Of Monsters and men

Chapter One

Fuck.

I fucking hate being sick. Because it sucks. A lot. Especially since, usually, my body is a well-oiled machine. I eat right, go to the gym, take my daily vitamins—all that good stuff. As the saying goes, your body is a temple, and not to brag or anything, but the body of one Fitzroy O’Brien is a kick-ass temple, complete with deadly Shaolin monks. So when I get into a funk like now, it’s a surprise.

A big surprise.

Thankfully, the winter-chilled glass of the passenger-side window helped to ease the migraine pounding behind my eyes as I rested my temple against it, the short locks of my auburn hair providing only the thinnest of barriers. The cold was a much needed relief.

Street lamps, and the overly cheerful ‘Christmas Greeting!’ neon signs plastered over all the street-side shops, passed by in a blur as I stared into the snowy haze beyond the glass. Soon we transitioned into a more residential area, where rows upon rows of apartment buildings lining the narrow street. In the background, a voice droned on over the radio as I watched the nightlife of the city pass before my bored gaze.

“—have been reports of a record number of flu cases this season, Alex. So to our faithful listeners, remember get your flu shot today, if you haven’t already. There’s nothing worse than being sick over the holidays.”

I snorted.

My flu shot hadn’t done me much good.

Before the radio host could speak up again, my raven-haired beauty of a girlfriend, Paige, clicked the radio off. She glanced in my direction and flashed me a faint smile, her lips painted a glossy cherry, as her attention wavered between the red taillights of the taxi in front of us and me. The expertly applied makeup hid the dark rings beneath her green eyes; however, exhaustion was still evident in her gaze. “Sorry, were you listening to that?”

“Nope, you’re good, Sweet Pea,” I said, using my endearing nickname for her—to her eternal embarrassment. Even two years after we started dating, the sweet farm girl from a small mid-western town still blushed at the nickname, especially when among our friends.

See, when we first started dating, I discovered she was one of those more uptight individuals. You know the type—professional, responsible, reserved. Pretty much everything I wasn’t. But as they say, opposites attract. She’s the positive to my negative. The yin to my yang. The Hutch to my Starsky…if one of them was a chick. And they were dating.

Okay, you know what, scratch that last one.

Bad analogy.

“They still working you to the bone?” I asked. For the past few weeks, I’d seen less and less of her at our apartment. And what few times I had, she’d mostly been passed out on the sofa or curled up in our bed, a pile of medical texts scattered around her. In fact, tonight was probably the first time in weeks that both of us were together and awake.

“Pretty sure they’re scrapping out the marrow now,” Paige muttered with a tired huff. “So I’d rather not listen to anything involving sick people, if you don’t mind. Not on my one night off. Tonight, I just want to go to this party and catch up with our friends.”

“That’s a plan I can get behind,” I said cheerily, more than welcoming any sort of distraction from my own case of the flu. “Tonight, Sweet Pea, we’ll drown our worries in eggnog. Lots and lots of delicious eggnog.”

She chuckled softly. “Good.”

Paige flicked on her turn signal as she pulled into an underground parking garage and found an open space. Our car’s engine cut out with a twist of the keys. “Can you get the present?” Paige asked as she started slipping on a pair of leather gloves.

“One present coming up,” I quipped. Then I reached into the backseat and lugged a long but thin gift, covered in the seasonal red-green gift wrap, onto my lap with a grunt. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.” She tightened her crimson scarf to hide the pale skin of her throat and then stepped out of the car. Muscles aching, I slowly lumbered out as well.

We shuffled out of the garage and into the night. Paige shivered in the cold, despite the many layers she wore on her lithe figure, while I welcomed winter’s icy embrace against my flushed skin. Must’ve had something to do with my Irish blood, I guessed, as I deeply breathed in the chilled air.

Across the street from us was a luxury apartment building that climbed into the darkened sky. Our destination and the new home of our host for the evening. Through the swirling snow, we hurried across the street and entered the building’s lobby, shaking off the stubborn snowflakes that had clung onto our jackets.

Behind the front desk was a dour-faced man a suit, his attention glued to the screen of his computer. He glanced up briefly at our entrance, his bored gaze passing over the present held in the crook of my arm, and muttered a rather unenthusiastic holiday greeting. Not that I blamed the poor guy. It must be pretty crappy to be stuck working this close to Christmas.

Almost as much as being sick.

Fucking flu.

As we entered and rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor, Paige noted my uncharacteristic silence and the slight slouch in my usually confident posture. A worried look clouded her pretty face. “You sure you’re still up for this? We don’t have to go. We can always head home and watch a movie with some hot coco, just the two of us.”

I shook my head, chuckling. “And miss seeing the latest addition to Cole’s ugly Christmas sweater collection? I don’t think so.” Besides, I knew just how much Paige had been looking for to this. She definitely deserved it after how much she’d been working.

“Is that right?” Paige asked with an eyebrow raised.

I shrugged helplessly. “What can I say; the man has a gift that’s transcended into a sort of macabre art form. How can I miss out on that?”

