Elisa's finger trembled on the trigger.

The monster's pupilless eyes, with laserlike focus, seemed to zero in on this tiny movement, this whispering traitor to her fear. In return, her own dark eyes plucked the details of his mind with instinctive attention.

His tail hovered near his ankles. His wings were raised high. Somewhere, ancient human instincts told her what this was. It was a threat display. Like the raised hackles of a cat.

Was he afraid too?

She felt her elbows lock, refusing to obey her. Move. Move, damn you. She hissed to them. She had not heard or seen where the other ones had gone; the dog and the one with the sword. They were alone there, in the dusty skeletal shadow of the highrise's I-beam frame, surrounded by the shredded shrapnel of metal soldiers.

Exerting her will over her fear, logic wresting control from adrenaline's grip, she lowered the gun, pointing it down towards the dirt. "If you'd wanted to hurt me," She said quietly. "Something tells me you would have done it already."

Goliath's stomach turned and twinged, like a nervous snake in its burrow. A month ago. A thousand years ago. How much had changed? How much trust could he give to them again?

And yet…

Lower your claws. He snarled to that cynic in his head. Honor demands it. Do it.

With glacial measure, he slowly let his eyes fade down. His claws, almost reluctantly, came to rest at his sides. "You are wiser than most."

She still did not sheath that weapon. He still did not rise from his crouch.

"I take it these were not friends of yours." He tossed the question like a pebble into the water, as if testing her mind to see what lurked underneath.

"No." Elisa folded her sarcasm and tucked it away, her naked intent her best utility for such a delicate dance of words. "They aren't. The other creatures aren't anyone I know either."

"You came to their defense."

"I wasn't sure who to defend." She said, words tight.

"Nor was I." The creature replied. "But coming to their aid gives us commonality."

Elisa didn't scoff. But she didn't say anything to approve of his statement either. Her face was unreadable, unreachable. The resolute silver shield over her heart did not waver, even as the stone wall surrounding his did not yield.

"What are you?" She asked.

"Not your enemies." He replied evasively.

"You promise?" She lifted one eyebrow, a wary squint all that she gave. "Your word of honor?"

The monster seemed to choke on the sound of that word. Honor. He bared his teeth. "What do humans know of honor?"

Her lip twitched. Not with a laugh or a smile. With anger, like a suppressed snarl. "About as much as monsters do, I think."

"We are not monsters."

"If you aren't our enemies, and you aren't monsters, then I guess a better question is to ask who you are." She clicked the safety on her gun, tucking it back into her shoulder holster. Those hard, black eyes did not look away. They pierced his own dark gaze, bold and unflinching.

Goliath did not know what the click meant. But he knew what it meant to sheath a weapon. He returned the gesture, allowing himself to return to a relaxed posture. He lowered his wings, his tail grew still.

"By your kind, I am called Goliath."

The old one buried his claws in the brownstone brick, catching himself in their porous texture before he slid to the sidewalk far below. With the ease of a lizard scaling a tree, his claws pierced the stone and he ascended up the corner of the building. Shallower, thinner, a trail of clawmarks marked the passage left behind by his quarry.

There, his unnatural golden claws glinting in the wan light of the distant windows. His eye had not betrayed him; a human had been leading those metal men. Two, a woman and a man. The man had torn off not long after the beast had sniffed them out.

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in." He crooned.

He heard a frightened scream. A girl's scream.

The old one mounted the precipice, vaulting over it with one hand and rushing to close the distance. The man's uncanny claws sliced the door, the glint of his wicked smile reflected in their sheen as he began to peel the door like tinned herring.

The old one planted a foot, turned, and let his tail drive into the man's legs, knocking him aside like a battering ram against a sapling!

"Not by the hair of me chinny-chin-chin!" He roared!

The human didn't have time to roll, only allow himself to be tossed aside like a ragdoll. He bounced once, twice across the cement, rolling to a stop next to the cold tin cube of a vent. The man curled his lip, fury in his eyes. "Who invited you?"

Clang! Clang-shrEEEK! He could only raise those metal claws just in time to parry a slash that would have taken flesh. It came back down again, blade making a hairpin turn in the air and buzzing just a breath away from his nose. The force behind it was immense! He couldn't block it completely. He somersaulted over his shoulder backpedaling away and leaping up onto the boxy vent. He looked down at the claw. Fury lit his face like a red torch. One of his clawtips had been sheared off, leaving a ragged stump. Thank god his finger was safe.

