The morning had been like any other. Wake up and struggle to even climb out of bed while grogginess clung to my body. At least it wasn’t as cold as my hometown in Canada had been. It was also much quieter than New York. The noise was still present, though.

Greeting my parents felt like a chore, I’m still mad that we moved with Mom’s whims again. Sure it was cheaper, but what was so good about living close to mountains in another capital city? I will never understand the things she does.

This isn’t even mentioning the fact they took away me from my friends. I mean, who in their right mind takes their kids away from their comfort zone not once but twice, all because you get a feeling we should move around? At the very least, she could have a valid reason, but she just says it would be nicer here.

After getting dressed, I had to force dry cereal down my gullet, then I was off towards my first day of school. We lived rather close. Enough so that I could walk there, as much as a mistake that decision was.

Today was too active. The things that shouldn’t exist; had been growing in population for the past two months. Droves of them coming like the most amazing thing would happen soon.

Last night was different. Everything ran. The smaller creatures scuttling anywhere but the city while the giants that towered over the others stampeded past. They ended up crushing the smaller ones underfoot in their bid to escape.

I had hoped it meant I wouldn’t have to stare at the grotesque freaks no one else could see for a while.

It was a foolish hope. Now not only were there three, like there had been the day before, but twelve ethereal giants lumbering across the vast city. There were probably more behind the towering buildings. After all, thousands of smaller ones crawled all along the glass skyscrapers. It practically doused me with icy negativity.

All my life, I have seen things that shouldn’t be here. I used to talk to them, but they never responded, so I think Mom chalked it up to imaginary friends. It’s not that they couldn’t see me. I watched one mimic a bus driver once, and others had looked so real I almost mistook them for being firmly rooted in reality. However real they could look while being freakish monsters. I learned quickly to hide the ability after Mom laughed at me.

Now they were just another part of life. But this was too many. Monsters harder to describe than biblical angels. All crawling around. Between the streets, on top of buildings or inside of them. It was my worst nightmare. I would eventually even walk through some of them, which became very unpleasant quickly.

That was all without mentioning the biggest problem of them all. One that every other paled before. A monolith that has been here since I moved. A being that just sits there, not even showing an attempt to seem alive, staring at the ground with hundreds of eyes.

Its body looks almost like a dragon, except with tentacles for wings, and what must be seven rows of legs and hundreds of heads. It isn’t in the city, rather it watches the city like a lurking mountain in the backdrop.

Though today, its heads had to be looking at something, not that I could make out what it was looking at from this distance. The thing was bigger than the giants, giants already bigger than any skyscraper I had seen. If it was physical, I don’t know how it wouldn’t just burst the earth in half.

I don’t know where they came from, but if I had to guess, it would be some place not from this world. Glancing at the cross between some furry spider, fish, and a dog was enough to prove that fact. I had thought they might be ghosts when I was younger, but I had seen things die. There isn’t any such transition into these things.

It didn’t make any sense how they practically quintupled over night after running away. I honestly hope I don’t find out what had made them run away.

At least it didn’t take too long to make it to school, where dozens of other students funneled into the extensive building that crawled with even more eldritch abominations. The huge ass dragon was also very visible here and one head was almost certainly looking at the school. It sent chills down my spine even thinking that it could see me.

I had missed orientation. Watching streamers and gaming all night was higher on my priority list. I checked out the map before I even enrolled, though, and it wouldn’t be too hard.

I wasn’t too early thanks to my horrible schedule, so while there were a lot of students filing into the building, it would take a while. Taking out my phone and just scrolling through it, I didn’t expect to suddenly be called out by a girl who had a crowd. One of the popular girl’s if I had to guess and someone who was a late riser like me or just lived farther away.

“Hey! Looks like you’re brand new, huh? I make it a mission of mine to remember all the pretty faced new years coming into high school; so you must be a transfer student!”

The voice forced me to look up from my phone and get a little shocked by what I saw.

Mirthful green eyes, long brown hair cascading past her ass, a height somewhere around five-six, and the most perfect smile I had ever seen. There was a slight glint in her eye that betrayed a more playful nature underneath.

Still, I could tell she expected a response. Even if her narrowed chin, slightly puffed up lips, and full eyelashes could have fooled anyone into doing what she wanted.

