“What do you mean?” Danny raised his eyebrow while staring at the monster.
“Something is bound to happen very soon, something that you will definitely not survive, no matter how much you struggle and resist.” The mantis answered before disappearing in the darkness.
“What are you talking about?” He questioned while frowning and trying to keep at bay the fear that the creature’s ominous words brought with them.
“Now, now, Danny, that’s not how it works. If you want something in life, you have to give some other thing in return.” A hedgehog countered as it stood there smiling at Danny.
“What I am offering you is a deal. One that will allow you to keep living for a while longer at the very least, and will give you a very, very, veeeery small chance of survival in the long term.” The very amused-looking hedgehog proposed.
“At the same time, this deal will ensure I get to feel that wonderful taste for a little bit longer at the very least.” The creature in passing, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world, like asking for couple more apples in the grocery store before paying the bill.
As Danny realized he would not get anything more from the creature, he narrowed his eyes while thinking before he cautiously asked, “And what would this deal entail?”
“Very simple my dear Danny. You must give me a set amount of your blood every fortnight at minimum, and in return, I will give you some very needed answers to your questions.”
“So long as I know the answer, and limited to the value of what you provide me with, of course.” Completed the creature in a dismissing tone, suggesting that there was not much it did not know, but added the warning in passing anyway, like he was a seller fulfilling some kind of legal obligation.
Danny silently stared the dark form in the ground for a while, trying to examine it. He could not help but be amused at thinking the creature as one of those street vendors, always screaming about the wonders of their products or services, like it would be a grave sin to pass on the once in a lifetime opportunity presented before their crowds. He smiled at the idea, though he quickly stifled his distracting thoughts. He still felt terrified of the monster and had no intention of letting his guard down, especially knowing that it was entirely capable of tearing him apart.
Returning to the heart of the matter, no matter how much he knew about the possibility of it all being a scheme, and that the creature could be very much lying through its teeth, something deep inside him told him that the monster was probably telling the truth.
Through his life, Danny learned to trust his instincts. Much like today, they steered him in the right way, warning him of danger and helping him discern truths from falsehoods. Therefore, he placed a lot of value on this intuition, and he knew he had to go with his gut, even with all the terrible implications that followed. That something incredibly dangerous was coming.
In any case, he could not think of a reason for the creature to lie to him. Ultimately, he knew he was powerless before it, and he felt that the monster had no need to trick him if it could simply take whatever it wanted from him.
“Even if I were to believe you are telling the truth, how would I know that you will hold your end of the bargain?”
“What would be the point of me lying, Danny?” The turtle the creature had transformed into countered lazily.
“I have no need to trick you into anything, besides, I always tell the truth. Especially when making deals. My word is my bond, as is true with most of my kind.”
“There are others like you?” He asked in a concerned manner.
The idea of being chased by more than one of those things was harrowing. He could barely deal with just this one, much less more. Actually, if he was being brutally honest with himself, even this single one was already more than he could deal with. It was almost a pointless struggle… almost.
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The creature merely stood there, as its impossible big smile became a little bigger, stretching the limits of its bizarre turtle face, indicating that if he wanted an answer to his question, he would have to take the deal.
Faced with the uncooperative silence, Danny stopped to consider his options.
This situation took him completely by surprise. He still could not fathom if this change was for better or worse, but most likely it was for worse. Danny did not know if he would rather have a piece of him ripped apart like usual, than to face the perspective that something possibly even worse than the creature was coming his way.
He looked straight into the eyes of the creature as he reached a decision on how to proceed for now.
“I need some time to think about it.” He said with the determination to fight to his last breath in the off chance the creature did not agree with at least this much wiggle room.
He figured that if the creature really wanted to strike a bargain with him, and what it said about its intentions were indeed true, the monster would try to accommodate him as much as possible in order to reassure him and encourage him to take the offer. He was willing to bet on it.
“Very well, you have until tomorrow to come to a decision. Don’t disappoint me Danny-boy…” The creature answered immediately, as if it was expecting this exact request, before disappearing for the last time that day.
Danny felt like the veil of darkness that descended in the room for a while now slowly started to dissipate as soon as the monster went away. He sighed and fell down on his mattress, suddenly aware of the cramps in his legs and the sweat accumulated on his back.
That night was destined to be restless and filled with worry.
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Suddenly, Danny saw himself in a new day, having not slept a wink, and with an important decision to make.
He forced himself out of the bed and went through his routine mostly by the power of habit. When he finally got out of his stupor, he found himself in the back of the bus he usually took to college while still holding his tape player.
He looked down to his hands and gently stroked the scratched surface of the music device, tracing his fingers around every little bump in the frame, through every small imperfection that hinted its long history of usage.
“What would you say if you knew, mother?” He asked rhetorically in a low and melancholic voice.
He and his mother searched for so long for a way to rid him from this curse, to grant him a chance at a decent, normal life…
For the first time since he had arrived in Lakeview, Danny did not place back his treasured Walkman in the nightstand by his bed after waking up. It was his single most valued possession. This tape player used to belong to his mother, Laura, before she passed away from cancer.
Soon after he began to be chased by that monster, his father took off and left them without ever coming back. All he left was a single note saying ‘sorry’ and a bank account with enough money to keep both of them living comfortably for a long time. However, his mother’s untimely demise allowed Danny stretch the savings even further and live by himself to this day with cash to spare. Though if given the choice, he would have given every cent to get her back…
Regarding his father, Danny did not begrudge him actually. Sure, he felt disappointed and fearful as a kid who got abandoned, but as he grew up, he understood his father was only human. He certainly did not sign up for taking care of a boy being chased by a monster. His father had fears as well, and probably was not ready to put his life down for him.
He would probably feel bitter if he did not have his mother though. She was everything to him. Laura was not only beautiful, but also wise and selfless. She saw the world for what it was but never lost hope in the face of challenge, always telling him that suffering was part of life and that, without it, the good moments would not have any meaning.
She was the person he respected the most in his life and he still lived by her teachings. To be honest, Danny would probably have given up already during the worst of it if not for promising her in her deathbed that he would do everything to find happiness and fulfillment in life.
He was still searching for his path, but now that the creature suddenly came out of the blue, he didn’t know what to think. All his plans had been suddenly thrown out of the window.
Danny sat in his usual chair while waiting for class to start while lost in his thoughts and unaware of how he got to the room. During the whole morning part of the lessons, he kept reminiscing past events in his life and trying to figure out where to go from here.
Frankly, he only chose to be a doctor as way of learning more about himself and his unique situation. He hoped that by learning more about the human body, he could find out the reason why the monster had been haunting him his whole life, and maybe, just maybe, find a way to get rid of it.
Now, however, his plans were in complete disarray. Learning that it was possible to talk with the creature and that something potentially disastrous was coming… he didn’t know what to think anymore.