said Lily, glaring at the cringing croc. "Stupid bugger choked on my foot and we've been together ever since." She smiled and gave him an affectionate pat on his head. "I named him Nathaniel. He gets a bit snappy every once in a while but a good dose of discipline takes care of that." She held up the parasol and waved it. "He's really just a big puppy dog once you get to know him and, you know, try to not think about the whole human-eating aspect of him."
"But he killed you."
Lily sighed. "He's just an animal, and I've decided to let bygones be bygones. Besides, how could he not have eaten me? I'm just so sweet." She smiled and then frowned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I've been with George for too long; his sense of humor is getting to me."
Looking back up at Myrriah, she said, "Come on, let's go to the kitchen and get you a nice breakfast. The boys are working on your car, and the guests should be here any minute."
"Sounds good to me," said Myrriah as she followed Lily out the door. All the way to the kitchen she made sure to keep an eye on Nathaniel, who seemed just a little too eager to be near her shins.
A/N: Lily is a fan created name. George is her husband in a lot of fan lore. Nathaniel is of course a tip of the hat to Nathaniel Parker who played Edward Gracey in the Haunted Mansion movie.