--==Chapter 6: Here's Hoping Its a Dream--==

I found myself back in the patrol car, inches from the glowing green vortex wall. I had been here before, twice.

This time, Nia was screaming in the back seat. Now that I was paying attention, I could see the blue haze in my vision. I glanced at my hands and verified what I knew; I was still monstrous.

No wonder Nia was screaming. Except—she hadn't acted scared of me when I was dying on the floor. She hadn't even seemed all that scared of the grasshopper, so I didn't understand why she'd suddenly be freaking out.

I looked through the cage dividing us, trying to figure out how to be reassuring using only body language and hand gestures. Puppy-dog eyes probably wouldn't cut it. That's when I noticed that Nia wasn't alone back there.

There was another alien-bug-thing. This one was smaller, only slightly bigger than a basketball. It looked like a giant tick, except instead of chitin, it had fleshy skin. Its pudgy legs looked more like fingers, and its mandibles were like two thumbs bent backward at a broken angle. Its flesh was the same corpse-pale color as the grasshopper monster, complete with a soft green glow.

Nia held it with both hands around its middle, keeping it at a distance and screaming. Its legs scrabbled and scratched at her arms. Its hind legs had black spurs poking out of its flesh, which caught and tore at Nia's skin, leaving bloody furls.

Fuck! I swore at myself as I hurried over the center console to get out as quickly as possible. I was barely out of the car when I opened her door—And took the monster to the chin—snout—Whichever.

Apparently, Nia had been screaming about both the creature and me. I opened the door to let her out, she threw it at me like it was a fucking Pokemon.

I failed to swear as I stumbled onto my ass yet again, the giant tick plopping in my lab and scrabbling for purchase.

The car door slammed shut immediately after, Nia still inside. I could see she was peeking out, terrified, and I suspected she'd fight me if I tried to open the door again. Not that I had that kind of freedom at the moment.

This creature was so much worse than Slender Hopper. It's legs snagged my fur and started to orient itself; I grabbed it and pulled it off my lap. It was soft like actual human flesh, but worse, it was a tick.

With a shudder, I heaved myself to my feet and chucked it into the vortex.

Gross.

I kept my eye on the vortex. I was pretty sure it wasn't coming back, but the monsters were obviously related to it somehow. I couldn't be sure the vortex was as destructive to the bug-things as it was to everything else, but it didn't immediately jump back through. After a minute, I decided it had probably died or moved on. Hopefully, it was dead.

I took a deep breath. Okay, now, answers.

Nia was peeking out her window, but she ducked down behind the door when I glanced at her. I was a little worried she'd panic again if I approached. I couldn't understand why she was suddenly so scared when she wasn't before, but that was the least of the things I didn't understand.

Either way, I didn't have a lot of options. I had a lot of questions that I needed answered; for now, Nia was my only lead. On top of that, without my mask, the glow from the fur around my eyes effectively made me very near-sighted in this fog. Between the monsters and the scared people facing monsters, my mask was a must.

Nia didn't peek her head up again as I approached. However, when I entered the front of the car, she let out a brief shriek while otherwise trying to be unnoticed in the back. I reached out and grabbed my backpack. Nia must have felt like a hiker listening to a bear go through the supplies just outside the tent.

My hand closed on the bag, and my mind flashed back to my memory of Nia's hand closing on the strap before swinging it into the grasshopper creature in the hospital.

Was that creature back too? The one I'd chucked into the vortex wall was smaller than the one in the hospital, but I didn't know what they even were. For all I knew, it was still growing.

Just like last time, there were too many things I didn't know, too many questions. My priorities hadn't really changed, though. Nia might be relying on me to save her sister, but I was half-lost already. Credulous people would run from me on sight if they didn't attack instead, and no one would blame them.

How was I supposed to help anyone like this, let alone get answers to my many, many questions?

I couldn't look less imposing, but I could look more intentionally imposing. I once again grabbed the throw blanket and ripped and tore it to create a mask. It only took a minute, but the act of creation helped me relax, gradually slowing my adrenaline-fueled heartbeats. Nia was still terrified behind me, so it only went so far. But hopefully, my cosplay would help.

Mask finished, I climbed out of the car and posed, hoping Nia would peek again.