I tried at playing it a little cool. I didn’t even come close to her level of perfection. With my messy bed head of red hair, a completely average face with no makeup, and a body that was too lean. I even had a b cup chest with thin thighs while being even shorter than my mom at five foot one.

“Ah- Um- My name is Alice and yes… I’m new. Moved from New York. I’m also in twelfth grade. It’s nice to meet you… Um—” I said.

“Heather.” She said while giving the most comforting smile I had seen on someone. She had completely enamored the surrounding girls, and as weird as it was to think about, I couldn’t help but feel the same.

The idea died the next moment when I remembered how my last relationship ended with a minor freak out towards my boyfriend. He hadn’t done anything; it was the fact that a monster practically stalked him. I couldn’t take it when the thing got closer to me and caused me to screech for it to go away while acting disgusted. I couldn’t just tell him about it afterwards, and now I haven’t had a relationship since.

“Right, um… Thanks Heather. I wouldn’t say I’m such a pretty face. Still… thank you.”

The slight smile on her lips was enchanting, even if I could see the slight pity in her eyes.

“Think nothing of it. Though if you see my sister. Just make sure you stay away, she—”

Unexpectedly, the sound of a loud bike being driven across the road towards the parking area interrupted the beautiful teen. The smile on Heather’s face lit up like a Christmas tree that left no room for annoyance.

With whatever Heather was going to say practically forgotten, she turned around with her arms crossed. “Speak of the fucking devil herself, and she appears.”

I wanted to walk away, but while Heather was directing her attention at who was probably her sister, she kept me behind her. Some others even crowded around like the girl we were about to see was some sort of spectacle.

The parking lot was not too far, so it didn’t take long before I could see every single girl at Heather’s side blush. In fact, most of the girls crowding me did. It was like they had all become little girls looking at some idol. Each one, more nervous than the next. All except for Heather, who was ignoring their reactions.

With the energy all around me, I hoped to glimpse this person who made even the other groups around us whisper and blush. When I leaned to the side, trying to see past Heather, it put me into absolute shock and surprise; I wasn’t looking at a girl.

More accurately, I didn’t see just a girl. An aura of shade obscured her figure. As if the light wouldn’t dare be in her presence. The eldritch creatures ever present in the world trampled each other to get away. Just looking at the darkness made me want to whimper and join.

Death. The girl had an aura of death, like she was the murderer of millions. Worse yet, gazing into the aura made the thing inside gaze back. Hair white, like freshly fallen snow, framing eyes of red with depths like pools of crimson life. Accented by a wide sharp toothed grin that flickered as if a flame, where a maw should have been. A crown of horns sprouting from her head in jagged impersonations of a Japanese Oni.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Thick tentacles waved gracefully at her back, not unlike the monstrous dragon at my rear. They grappled with people and the ground alike, as if they were trying to support her weight. The tentacles seemingly to actually wrap around the physical, yet there were no screams of horror so it couldn’t be what was going on. What’s more was the trail of misty red footprints that were left behind though disappeared after leaving her aura.

I had to assume it wasn’t real. Nothing with skin the texture of bone, and claws like black steel, could exist in reality. A glitch that maybe seemed real but shouldn’t. Yet here it was, indistinguishable from the person supposedly beneath.

I wanted to run, hide. Just looking around me elevated my sense of dread. Trapped and the dragon, with every single head, faced our direction. She was the source of all the madness that was happening. She had to be.

Heather introducing me fell on deaf ears as I tried not to hyperventilate. My palms growing sweatier and the shaking in my legs picking up a whole new magnitude.

I desperately wanted to be anywhere else. Anywhere that wasn’t right in front of that thing.

Her voice, why did it have a voice? Was smooth and beautiful. It even sounded like it was pretending to be something else.

“Trying to scare her now, are you, dear sister?”

It stepped closer, and I snapped. It didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t want to die.

“S-Stop! Go Away! Y-You’re not REAL!” I was off. Sprinting for my life. They weren’t supposed to talk to me. But I knew I would die if I allowed her to come any closer. I didn’t need a reason. I just felt it. That aura would suffocate me.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

P.O.V.–Beatrix

I had a fairly peaceful trip to the city. The chill of the wind caressing my skin was almost nonexistent thanks to my clothing. My hands ended up getting a little chilly. So, after stopping at the bottom of the hill and putting on leather gloves, I went on my way once more.

