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Time passed with my eyes closed and yet I didn’t fall asleep. After a while, I sensed eyes looking at me and knew better than to stay still. I rolled off the bed and to the other side of the room within a second. My heart was working overtime as I looked up at the creature that suddenly appeared over my bed.
It stood on the ceiling as if it was the floor. The clawed feet stuck fast to the old roofing. The creature was wrapped in rags making it hard to see the body type. Large bat-like wings were pinned tight against the creature’s body. The skin was a deep cracked brown. A set of red glowing eyes landed on me, and the monster smiled so wide it could have bitten off my entire head if it wanted.
“What a quick little Agent you are. You may calm down. I am not after your life. This is just a warning visit. I am telling you to stay out of this case. We do not require outsiders like yourself to deal with matters that are none of your concern.” The creature spoke in a low and weak voice.
I tried placing it, but it didn’t sound like the three I’d met so far. I glanced over to see Yates hadn’t moved. I doubted this thing was Maggie so that left Ward. But I wasn’t sold on this monster being that man either.
“You were the one who ate part of Laura, didn’t you?” I pressed my back against the cold stone wall.
The monster’s smile somehow grew even wider as if it felt proud of that fact.
“But you didn’t kill her.” I said with sweat starting to drip down the side of my face.
The creature gave me a curious look wondering why I would ever suggest such a thing. It forced a menacing expression back into its grim face.
“Oh? How strange of you to notice. You must have discovered the bullet holes in the porch. Here I’ve heard Agents simply shoot first and ask questions later. I didn’t think you were actually documenting the scene.”
This creature must have assumed I was at the scene as an intimidation tactic. Or wasn’t skilled enough at gathering evidence to notice how Laura really had been killed. The Corporation didn’t deal in trials. They killed creatures on sight if they were a danger to humans. There were some exceptions to that rule, but not many. Why would I bother recording a scene if I was just going to kill the creature regardless of what I discovered?
“You-” I wanted to question this creature further but shouting drew my attention away.
I heard Ward’s and Maggie’s voices. When I looked back, the creature was gone. I hurried out of the cells to the main office. Ward had been dragging Maggie by her arm and Yates just got up to stop him.
The older man let go before Yates acted. Maggie went behind a desk, her face filled with panic and her hand hovering over her sidearm.
“What’s going on?” I demanded trying not to sound too harsh to upset Maggie further.
“I woke up and she was-” Ward started but Maggie butted in.
“I was watching the cameras on Ward’s computer. I heard voices and wanted to see who you were talking with, and I saw it. Only a brief flash but it was… It was the same thing that was eating Laura….” She choked out.
I didn’t know how to explain myself. Ward gave a raised eyebrow unsure of what to think. He didn’t trust me but didn’t believe that I was speaking with something not exactly human.
“Women are too damn emotional. You saw your friend getting eaten by some sort of animal and snapped. This is why girls should never do a man’s job.” Ward grumbled; arms crossed.
Years of frustration over working with such a man finally came to a breaking point. Maggie pulled out her handgun and aimed it at her boss. I took a few steps closer, but Yates cut me off. It wasn’t wise getting near to Maggie while she thought I wasn’t on her side.
“Shut your damn mouth! I’ve done everything around here while you sat on your fast ass and harassed every girl in sight! If I didn’t see that monster, I would have thought you were the one who killed Laura for rejecting you!” She shouted back, the gun in her hand trembling,
That bit of new information was another part of the puzzle. At that time, I thought I knew what happened and why we all found ourselves trapped inside the building. My stomach twisted with dread. Everything that happened next was far too fast for me to react.
“She was a slut that-”
Ward started to speak but Maggie pulled the trigger. A small pop came but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he drew his handgun and shot twice. Yates went down after a bullet tore through his left eye. Something hit my shoulder and I fell against a desk, suddenly unable to breathe due to pressure. By the time I stood back up with blood pouring from my shoulder, Ward made it over to Maggie. She kicked and fought but he outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. He pinned her arm behind her back with his gun in his other hand.
“Like hell I would let you have real bullets in your gun.” He hissed at her.