Paige rolled her eyes in amused exasperation.

Bing! The elevator doors parted as we reached the eleventh floor. There was a short hallway, one door on each side. The muted beat of Christmas music came from one of the apartments. I rapped my knuckles against the heavy door.

Seconds later, the door open and the sounds of a party in full swing spilled out. A grinning woman stood in the doorway, her curly blond hair spilling over her shoulders and complementing her dazzling white dress. “Paige! Fitz!” The bubbly woman lunged forward and embraced each of us in tight hug. “It’s been so long. Come in, come in.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Jessica,” Paige said as we were ushered inside.

As we shuffled through the door, my eyes widened at the spectacle within. It was like, well, a bunch of Santa’s elves had splurged all their Christmas joy throughout the apartment. My god, there’s even a gingerbread palace! Not a house, mind you, but a freaking palace. My stomach rumbled in delighted anticipation.

“Wow,” Paige mumbled. She blinked at the extravagant display, stunned. “Jessica, you’ve really outdone yourself. This is all amazing, truly.”

“Oh stop, you.” Jessica waved off the compliment playfully. “Here, let me take your coats. You must be getting toasty in those heavy things.”

Smiling from Jessica’s infectious warmth, Paige quickly slipped out of her jacket, revealing a form-fitting black dress that accentuated her many curves. Hanging around her neck and resting upon her breast was a glittering emerald necklace that perfectly matched her eyes. She looked radiant.

Noticing my stare, Paige jokingly swatted at my arm with her hand purse. “Pick up your jaw there, Casanova. We don’t want any of the other guests tripping over it.” My mouth shut with an audible click to the amusement of both women. Then I shrugged out of my jacket and handed it over to Jessica.

“Now Fitz,” Jessica said as she folded the jackets over her arm. “Why don’t I take Paige off your hands while you go find Cole? Us girls have got a lot to catch up on.”

Paige gave me a peck on my lips that tasted of cherries. “Go.”

“You have fun too.” I returned another peck.

“Cole should still be over by the tree,” Jessica told me. She gestured deeper into the party, over the crowd young adults who were all decked out in their finest attire tonight. “Seeing you should do him some good, I bet. He’s been feeling a bit under the weather lately. He caught that bug that’s been going around.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said and headed off. Strangers, mostly friends of Cole and Jessica with the rare familiar face mixed in, passed by me. I nodded to each in turn, smiling, and occasionally offering a quick greeting before moving on.

Even without Jessica’s directions, it wouldn’t have been hard to find Cole. Barrel-chested and mountain of solid muscle, he was a giant of a man that towered over the average person.

Currently, the big man was slurping at mug of eggnog as he stood between the tree and a suit of genuine medieval armor that was decked out with a Santa hat. A familiar trace of strain was hidden within his jovial demeanor, along with the slight sheen of sweat on his brow, as he tried to politely listen to the couple standing in front of him. I waved to grab his attention and he immediately spotted me, looking quite relieved. He made a quick excuse and slipped through the couple that’d cornered him.

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And what I saw next was, quite simply, sublime.

His sweater was thing of twisted beauty and of terrible genius. It was like someone had fused a Christmas tree partially into the front of his woolen sweater, creating some sort of blasphemous tree-sweater chimera. The lights and ornaments even lit up, as if to ensure you couldn’t not see it in all of its horrifying glory.

“Fitz,” he said as he neared. Our hands slammed together in one of the manliest handshakes to ever exist. I steeled myself against the wince that threatened to overtake my face as I squeezed Cole’s massive hand, and I was no slouch. Then I backed off, my hand throbbing with a pulsing ache.

“Been a long time,” I said.

“Six months?”

“Eight I think,” I said. “Last time we were all together was during our trip to Brazil, when we went hiking through the rainforest with that Juan guy as our guide.”

“Right,” Cole drawled. “But, you know his name wasn’t Juan, right?”

“Really?” I paused in thought and scratched my head. “Huh. You know, that might explain why he always seemed so annoyed whenever I called him that.”

Cole snorted in amusement and clapped a hand to my back, knocking me forward a step. “It’s good to see you either way, man. But,” he stared pointedly at my slightly haggard face, “You kinda look like shit.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from the guy wearing that thing,” I said, my gaze falling to Cole’s sweater. Better yet, the mysterious life-form wrapping around and clinging to his chest.

Cole raised up his mug of eggnog in defeat. “Touché.”

“Now before my arms fall off, here. This is for you.” I hefted the lengthy present I’d been holding towards Cole. “Bit of an early Christmas present from Paige and myself. It’s something for your collection.”

“Oh?” Cole drained the last of his eggnog and placed the empty mug on a nearby table. He accepted the gift, raising an eyebrow at its noticeable weight. “Should I open it now?” he asked me uncertainly.

“Please. I won’t get a chance to see the look on your face, otherwise, since Paige and I are heading up to her parents’ place for Christmas Eve,” I explained.