While an hour was a good estimate at how long it would take normally. A couple creative maneuvers and going faster than I should, had me arriving within forty-five minutes. Thankfully, enough time to stop and eat.

There was this one diner in an almost completely rundown corner that Dad had shown me. We used to eat burgers there almost every Wednesday. Jack’s Hole. Apparently, it had been open since the eighties. While it was out of the way, the place had a reputation and lived up to it.

Just entering and saying hi to the owner’s wife brought some nostalgia. So after sitting down, I ended up getting Dad’s usual cheeseburger with too many pickles, lettuce, and Jack’s special sauce. The sauce was probably against some health regulation, yet totally worth every bite.

While I was savoring the unhealthy breakfast, the older woman asked if I really ought to be taking my time eating when I had school. Yet as much of a small eater as I was, something about today made me hungrier than I was familiar with.

Another interruption came after I got caught up talking with some old man who had seen me drive my bike in. It was pretty reasonable why the man wanted to talk. He was someone traveling in the USA with nothing but his bike and a full bank account.

He wore his bald head with pride, deep trenches for wrinkles that made him look seventy, but his getup was hardly old at all. All his clothes were new, and the attire mixed with his oldness screamed bad ass at everyone who dared question it. From the big aviators to his leather jacket on the back of his chair. A white beard that looked ripped straight out of old Coke commercials. In fact, the man had a branded glass cup he was drinking out of.

What was most surprising was the white shirt he had on. Clearly a present or something from a grandchild stating, ‘Best Biker Grandpa of The Year!’ We had a bit of a chuckle about it.

When I finished my burger, wanting to be a jerk or not wasn’t even in the question when he actually held out his hand for a fist bump. We ended up agreeing to ride together some other time.

He wasn’t the first ever to ask, but the sleezy men who had done it in the past were clearly after something else. The old man reminded me a lot of Gramps, so I didn’t mind.

When I was done, the drive to school was as smooth as ever. When I arrived, I couldn’t help but feel smug. Practically every new student looked either envious or curious. Those that knew me blushed or scoffed as I passed.

When I took off my helmet and put my gloves in the trunk, I could feel the attention burn a hole through me. So after retrieving my bag at a leisurely pace, I carried the fiber glass helm under my arm, strutting to the entrance where all the latecomers were funneling in.

Maybe it was a bit of an inflated ego problem, but even my sister couldn’t dampen my mood after I caught the eyes of her posse. The six girls at her side had succumbed to our charms. Yet the way they blushed and how their eyes followed me as I walked closer was a clear sign I had won.

When I was in front of the group, two girls took a few steps back while blushing heavily. Heather just grinned and radiated smugness to her core. I didn’t even know what she was going to say, but I wasn’t expecting her to open her mouth and wave over her shoulder. She would then step aside just enough to show off some girl.

“Beatrix, let me introduce my new friend Alice! I was just about to warn her to steer clear of the school idol, or were you perhaps going to mark her as another target?”

Reading between the lines of her smug and mirthful eyes, slight tilt of the head, and even the twitching left hand, it was clear she thought she stole a prize. Though whatever Heather had told the poor girl seemed to have completely spooked her. I had broken arms, punched jugulars, clawed chunks out of flesh, and even bitten people in the past in order to win petty fights over stupid reasons. But nothing I had done was enough to cause such fear in the girl’s eyes.

She had a cute way of presenting herself, even if the shivering legs were worrisome. Her dyed bright red hair mixing in with her darker red roots went well with her hazel eyes. All with a light complexion, though that was probably from her fear.

Not exactly knowing how to handle her directly when she was so scared, I just glared at Heather and scoffed. “Trying to scare her now, are you, dear sister?”

Slightly shaking my head while feeling completely exasperated, not understanding why she scared someone this badly just because she was upset. I hadn’t meant to make out with her last girlfriend. It just happened.

When I was about to push past the group, not wanting to cause any more mishaps; also before Heather could even make another snide remark, a shrill scream escaped Alice.

