Ava’s head pounded. That was the first thing she noticed when she regained awareness. She smelled body odor and bad farts and heard deep voices and belly laughter. She shivered. She lay on something hard and damp and earthy. This wasn’t her bed and her room was warm and it definitely didn’t smell like body odor and bad farts. Was she still dreaming? She remembered Mark and her parents and Elizabeth who smelled like cinnamon. She remembered the book and the rollercoaster and that gaunt girl with the knotty pink hair and bony frame who looked like she needed to eat a burger. This wasn’t right. That was just some alcohol, drug enhanced dream. Ava was afraid to open her eyes.

When she eventually did she saw that she was in a small, narrow cage. That gaunt girl sat in the corner of the cage, which had other cages around it, and was in some sort of building. Her knees were up to her chin, exposing her boniness, and she didn’t look happy.

Ava heard grunts and laughter and talking.

In the cages around them were trapped the strangest looking animals Ava had ever seen—six legged creatures with gray fur. A ferocious looking tiger thing was in the cage next to them, and it growled at Ava and Ava quickly moved away from that side.

They were before a narrow walkway, in a low building with overhanging, bald light bulbs.

“W-what is going on?” Ava said, trying not to sound hysterical. She put a hand to her aching head. The dim light hurt her eyes and made her nauseous. This is what a hangover must feel like.

The girl frowned. “We’ve been captured by the bad men.”

The bad men? Ava remembered that mountain man with the beer gut and that smelly green gas.

“They collect strange creatures.”

“Strange creatures?”

What was going on! How was she a strange creature, and sudden fury filled her. Whatever Mark had given her must have made her go on an extended trip.

“Yes.” The girl blinked her purple eyes. “You were too loud.”

“So were you,” said Ava, the fury making you snap it.

The girl sighed. “Now what are you? Are you a mortal?”

Was she a mortal. What kind of fucking question was that? Of course she was a mortal! Everyone died eventually. She had a coworker who told her that everyone had a turn at each age. Everyone had their turn.

Of course I am,” she said. “Aren’t you? What kind of question is that!”

“No. I’m an immortal. We all are of course.”

“Oh of course,” said Ava, sarcastically. She needed a Tylenol so bad.

“They took the book. We have to get it back! My sisters can’t find it! I can’t run the risk! They’ll discover what I’ve done.”

Book. Sisters. What? Ava remembered the damp book she had discovered in the train car. She wondered what was so special about it. Other than she felt like it was her lifeline back into reality, same as this bony immortal girl. She had to get out of here.

“How do we do that?” she asked.

“Do the rivers really flow with sweet blood?”

Stolen novel; please report.

Now what was she talking about?

“What?” asked Ava, closing her eyes against her throbbing headache.

“Do the rivers flow with blood?” the girl repeated, as though Ava was a moron.

“No,” she said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

When she opened her eyes again two burly, huge, hairy and smelly men stood before their cage, hairy guts hanging out.

“Hello my sweets,” said the fatter, uglier one.

The other burly, mountain man had a huge wart at the end of his nose.

They laughed together and did a belly bump and grunted. Ava had to stop herself from laughing. This was ridiculous.

“Let us go,” said the bony girl, standing up.

“But we like to collect rare creatures, and you, my sweet, are a rare creature indeed,” said the super fat one and wart nose nodded in agreement.

“We’ve never had an immortal girl before,” said the wart nose mountain man. “And we have no idea what you even are.” He looked at Ava.

Oh for the love of Pete! What was happening? Were these men immortal too? The gaunt girl had said they all were.

God. What had Mark given her?

A creature in one of the cages whined.

One of them even barked. There was a dog here?

She had to text Elizabeth, but her bag was no where in sight. These men must have taken that too! She needed it back, and she really needed a cigarette anyway. This ludicrous situation was making her crave nicotine.

“Can I have my bag back?” she asked. “I really need a cigarette.” She couldn’t believe how calm she sounded.

“What’s a cigarette?” asked the bony girl behind her.

“What?” asked Ava.

“We’re taking you to the ring,” said wart nose man. “We have to show you both off. You’re special.”

Well. Ava was flattered. These gross men thought she was special. What a compliment. Even her thoughts were sarcastic. Her brain hurt. She wished these men would put some deodorant on. Their stench was overwhelming. She didn’t want to go to this ring they spoke of. They smelled worse than Mark’s garlic breath.

The man with the bigger gut took out a set of keys he had in his pants pocket.

“Now you two behave, or we’ll have to gas you again.” He put the rusted key in the equally rusted padlock that locked the cage.

Ava did not want to be gassed again.

She also didn’t want these gross men coming anywhere near her. She thought of Mark and his touches and realized, faintly, that in between her legs still hurt from when he’d penetrated her. She was so ashamed and those awful things her mom had said to her. Ava was not happy. And she was nauseous and her head throbbed. These men were not touching her.

The fatter man opened the cage door.

Ava stood up and backed away from him.

“Don’t touch me,” she said.

“Oh, sweets, we simply want to lead you.”

He and wart nose came even closer, and their scent overwhelmed her and she felt like she was going to spew. He reached out a gnarly, hairy hand to grab her shoulder, and she kicked him, hard, in the crotch, and he fell to his knees with a loud grunt of pain.

“What are you doing?” asked the gaunt girl, sounding appalled.

Wart man backed away.

Fatter man was grabbing his injured junk.

“I said don’t touch me!” said Ava.

“Okay okay,” said wart man, sounding as appalled as the gaunt girl had. And somewhat scared. What was wrong with these people?

“What did you do to me,” the fatter man managed to say, still clutching his injured manhood.

“What?” asked Ava, confused.

“Just go. Now!” he said.

“Yeah. Go!” said wart nose man.

That was easy. These people were weird. They were acting as though she’d grown fangs and ripped his head open or something. Why were they so scared?

“Where’s my bag?” asked Ava.

“And the book,” said gaunt girl.

“And if you gas us I’ll kick you!” Ava said, really not wanting to be gassed again.

“Okay okay!” said wart man, stepping even further away from Ava. “Follow me.”

“Special indeed,” muttered the fatter man as her and the gaunt girl followed wart nose man down the narrow pathway between the cages of the strange creatures. Ava heard laughter and shouting men again, but it passed the farther down the pathway they went.

“What did you do?” demanded the gaunt girl from behind her.

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Ava. “Why are you all freaked out. I just kicked him.”

They came to a larger room without any cages in it, just pedestals with glass boxes on top and hanging light bulbs that emitted a dim light that hurt Ava’s eyes and head. Her bag and the book rested in a big glass box. She quickly took out the book and her bag and gingerly put the damp book inside.

“Now just go,” said wart man, standing far away from her. “The hallway out is that way.” He pointed a gnarly hand towards an adjacent hallway with moldy green tiles on the walls—and it reminded Ava of Mark’s bathroom. What if she was still at Mark’s right now, completely tripping out?

The gaunt girl walked far behind her as they followed the tiled hallway out of the building and into the swirling, gray and damp fog.