Cole grinned. “Well then…”

He tore into the gift to reveal an exquisite oaken case, where the imprint of a sacred tree was embedded into the lacquered surface. The O’Brien family crest. Not that there was any family left, except for myself. Only pausing for a moment to admire the craftsmanship of the box itself, Cole undid the latch on the case and opened it.

Resting upon velvet cushioning was an old Celtic sword, four and a half hands in length. Not a speck of rust clung to the iron blade, and its bone-carved hilt was polished to a shine despite all the centuries it’d endured. Beside the sword was a leather sheath, one I commissioned myself since the original hadn’t survived the test of time nearly as well as its counterpart.

“What do you think?” I asked Cole. “Like it?”

He stared at the ancient heirloom. “Fitz, dude, I can’t accept this.”

“You can and you will,” I said. “This thing’s been collecting dust in one of my family’s old estates for years. Shit, decades even. Better it belongs to someone that can actually appreciate it and treat it with the respect it deserves.”

“Are you sure?”

I laughed. “Cole, shut up and accept the fucking gift.”

“Well shit, when you put it as elegantly as that, I’ve got no choice but to accept.” Cole glanced at the sword admiringly one last time before closing the lid. Right away, I knew that I’d made the right choice. Cole would take good care of it.

Just then, I spotted Paige hurrying through the small crowd towards me, her jacket draped over her arm instead of piled away in a guest room. Uh-oh. That certainly didn’t look good. “Something wrong, Sweet Pea?” I asked when she got close.

“The hospital called me in,” Paige explained with a note of resignation. However, she managed to smile and nod at Cole. “Cole, it’s good to see you again. It’s been far too long. And this new apartment of yours, it’s lovely. You and Jessica did a wonderful job.”

“Jessica’s work, not mine,” Cole said with a soft chuckle. “But what’s this about the hospital, now? Didn’t you have the night off?”

“I did.” Paige sighed. “But, they need me to pull an extra shift. It’s the holidays and they’re understaffed and overloaded. And that bug going around certainly isn’t helping, either.”

“Well…fuck,” I muttered, my integral contribution to the conversation.

“Anyways, I’ll need to take the car to get to the hospital. Will you be alright taking a cab on the way back?” Paige asked me, obviously still concerned about my slight flu.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, I can always crash of Cole’s couch if I’m not feeling up to it.” To which Cole nodded in agreement. “See? Nothing to worry about.”

“Good,” Paige said. Her gaze trailed around the lively apartment as if saddened to have to leave so earlier—which she probably was. “Make sure to save me some of that gingerbread for when I get back home, okay?”

“I make no promises,” I joked as my belly rumbled.

“Merry Christmas, Cole. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer.”

Cole waved it off. “No need to apologize, it’s alright. Maybe we’ll plan something to do together on New Year’s Eve. I’m sure Jessica would be thrilled.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Come on,” I said. “I’ll escort you out to the car.”

“No, you should stay inside where it’s nice and toasty.” Paige shrugged into her jacket and tied her scarf snug against her slender throat. “Doctor’s orders, okay? I don’t want to see that flu of yours worsen on my account.”

“If you say so, Sweet Pea.”

Then she leaned in for a hug. “I do say so,” Paige whispered with playful authority into my ear, her breath hot against my skin. She leaned back and patted my cheek with a gloved hand. “Behave yourself while I’m gone, m’kay?”

“No promises,” I joked again, smirking.

After flashing another one of her tired smiles, she left. And suddenly the party’s cheery atmosphere lost some of its luster when the door shut behind her. Cole put a hand on my shoulder in sympathy. “Come on, man. Let me introduce you to some people. Maybe get a mug of that eggnog I know you love, too.”

With that, I let myself be led away.

The next hour passed in a blur as I forced myself to go through the motions of socializing, guilt needling my mind as I enjoyed the night while Paige was stuck working. So when I managed to finally get free of all the handshakes and stories, I made sure to snatch up the emperor of the gingerbread palace and wrapped him up in a napkin for Paige.

Then I greedily eyed the rest of—

Something struck me and I staggered into the table.

A roaring scream battered against my mind. It drowned out the music and the concerned voices around me as I fell to my knees, my hands pressed hard against my splitting skull. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! As the roar reached a crescendo, my body felt afire and I half expected steam to start billowing out from my pores.

With dim recognition, I saw Cole writhing on the ground across the room from me, his muscled frame being held down by a couple of struggling men to keep him from flailing about. Froth bubbled from his mouth and madness twisted his face. Then something beneath his skin rippled, as if trying to burst free.

What—

What the fuck!?

Then my stomach began to churn and demanded my full attention. It felt like something was trying to claw its way up my throat. Shoving aside outstretched hands and all the horrified gawkers that got in my way, I lurched towards the small bathroom at the other end of the apartment.

The door slammed shut with a heavy bang and I locked it. My vision began to dim and I could hear the blood pounding in my head as my consciousness began to slip away. Using the last reserves of my strength, I collapsed and slumped against the toilet, my head positioned over it in case I puked my guts out. Thank fucking god, I made it in time…

But just as I slipped into the darkness, I thought I could hear—

—Screams?