The old man's eyes burned white. Behind their glow, his pupils flicked across the length of his blade. He spied the notch in the cutting edge where he'd taken his finger. That was bad news; the metal was harder than he'd thought.

This fight wouldn't be won easily.

The human's thin, gaunt smile widened. A wolf's smile. "You're making a mistake friend. You seem like a reasonable man. What do you say we forget we saw one another, and go about our business, hm?" Behind his back, his claws closed around a long, thin stiletto, popping it out of its sheath.

A human's ears would not have heard the subtle sound of treachery. But ears like the elder's didn't miss much. The old gargoyle felt gall rise in his throat, boiling with anger. "Aye! Þonne ic blǽwen heofon gesēo, ye feckless curr!" He swore.

"What the hell does that even mean? Is that even English?" Without warning, he leapt, needle-pointed dagger trained on the monster's good eye! Hudson parried it with a swish of his blade, flinging it into the shredded door with a ringing clang! He took the tip of his sword to the predator's throat.

His eyes flashed white. "It is! And it means, 'Over my dead body!' Now pick up your blade and die, or turn around and run!" He roared.

"That is one hell of a story."

"It is more than a story. It is a history." Goliath commented.

Elisa's head whirled with more questions. Thousand-year old gargoyles? Ninja robots? Who wouldn't be overwhelmed? Her instincts with people were good. And they were telling her that this mons–this person was telling the truth. As absolutely unbelievable as it was, at least.

"When was the last time you saw your sons?"

"Sunset today, when we awoke."

Elisa felt hesitant and reluctant on the one hand. But on the other? She knew what her father would do if she and her siblings were missing. And monsters running loose in New York, even good ones, was something she couldn't just ignore. "I haven't heard any other monst– err, unusual sightings on the radio tonight. Just you and your friend. Which means that if they are in trouble, they've been awfully quiet about it. Odds are good that they're safe, just lost."

"Radio?"

Elisa felt a brief flare of frustration before she stamped it out. Oh god, she was going to have to explain everything to this man. She may as well have been bringing along a–

Her heart caught in her throat, fear filling her lungs and stopping her breath. "April!" She turned, speeding off towards her cruiser. Goliath followed her silently and closely, caped wings fluttering in the cold night wind. They stopped when they saw the remnants of the cruiser, and the massive behemoth beside it.

"No!" Goliath fell to his knees, taking the beast's head in his hands. Deep red gashes lined the beast's side and face. His thick skin was split with claw marks that could have come from a wild animal. The beast lifted its head, and whined. Elisa's heart caught in her throat; it sounded just like an injured dog. A rough pink tongue licked Goliath's finger, almost as if reassuring his master that he would be alright. Goliath's hand rested on the beast's head, his eyes very soft.

Elisa paced around the car. "Whatever hurt him did a number on my cruiser too. Look at these clawmarks; what could leave clawmarks in solid steel?"

"A human." Goliath growled. "The odor of this machine is strong, but there were no other creatures here."

"A human?" Elisa echoed. She looked around at the ground, scanning it for anything unusual. She stooped, picking something up off of the ground. A piece of yellow ripstop fabric.

"There was a kid in this car. Can you track her?" She held up the piece of fabric.

Goliath stood, looming over Elisa. "I can."

"Get me to her."

April's flight down the stairs, with her hummingbird-fast footsteps, was all she could focus on. She wasn't sure what that monstrous sound above her was, but she wasn't going to argue if it meant her pursuer was distracted. She checked her phone again, heart squeezing when she saw the tiny 'x' in the corner. No signal. No help.

She continued her escape down the stairs, only pausing for breath every so often. The stitch in her side had inflamed into a screaming invisible gash through her ribs. She reached street level, and started looking for a payphone. She took off her hoodie, reversing it. Now instead of yellow, she wore a drab black. Hopping on one foot, she rolled up her pant legs to her knees. She fought her hair back under the hood, hoping that such a flimsy disguise would hold. She hitched her shredded backpack further up her shoulder, looking for a safe spot to ditch it.

Her eyes raked the street, and her smile began to creep back. A Blockbuster at the corner, with its flickering fluorescent lights. The only employee was outside, smoking a cigarette that smelled strongly of skunks. Perfect.