I bet Yates also had a handgun filled with blanks. I confirmed it by grabbing his weapon from his holster and firing it off to the side. Pain tore through my body but I refused to let it overtake me. I needed to figure out a way to help Maggie. Ward pressed his gun to the side of her head causing me to freeze. I felt as if I moved an inch, he would kill her.
“What a useless FED you are. I’ll have to work on making it look like you all killed each other. But first I’m going to do what I wanted to that dead bitch with my co-worker here. I’ve heard rumors they were sleeping with each other. No wonder our little Maggie snapped when she saw her little girlfriend’s guts ripped out.”
I forced down bile at this man’s words. I spotted a heavy glass paperweight and considered using it to smash his skull in. Maggie shook her head, scared to death and near tears. I didn’t think she, and Laura had been an item. She would have been more distraught if that was the case. But they may have been the only two women in the small town that loved the same gender. Such a secret a heavy burden for a place like this.
“You killed a girl because you felt entitled to her body you piece of shit?” I spoke and did not hold back any of my hatred or anger.
The gun was pointed in my direction. I refused to move to react to the threat. I just needed him to admit to his crime.
“I am fucking entitled! She owed me her body and her life! After everything I’ve done for this-”
Again, his words were cut off. A mist burst out of Yates’ body, the gas swirling for a second then heading toward its target. Ward screamed and fired with no effect. He let go of Maggie just as the mist fell on him. She bolted, tripping over her own feet. We both watched in horror as the dark mist was absorbed into Ward’s body without him being able to do a thing about it. His skin darkened and cracked. A set of large bat wings tore from his back, spraying blood droplets over the office. Ward’s screams turned raspy as his body kept shifting.
His face grew younger, and his skull shifted into a different person altogether. Instead of being overweight, his body shifted into a more built and broad-shouldered type. When the transformation was finally over, I stared at a version of the monster I’d spoken with inside the cell. Red glowing eyes landed on the creature’s old body. After the mist left Yates’ body it shriveled up as if he’d been dead for a long time.
Understandably, Maggie freaked out. She made a run for it outside, and the storm finally ended. I chased after her and it took a lot of convincing to get her back into a warm building until I could call someone to come and help.
The creature that had been Yates locked himself inside the cells. Maggie locked herself up in the other office. My jacket appeared back on the hook, so I quickly called for some help. I was told to sit tight, and that someone would be by in a few minutes. My shoulder wasn’t as bad as I thought. I felt a bit sick from the loss of blood, but I wanted to talk with the creature inside the cells.
He stood in the middle of the small room, not reacting when I came inside.
“You discovered Laura first? After Ward killed her?” I questioned, cradling my bad arm.
He seemed like he didn’t want to answer. Those red eyes were hard to read.
“She was still alive, but I couldn’t do anything to save her. I exposed my wings because for a second I thought I may be fast enough to fly her to a hospital. She knew she wasn’t going to make it. So, she offered her flesh to give me enough strength to destroy the town that rejected her.” He answered in a calm voice.
I should have been worried he wasn’t finished with his task. I was a bit scared but had a feeling if he wanted to kill the entire town, he would have done so already.
“Maggie interrupted you. I saw Yates sleeping while we talked, so I assume you can leave the body you’re possessing. Somehow, you let Maggie see Yates soon enough after seeing the monster she didn’t think you two were the same thing. But… You must have had an idea what kind of person Ward was. Why didn’t you stop him before he killed Laura?” I asked, the question bothering me.
This creature had power. He used some magic to create a storm. Why not use it to save a girl? Did he not care, or was there a different reason?
“I could not act based on feelings. I couldn’t even take over his body until he admitted to his evil. Yes, I knew he wanted to harm others. But if I was excused from punishment for killing a human based on my assumptions that he may kill in the future… then that would cause creatures to abuse that loophole. I hate the fact I arrived too late.” He replied.
“Do you?”
We all turned to see Maggie at the door. I didn’t know much she heard. Her face stained with tears and stress.
“You may not believe me… But yes. I only ate half of her body and therefore could only finish half of her final request. I am a monster that takes over sinful flesh. However, I did find it enjoyable pretending to be human and spending time working here.”
I looked between them unsure of their future. I wasn’t certain if The Corporation would arrest Yates, or whoever he was now for what he did. They may just give him a slap on the wrist and let him carry on. But Maggie might not be able to move on from all of this. The Corporation did give humans the option to remove their memories of supernatural encounters. It may be better for Maggie in the long run.
