Chapter 11

Dead End, Kid

Ty took turns at complete random, each time praying that something evil wasn't lurking around the next corner. So far, the worst he came across was a black cat—stuffed, of course—that startled him so badly he landed on the cat's tail, freaked it out just as much, and was chased by it for minutes on end. Whether it chased him out of anger or it just happened to flee in the same direction, Ty didn't stop to find out.

He lost it eventually, around the same time that he realized he was truly lost himself. He no longer knew which direction he came from, or if the next alley he chose would throw him right back to where he started. His pursuers' footfalls were once again his only companions and source of direction.

Ty would have rather been alone.

#

They were gaining. Not only could the tall sock monkey hear the human's breathing, but his heartbeat as well. Each thump brought a new wave of blood rushing through the veins of its body. Live prey... delicious. Or was it? It didn't know, it had never eaten anything other than San's imitation food. What would the texture be like? The smell? The taste? Would it like it better than its favorite food, the almighty, taste-bud pleasing quiche? It was just about to ask its smallish friend for its opinion when a shadow dove from a nearby roof, and landed directly in their path.

The sock monkeys stopped, raising their spears up so the tips were trained on what little they could see. A vague outline shimmered in the darkness, unwavering at the sight of the two creatures and their weapons.

“W-who are you?” Asked the taller sock monkey. Then, thinking better of it, “What are you?”

The smaller monkey made no attempt at communication, it just hissed and hopped from foot to foot faster than usual. Scared, agitated, or just plain hyper, it was impossible to tell.

The enclosed alley was filled with... a sort of thickness. Foreboding leaked from the shadow, reaching out toward the creatures.

“Sh-shoo!” The tall monkey said with little confidence and a flick of his spear. “Get. Go...”

The mass moved, the head area looking up and revealing a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Just for a tick. Then they were gone, a hazy glow all that remained.

The tall one began to panic. Where did it go? Where was it? Did it want to hurt them? What should he do? Should—

It never decided on a course of action, as a swift blow to its neck knocked it unconscious immediately. It fell like a log.

The small sock monkey swung its spear around, aimed at where its friend previously stood. There was nothing there. The creature hunched down even closer to the ground and backed away, keeping its spear trained on the area around its fallen friend. It no longer cackled, hissed, or hopped. It was silent, steady, each step firm. This was a serious situation, and it had its undivided attention. Any sign of movement and its spear would be there in a flash, impaling its enemy. It hoped there would be a lot of red. That was its favorite color.

Meanwhile, however, its foe continued to act, completely undetected. The shadow dove, appearing beneath the monkey's weapon and shooting upward, cutting the spear clean in half. The worthless pieces clattered to the ground as the unknown assailant touched down onto a rooftop. It turned to watch from its perch as the creature snatched up its friend's spear and promptly ran for its life without a single glance back. It jabbed the air at random, praying it could hit the enemy with such futile efforts.

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Unbeknownst to any who might be looking, a smile played across the shadow's darkened features.

#

Ty was running on empty—he found it impossible to draw air into his lungs. His adrenaline ran low, and in turn, he felt the pain that fear had blocked out. Oh, the fear was still there—that was the only thing still running at full speed—but it wasn't enough to keep him moving anymore.

He would have to fight. They were armed, while he had nothing. He was made of flesh and bone, they were mere stuffing and socks. Those seemed like good and even odds, right? Ty didn't feel too confident as he skidded to a stop and faced the sound of the approaching footsteps.

Wait... no. Now that he was still, he realized that there were no longer two sets of steps, but one. And, by the sound of it, they were not the cool and sure steps of a pursuer, but the frantic dash of the pursued.

How could that be? Maybe they ran into that cat? But then... why was there only one creature now? They could have been separated... or maybe that cat was a real demon and ate the other one.

Somehow he doubted this had anything to do with a cat, demon or otherwise. No. He expected something much worse.

As the footsteps came closer, he could see movement in the darkness of the alley. He raised his fists and stood his ground.

#

All Ty saw of the sock monkey was a blur of limbs and a googly eye spinning around so fast the pupil was hardly visible. Then it was gone, blazing past him and blowing the boy's hair and clothes around from the sheer speed.

Ty jumped back to attention, raising his fists higher as he faced the direction the monkey came from. Any second now he would be facing a cat demon or whatever could be worse.

A minute passed without head or tail of... anything.

Ty spun back around toward the retreating plush creature. He decided to follow it, curiosity giving Ty a much needed burst of energy. The chase didn't last for very long; Ty rounded a corner and there was a dead end, along with the sock monkey jabbing its spear against the wall in frustration or, perhaps, it was trying to break through. Next, it tried climbing. It used claws, spear tip, and tail to no avail—there was simply nowhere for it to get a grip.

It spun around, defeated, and headed back. It stopped dead when it saw Ty standing in its path. Before, when it ran by, it acted as if it didn't see Ty at all. But now... it seemed to fear the boy.

That wasn't right. He got a very bad feeling that something was behind him.

The sock monkey leaped into action before Ty could do anything. It dashed, bounded, and bounced in a mad run toward Ty, googly eye spinning and spear jabbing every which way.

Ty knew he should run, but he remained rooted to the spot. Partially from fear of this insanity coming toward him, and partially because he still had that sensation of something behind him, something that was most likely more dangerous than this crazy creature.

Without planning what he was going to do afterward, he took a single step back. There was a rush of air, and Ty looked to his right just in time to catch a glimpse of two bright orbs staring back at him out of what he could only describe as living darkness. Then the two sources of light were swallowed by the dark and kept moving, flying past Ty and heading for the plush creature.

The being dashed from side to side, even running along the sides of the buildings, steadily gathering more and more speed. To the sock monkey's credit, it didn't back down. It kept up its charge, stabbing and hissing. It didn't stand a chance.

The shadow left the ground, clearing the rest of the distance to its target and spiraling around the spear as the monkey made its last desperate jab. The spear tip only found air as the attacker continued up the weapon and vaulted over the creature's head. It landed, there was an audible thunk, and the sock monkey toppled over onto the cement. The spear fell from its grip, clattering and bouncing its way over to Ty's feet.

Ty picked it up. Being well armed seemed like something that should be high up on his list of priorities right about now. Ty held it in both hands and pointed it at the shadow. A spear tip stood between himself and the thing, but now that he thought about it, it didn't do much good for the sock monkey. Either of them, apparently.

Pieces of the darkness moved, the “eyes” revealing themselves to him once again. Ty's grip on the spear tightened, so tight it wouldn't have surprised him to hear it creak and snap in his hands.

The shadow showed no signs of further attack; it just held its position in the alley, the lights staring at him from within.

And then something unexpected happened. It spoke.

“Hello, Ty. I must say, that was one of the worst escapes I have ever seen. You're going to have to work on that.”

Part of the shadow was pulled away, like a hood, revealing a very familiar wooden face.