She didn't.

Walking up to the back door, I had to press my nose against the glass to actually see her. She was crouched down in the footwell between the front and back seats. She was wedged in and pulling against the door with white knuckles.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Then it struck me that this scene was straight out of a monster movie. I was practically the raptor in Jurassic Park, peering through the window all "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Then I had another brilliant idea. I'd tap out the "shave and a haircut" knock on the window. I'd do five quick taps and two slower taps. Everyone knew that knock.

I could hear her whimpering inside, poor thing. I felt for her, but I wasn't trying to scare her; I just needed to figure this out. I reached out to tap the dad-joke-of-a-knock on the glass, but the signal got confused somewhere between my thoughts and my hand, and I only scratched noisily against the window.

Shit! I thought as Nia screamed. First, I peered in like some stereotypical monster; now, I'm scratching the glass ominously.

Nia popped up in the window as I was still cringing at my own faux pas. "GO AWAY!" she screamed, her voice that piercing rage-filled shriek people sometimes have in high-stress moments. It shook me, sending adrenaline coursing back in as I stumbled back a few steps.

Fuck, that's a critical success on her intimidation check.

I was wearing the mask and cape again, but she was still afraid. She was glaring at me, breathing heavily.

"GO!" she shrieked again.

I was beginning to suspect I'd been dreaming before—or having some kind of vision. It had felt pretty real though, especially the part where a monster tore chunks of flesh out of me.

Nia took in another deep breath to shout, and I shrugged. She probably didn't have answers to my questions, not if she was acting like this. And even if she did, I wouldn't get them this way. I couldn't just leave her in the car, though. Who knew how long she'd be stuck in that back seat before someone came to let her out. And that's if there weren't other bizarre dangers like that monster bug.

Nia smacked the window and yelled more at me as I approached the car. I patted the air in her direction, trying to reassure her that I wasn't going toward her. It probably just looked like I was pawing the air in anticipation of attacking her or something.

I sat in the driver's seat and checked for keys. Thankfully Jon had left them behind, so I turned the key to the battery. I doubted the engine would turn over, not with how hard we hit that van. But the windows would hopefully roll down.

If I opened Nia's door, she'd just close it again, and I didn't want to try to force her from the car. Honestly, I wanted to do as little harm as possible. I could only imagine this would be a terrible day she wouldn't get over, at least not in the month we had left. I didn't want to add to it. She watched me warily from the back, no longer screaming. She was balled up in the seat, but one hand still held the door.

I started to open her window, and she immediately panicked and began yelling things at me and kicking at the cage. I'd barely gotten it cracked before she started freaking out, but I stopped anyway. I'd need to try something else. I waited, giving her a chance to calm down—or at least tire herself out. After a few minutes, she sat huddled, legs drawn up to her chest, and glared at me from over her knees. Watching her in the rearview mirror, I closed my door. She began to whimper, but I just lowered my window, reached out, and opened the door from the outside.

Nia looked confused, and I couldn't say I blamed her. When I lowered her window this time, she only whimpered a bit. Tears had left streaks on her face, and I felt like shit. Maybe this would be a dream too. Real life couldn't be this bullshit.

I didn't roll the window all the way down, just low enough that I was sure she could reach the handle to open the door herself when she wanted to since she would otherwise be locked in. Then I grabbed my backpack and walked away. There wasn't much I could do for her, not looking like this, not when she was that traumatized and afraid. This put me back at square one with Jon and with trying to understand what was happening.

I supposed I should return to the visitor entrance and see if that was the same as I remembered. Maybe I'd get there in time to save Nia's sister. Actually, that wasn't a terrible idea; save the sister, bring her to Nia, ask Nia about Jon… somehow. Maybe I could write it? I hadn't been able to knock out "Shave and a Haircut"; it had felt almost like forgetting which way was left or right. I could remember the rhythm now tho. As I walked away from the car, I tried tapping it out on my leg without thinking about it too much and managed it. I was pretty sure that opportunity was passed with Nia, but maybe it would work with her sister if I could take out that grasshopper monster.

I stopped. Was I really considering facing that thing again?