Before the Agents arrived, I gave her my number so she could talk if she wanted. Having someone on her side made her feel better regardless of if she ever wanted to see me again.
I once again was taken to the clinic to have my bullet wound looked at. Robin gave me a very disapproving look when I arrived. Since it passed through and didn’t hit anything important, they didn’t need to do much. A blood transfusion and some magic bandages fixed me up. Robin forced me to put my arm in a sling and I was told not to use it for another day. With some more warnings, I finally could go home.
At least they dropped me off at my front door. I felt exhausted and just wanted to sleep. I got back in the middle of the afternoon so that meant I had some hours of daylight left to nap. When I opened the front door, something felt off.
Only one of Jackalope’s shoes was near the front door as if he kicked it off in a hurry. He always kept them in their place. Pesto hopped around the corner to greet me, followed by a stressed-out Houdini. Rabbits are far smarter than people think. They heard the door open and came rushing over to get some help.
I didn’t take off my shoes. I ran into the living room. What I saw made me dizzy for a few seconds too long. My roommate had collapsed on the floor, the coffee table was knocked to the side. His hair down, covering his face. I rushed over to him, tossing off the sling I’d been told to wear to lift him to see the damage. His face pale as a ghost and barely breathing. I opened my mouth to say his name when his arm moved.
The new arm came off his shoulder, sliding down his uniform sleeve. The flesh turned into a black sludge pooling into the floor. My sense of panic almost overtook me. I forced myself to call the clinic. I wisely saved the number. Robin answered and joked about me forgetting something when I left a few minutes ago. I barely could get out the words to have him send someone over right away to collect us.
When he understood how bad the situation was, he had people in the door within the minute. Two people took Jackalope as I followed. One person stayed behind long enough to put the rabbits away so they wouldn’t go near the black substance now seeping into the living room carpet.
I stayed at the clinic for the entire night. Robin kept saying Jackalope would be fine after treatment, and I needed some rest. I refused. My body was working on stress that made me pace the hallway outside the treatment room. My head pounded from the lack of sleep. When Robin came over again, I thought the creature had some sort of news. Instead, a needle went into my arm, and I passed out for a few hours. The jerk.
I woke up angry but lacking the headache from before. At least Robin now let me see Jackalope after we both got some rest. The bandages kept some of the pain away, but my shoulder still ached. The pain in my chest walking into his room overshadowed everything else.
He tried to sit up. I sat next to his bed telling him to stay laying down. I found a cup of ice water and helped him with it. Then we sat in silence for a few minutes unable to think of anything to say.
“I’m sorry…” I broke finally, my voice a whisper.
He should have let me die back then. I’ve had that thought countless times since he moved in. Seeing him in such a terrible condition only enforced my feelings.
“I didn’t give up my arm for you to be sorry about it.” Jackalope replied but his voice lacked any strength.
Robin told me that Agents just wanted humans to live. Jackalope wanted to give up his life for my own. He hated seeing me distraught over his choice. No matter how much I wanted to feel grateful for what he’d done, I couldn’t shake the feeling he made a mistake.
“I should be the one apologizing. I rushed things and asked for an arm too soon. They needed to create a custom one, but doubted they would be able to do so. I took the best option, stressed it out by using magic while at work, and ended up like this. I bet I traumatized the boys by passing out in front of them.”
He nearly died and he was worried about the rabbits. They were stressed out but would get over it. I wanted to point that out, but I decided against it. I worried just how long those two saw him on the ground unable to help. I should have gotten home sooner.
“They said they need the bedspace. It’s a miracle you’re good to head home any time you feel ready. I need to change your bandages, but that’s it.” I told him, thinking back to what Robin said before I rushed into the room.
Jackalope sank deeper under the blankets. He wasn’t very happy about how I needed to take care of him for the next few days. The last thing he wanted to be was a burden even though he’d given up so much for someone as useless as myself.
“I could… Maybe call one of my old partners. Hang out there. You’re busy with work. I can’t make you-” He started.
“Jackie, don’t act like a child. I can take some time off for you.”
The nickname slipped out. I didn’t even realize I said it before the embarrassment settled in. I wanted to slam my head against the wall. A redness started to creep up my cheeks making me almost just get up and leave the room.
