Chapter One
Would you ever think, that for just one moment, something you could never believe you saw, actually happened, and could change your life? That's how this story, my story, began. One moment, I was innocently riding down in the elevator of a crappy apartment complex, next to a man who in the future would be one of my best friends, and the next, a new chapter.
"Going down?" The man's voice in the elevator was a clear baritone, but that was all I could tell about him. His face was hidden by the great large stacks of papers and books he held, his tall, lanky frame overtaken by the large bag attached to his side. "Yeah, allow me." I said, pressing the buttons we needed before settling against the wall and messing with the touch screen buttons on my phone. The man beside me shifted, before sighing in frustration and dropping the hundreds of papers and great tons of books onto the floor of the elevator. His hair was a light shade of brown and near his shoulders, tucked behind his ears. He looked as though he ached to fill the dank air with conversation, but couldn't seem to find the words he needed. Finally, came, "So, what's your name?" "I don't share until the first date." His startled look cracked me up. "Did you honestly think I was that shallow?" He started to say something, changed his mind and tried again. Still he couldn't find the words to say. I laughed again. "Aaden. My name is Aaden." He swallowed and smiled, no longer looking as if he wished the floor would open up and swallow him. "Okay, Aaden. That's nice. I'm Spencer."
Following the name exchange, we talked a little more as the impossibly slow elevator continued its snail-like descent. But suddenly, with a slight shake, the elevator stopped, causing the rickety box to groan in protest. I looked up to the numbers to see that neither of us had input a stop here, and this was no regular pick up. Spencer gave me a confused look before pushing aside his books with his foot and stepping closer to the doors, which still had not opened. From the other side came a feral, inhuman snarl. I pushed myself back against the wall, waiting to hear more, and I didn't have to wait long. Spencer jumped back and in front of me as something big enough to dent it hit the door from the other side. "What the hell was that?!" I heard myself ask, but Spencer was too preoccupied to answer. It went quiet on the other side. "Maybe they're having trouble with a robbery again, it happens all the time here." I said, looking up at Spencer. "What human would be large enough to make that width of a dent?" I looked at the crushed in doors. Without changing expression, I looked at him again and simply stated, "Andre the Giant." "Who's that?" "You don't- you mean you've never- you know what, never mind." I was curious as to how in the hell he had no clue who Andre the Giant was, but I never got the chance to ponder it long. Again, the booming hit on the opposite side of the elevator left a metallic squealing resonating throughout the little, enclosed area. I covered my ears, daring to take a look at the now completely crumpled doors. "Okay, there's no fucking way this is a robbery." I said, and went to attempt to pry the doors apart. With no luck, I only ended up breaking a couple of fingernails to the quick, which hurt like hell, but I ignored it. I didn't get to step away from the door in time to be saved from the metal doors being forced open to receive a giant of a man, or better said….creature. "Holy shit!" Spencer yelled, having forced his way back in front of me, shielding me. My forehead was cut, but there was no major damage from the blow I'd taken. The growl sounded again, and this time I saw the culprit it belonged to. The creature now sharing the elevator with us was a hulk of a guy. He was all height and rippling muscles and he was pissed. I didn't know why, but I'd later find out. His white wife beater was shredded, the tatters hanging around his large frame loosely, and when I took the rest of his anatomy in, it didn't frighten me so much as amaze me. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blood red, and as for his teeth, well, they resembled giant mountain lion fangs. The tufts on the side of his face were long, shaggy lines of hair that resembled fur. The hands that clutched the wall were also hairy and they led down to large claws. This guy was unlike anything I'd ever seen, yet only read about. His angry growl snapped me out of my wandering mind as he stepped closer. Prey. That's what we were now. He leapt forward and I expected to hear Spencer's hollering and instead heard the choked growl of the beast. Upon opening my eyes, there was now an additional arm poking through the elevator entrance, and it also had claws, which were embedded into the skin of the guy's throat. The answering growl that came from the owner of the arm was frightening. Without hesitation or even warning, the claws tightened around the guy's throat and jerked, and with a last gurgled grunt, blood colored the walls and the guy slipped to the floor, his throat nonexistent save the gaping, profusely bleeding wound where his windpipe should have been. Spencer and I lifted our eyes to the entrance, looking upon the man, and girl, who would change our lives forever.