Nia had made it look easy; dream Nia, that is. Car Nia had mostly been frustrating. Car Nia was much more relatable. I didn't want to face that. I started walking toward the entrance anyway.

Here's hoping it was a dream.

What had changed with Nia? Had what happened really just been a dream? It had felt more real, and I worried that meant it was more real. I was expecting there to be truth in it; I was expecting it to be at least prophetic. And I couldn't help but think of Nia's plea for me to save her sister 'next time.' She talked like she was weary—worn down. She'd wanted help. She'd also been different.

She'd had horns and wings and glowed faintly green. I would have guessed it was a costume if it wasn't for the green glow, but I wasn't sure how she'd fake the aura. It didn't add up, and I didn't like leaving the question unaddressed behind me. I'd seen hints of that aura while watching her in the car, but it was faint enough that I couldn't be sure it wasn't from the fog or my eyes playing tricks.

I paused at the entrance, not quite ready to commit. Things were still; I couldn't see any sign of the jumping slender-man-grasshopper-thing. I also couldn't tell if Alice—or whoever— was dead behind the desk. Last time, she was bloody and headless, and a pool of blood surrounded her. I didn't see that now.

Cautiously I stepped inside, my paw hands adjusting my mask and double-checking my cape. I had the urge to call out hello and had to remind myself I was mute.

I kept my head on a swivel as I approached the desk. I could hear sounds coming from the other side. Stretching myself up to my full height, I could make out an arm lying in a pool of blood; They moved weakly, maybe bleeding out. I hurried up and around the desk, planning to do my best to apply first aid, only to see the four-limbed grasshopper head-deep in the woman's neck, maw chewing and digging into her skull.

I vomited on them.

The monster reared back and hissed at me and I turned to run once again. My panic cost me.

I felt its form slam into my right shoulder. I both felt and heard it rip a chunk of my shoulder out before leaping off in the same motion. The impact of it striking me left me unbalanced, and I toppled over as it kicked back off of me.

I landed on top of the backpack, and I recalled what Nia had done.

I pushed myself to my hands and knees and groped around wildly, trying to grab the bag through my blind panic. It hit me in the neck like a fast-pitched softball before I could find it. I flailed and knocked it away before it could tear my neck completely open, but I could feel blood seeping through my fingers as I put pressure on the wound.

My eyes tracked the thing as I wrestled to calm my panting breaths. It was on the wall, and my attention was locked. I was only going to get one chance. It adjusted its feet. I held my neck with my left hand, keeping as much blood in me as possible. Using my other hand, I grabbed the strap of my backpack. My shoulder felt weak, and lifting the bag pulled on my wound.

Wait till it crouches…

It crouched.

I spun, dragging the backpack behind me in my weakened right arm.

My spin brought the leaping creature into sight. At the last moment, I pulled my arm close to my body, lining up the impact and increasing the speed of the bag. The bag hit the creature with a thud, sending it flying across the room to crash into a wall.

Without giving myself a moment to think, I ran at the creature,

picking up the same chair that Nia had used. It weighed more than I'd expected, or I was weaker than I thought. I let go of my neck to lift the chair with both hands. I raised it over my head and ran; as I closed in on the monster bug, I brought it down with all my strength and momentum.

A crunchy splat sent dark gore everywhere, like chunky oil—but with that strange green aura.

I collapsed to my knees in it. I was breathing hard and couldn't muster up the energy to put pressure on my neck; the blood felt comfortably warm on my fur anyway. I'd forgotten how must larger it was than Nia's tick monster. But I had done it. I'd killed the fucker.

So much for being a pacifist, I thought.

It's easy to be a pacifist when it just means being passive. I felt pride for killing the thing, even though I was pretty sure it had killed me again anyway. Maybe this would be a dream too. After all, I wasn't a 7-foot-tall werewolf in real life. I'd wake up, and the vortex and everything would all be a dream.

I could feel my energy draining. I didn't even have it in me to lie down. I just slumped where I knelt, staring at the gore my knees sat in. There in the black gore, was a glowing green crystal. It was pretty, and it called out to me. As I slumped further, falling weakly to the tile floor, I reached out to the stone. The last thing I remember is my hand closing around it.

The next moment, I woke up on a clean tile floor to the sound of someone screaming.