Nadia

At first, I barely noticed it falling on my face. My hand instinctively brushed it away like a bug. After the third time, I registered the wetness. Opening my eyes, I pushed my hair back and sat up. Aidan was gone. When another drop hit my head, I thought the A/C vent above might be leaking.

I looked up and screamed. Aidan was hovering barely an inch from the ceiling. Moving off the bed, I noticed his head was tilted with his mouth wide open. The boy had been drooling on me. My face twisted in disgust as I vigorously wiped my cheek, regardless of it already being dry. “Aidan!”

He continued to hover, undisturbed. “Ugh, that boy could sleep through a tornado.” After walking to the bathroom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. My hair was still a mess and I didn’t have the energy to do anything about it. Lord knows I had no reason to look cute yet.

I headed to the kitchen and got the coffee pot going. At least I could always rely on caffeine to stay normal. My hand was reaching for my favorite mug in the cabinet above the sink when I heard it. Something skittered in the hallway. “Aidan? You awake?”

I moved closer to the opening when something ran past in a blur. I yelped and grabbed my chest. “Jesus. Give me strength. I’ve seen this horror movie before.” Reaching for a knife on the block, I charged my other hand, feeling the crackle between my fingers. “Alright, now! I ain’t tryin’ to play. So, I will give you one chance to leave right now or I’m gonna fry ya ass!”

Keeping the knife raised, I carefully stepped into the hallway, scanning the area. Another skitter came, this time from the living room. I extended my electrified hand forward as I approached the front of the house. Stepping onto the tiled floor, I could almost see around the dividing wall. Once in the center of the foyer, I faced into the living room but it wasn’t there. A bang came from behind me in the dining room. I screamed and quickly turned before seeing a dark mass zipping from one end to the other. It was hard to discern because of how fast it was moving. While I strategized, the thing lunged at me. A bolt of electricity flew from my hand before I hit the floor and the figure zoomed past me into the living room.

My eyes widened when I saw my attack had landed on the bureau where Noelle’s wedding album had been. A scorch mark was all that was left. “Aw, hell naw.” Turning to the living room, I stood and raised the knife above my head. “Get out here you son of a bi--.” From behind the couch, it leapt towards me.

Aidan

I awoke with a bang as my head slammed into something. "Gah! What the—." My eyes opened an inch away from the ceiling. “Oh, uh.” With the hand that wasn’t holding my head, I felt underneath me. Nothing but air. I rubbed my temples as my head throbbed, partly from hitting it, but mostly from my hangover.

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I tried pushing away from the ceiling but only dropped a few feet before floating back up. “This is ridiculous. Nadia!” A minute passed and no response. “Nadia? I need your help!” Five minutes later, I dropped my head back. “You have got to be kidding me. She better not have gone somewhere and left me like this.”

Using my hands and feet, I crawled across the ceiling towards the door. Once past the opening, I floated to the top of the hallway. If I could get to the living room, I might be able to use Leo’s free weights to anchor myself. Maneuvering around the light fixtures, I could almost see down into the foyer. Another foot and I had a clear view.

My eyes and mouth widened. At the bottom of the stairs, Nadia was lying on the tiled floor while a grotesque grey goblin-looking creature sat on top of her. It held Nadia’s mouth open as its unnaturally long tongue approached the opening.

“Nadia! No!” Overwhelmed with rage, I dropped to the floor before jumping down the stairs. It wasn’t until I had the creature by its throat that I noticed my arms and hands had transformed. Staring into its opaque eyes, my claws tightened around its slime-covered throat. Unable to keep a grip on its slippery skin, the ugly thing squealed and squeezed out of my embrace. It ran for the door but I couldn’t let the bastard get away. I thrusted my hands forward and a barrage of worms flew towards it. The imps collided with the goblin, crashing through the front door onto the porch. The creature shrieked, thrashing and trying to pull my ravenous minions off as they ate away at it. After a few seconds, there was nothing left of it.

Once done, my imps faced me, waiting for their next command, when a bolt of electricity shot passed me and blew them up. Turning around, I saw Nadia standing, unharmed. Relief washed over me and my body reverted to normal. Then I noticed her expression.

Arms crossed; Nadia glared at me. “What did you do that for?”

I turned back to where the goblin and worms had landed. The only thing left was the front door flat on the porch. “Oh, sorry. Don’t worry. I’ll fix it before Noelle gets back.”

Nadia's face twisted in anger. “I don’t care about the door. Why did you kill that thing?”

My gaze scanned around me. “Wha--what else should I have done?”

She narrowed her eyes and stomped her foot. “Did you not hear me last night? I don’t need to be saved!”

My mouth fell open. “I’m sorry, but if I see something attacking you, my first instinct is always going to be to help. I mean, you were lying on the ground and it was about to stick its tongue in your mouth.”

Nadia let out a groan and ran her hands through her hair. “I was using myself as bait. It moved so damn fast, pretending to be unconscious was the only way I could get it to stop. I was, literally, about to electrocute it when you decided to swoop in for the big save.”

I raised my hands and furrowed my eyebrows. “How the hell was I supposed to know that? Did you want me to sit back and wait to see what happened?”

“You didn’t give me a chance to defend myself. Ugh! You of all people should know I am not a ‘damsel in distress.”

Breathing deeply, I relaxed my posture. “I know you’re not. I was just trying to help.”

With a sniffle, Nadia turned away and moved towards the kitchen. “Whatever.”

I lifted a hand towards her as she walked away. “Nadia, I’m sorry. What can I do? You want me to summon more imps for you to blow up?”