“Alright.” The word came very softly from under the blankets.
Somehow the nickname got Jackalope happy enough to go along with something he normally would refuse. I need to not let myself abuse this new power in the future.
I left his room to let him get a bit more rest. I also needed to take care of some paperwork for both of us. As I sat in the lobby filling out forms, a person passed by I really didn’t want to see. But I needed to talk to him about work.
“Lupa, I’ll be taking a few days off.” I said and the short man stopped walking to address me.
“I’ve heard. You were injured again. It seems as if your shoulder and your partner should be healed on the same day.” Lupa said sounding a bit annoyed I was yet again taking a few days off.
“Roommate.” I corrected him but went on. “How is Ten Thousand and Six doing? I’ve been trying to get a hold of him but no one is telling me anything.”
Lupa needed to think about who I just asked about. He had so many Agents under his care, he lost track for a moment.
“Yes, that one. He recovered and went into the field after you two worked together. However, that job was also too much for him. There were some complications. That Agent is gone.” Lupa said as if he just read out the weather and not announced the death of an Agent.
If I wasn’t sitting down, I would have collapsed. When I didn’t answer, Lupa gave me one last look to carry on with whatever brought him to the clinic. I don’t know how long I sat in shock over the news. Those words repeated in my head over and over again. We hadn’t been close friends, but I didn’t want to believe he was just gone. My mind spiraled into trying to understand what I just heard.
“Is everything alright?”
Jackalope’s voice drew my attention to him. He still looked terrible. At least he could stand and move around. All the color gone from his face, and his hair a mess. They must have given him vampire blood to heal up because I didn’t remember him looking so thin before. I looked him over, my stomach twisting in guilt that I’d done this to him.
I thought about his question and how to answer it. Six was gone. Nothing should ever be alright after that. He’d lost an arm twice because of me. And I still hadn’t found a way to get rid of that Dark God before he finally latched himself onto my roommate.
“Yeah. I’m just tired.” I somewhat lied.
I felt tired as hell. I didn’t want to think about anything. The only thing I wanted was to sleep.
We arrived back home, and the living room was cleaned up by someone who worked at the clinic. Since I couldn’t cook, I ordered something to force Jackalope to eat. Within a few hours, he’d fallen asleep, tucked into bed with a few extra blankets. I considered getting him one of those weighted blankets because he seemed to like being under so many of them at once.
I collapsed into bed, my arm killing me from overuse. I didn’t tell Jackalope about the bullet wound. He would have refused to come back home if he knew I was still healing. I slept for a few hours. In the middle of the night, I woke up with a weight on my chest. My body was too worn down to move.
A dark figure sat, two flaming blue eyes staring down at me. The face got close to my own letting a rotting smell come over me.
“Six Is dead because of you. If you saved him sooner, he would not have died on the second job.” The voice hissed in a twisted version of my roommate’s.
I wanted to argue. My brain refused to do anything but agree.
“Your little friend rushed into getting a new arm and suffered for you. And because of what? What have you done? Adopted two rabbits that could have found a better home? Donated blood and yet you used more than you gave away? You have done nothing in your life. And now you’re causing so much pain. You went from worthless to harmful.”
My eyes were open and yet I couldn’t see anything. Those words created a pressure inside my chest that felt like it would burst at any second. I didn’t have any strength to push the creature away. I just felt so damn tired.
“You should just…”
A sharp pain on my fingertips snapped me awake. I found myself standing in the bathroom in the dark. My hand flew to the light switch, leaving a smudge of blood behind. A few minutes passed for my mind to catch up. When I realized what nearly happened, I threw up my dinner.
My disposable razor sat broken on the counter, the blade had cut into my fingers. It took me a very long time to stop shaking. I quickly gathered up the rest of the razors and stormed outside to put them all in the bottom of the trash bin. My cuts left blood I needed to go back and clean up. I was grateful that Jackalope didn’t wake up from the noise.
Guilt and shame wrecked my stomach. I couldn’t face him after what nearly happened. In the morning I would call The Corporation asking them to somehow God-proof the house. After everything others had given up for me, I needed to do the simple request and keep living. The God took advantage of my weakest moment, and I worried he may do so again.