I went to step closer to check if she was okay. That had been impossible as nobody was ready for it, and the girl practically crying now. “S-Stop! Go Away! Y-You’re not REAL!”

She backed up into another student afterwards, looked completely terrified, and bolted off down the sidewalk.

I wasn’t even sure what had just happened, not fully processing it quick enough, but it didn’t really matter in the end.

“What did you d—”

Heather couldn’t even finish berating me as I shoved my helmet into her arms and quickly pushed past the students to go after the girl.

Dad had ingrained in me to not be a loser. Saying to never leave a girl to cry alone. Sometimes it was okay, like when you needed to break up cleanly and allow your partner a fresh new start.

This was one of those times. I could see it. Alice was terrified of something and as much as I hated this part of myself, she was just like me when I first had my nightmares. I didn’t know if I could help, but running anywhere in that state of mind would be catastrophic.

“Wait! God damnit Beatrix WAIT!”

Heather’s screaming accented my escape from school property, all the while forcing my way past the freshly crowded sidewalk.

I couldn’t stop; even if I should have been faster, the girl was small, and people were walking on the main sidewalks thanks to the morning rush. So after we reached a denser area, it was almost impossible for me to keep up. Yet I was still a local, so even if she had a brief head start and almost instinctual bobbing and weaving, I gained on her.

The chase continued for a while, not at a full sprint, of course; I didn’t want to scare the hell out of her or cause more of a scene than I already was. Up until she finally ducked into an alley, I was almost certain had been a dead end.

We were at maybe a twenty-minute jog from the school. So the moment I reached the alley, I took a break at the entrance. I wasn’t built for chasing anyone.

When I had gotten my breathing under a little control, it was time to help that girl.

“Alice!”

I received a stronger reaction than I had thought I would get, while a bottle rolled out from behind a trashcan. I could hear soft sobbing and quiet begging behind the bin. It left me at a loss.

“Please… Please… They aren’t supposed to be real. Why can it speak? H-how can it even see me? S-Stop… Don’t come closer. I’ll do anything. I-I’ll take my eyes. I promise I won’t tell. Just go away. Stay away.”

I would eventually slowly walk to the side of the trash bin where I could see the girl clutching at her head.

Alice was on her knees, shedding tears while mumbling and rambling. Constantly begging that she didn’t know, or that it wasn’t her fault. When I opened my mouth to speak again, she stumped me after snapping her gaze up at me. Her entire face was pale, as if she had no blood. Her tears were red, like the blood had dribbled out with them. Thankfully, her eyes were still there.

“W-why? None of the others can speak. None of them can touch. So why can I feel them crawling all over me? Why can I feel your hungry gaze boring into me? W-why can I sense death shrouding you? I didn’t do anything to deserve this curse. Wasn’t it already enough to see what I shouldn’t. W-why do I have to be the one to see them all? Even the dragon can’t interact. Yet they ALL fear you. So WHY?!”

With every word she spoke, I could feel the deeply rooted terror. I could see the horror in her eyes as she looked at me. And it forced me to take a step back.

Nobody… Had looked at me like that. Sure, I probably had enemies. You make a few when you go off your whims looking for someone you can’t even remember or let alone know if they are real. But her indescribable fear was genuine.

It hurt…

I… I had never felt like this. What had I even done to cause a revolution so strongly from the girl? I didn’t even know her and yet…

“I-IT’S MADNESS! YOU SHOULDN’T BE REAL! WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY Eyes…”

She continued to cry, balled up in the corner after screaming at the top of her lungs. She could only stare at me, and I could see myself in those eyes. I could also see something else in the reflection. Something that shouldn’t have been here.

Why… Why was the sparrow here?

I could only see the bird perched behind me on the edge of a windowsill. I hadn’t even heard it come into the alley. Yet it looked so big this close. More like a medium-sized hawk than the small bird a sparrow was. And it was looking directly at Alice, while she looked at it as if in shock.

I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had just scared a poor girl into crying tears of blood without even trying, and she had seen something other’s couldn’t. Next there was the red sparrow.

Why did I suddenly feel like this wasn’t the first time? And… How come, after all this, I was still hungry?