Prologue

The chilling breeze that rustled the branches above told Cody it was going to be another cold night.

With hands in his coat pockets, Cody scuffled down the sidewalk, muttering to himself. "Idiots. All of you. God judges you. His judgment's coming, and you'll all pay. Idiots. You're all goin' to Hell..."

He took special care not to brush against or even make eye contact with the people he passed, for he knew that if he scared any of the young ladies out and about at dark he'd likely get pepper-sprayed. And many young men relished the opportunity to bully the homeless.

Cody rounded a corner into an alleyway and produced from his pocket every cent he'd received that day. Upon counting out the nickels, dimes, quarters, and the occasional dollar bill, he found he had a total of $15.

He cursed under his breath. $15 wasn't enough for a hotel room for the night, and he'd long since been kicked out of the shelter.

"Wasn't my fault," he muttered.

A man passing the alley turned to look at him. Cody kept his head tilted down and forward, but his yellow eyes rolled in their sockets to glare at the stranger.

"Think you're better than me?" Cody muttered.

Whether the stranger heard him or not, he quickly averted his eyes and walked faster.

"...Idiot... You're all fired... fired..."

A chill crept up Cody's left shoulder, though there'd been no breeze to explain it.

Footsteps approaching.

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Cody snapped his head to the left to see who it was.

It was a man dressed in a janitor's blue jumpsuit. He had scraggly, blond hair, dark eyes, and five-o'clock shadow from just under his eyes down to his throat.

Cody mumbled profanities under his breath and pulled on his oily beard. "What do you want, hmm?" He reached into his coat pocket and wrapped his fingers around a box-cutter he'd picked up a long time ago. He pushed up on the switch, and the razor blade extended. If this stranger meant him ill, Cody would be sure he'd bleed for it.

And yet, those faint voices Cody always tried to ignore whispered in his ear, telling him to run. His hands shook, and he could feel his pulse beating in his own temples.

The stranger drew closer, his eyes set on Cody's. The homeless man couldn't be certain, but he could swear this man hadn't blinked at all since he'd arrived. Cody considered running, but being on his feet all day, only occasionally taking a seat on park or bus stop benches, his legs were too sore and too tired. Besides, sometimes even a man with nothing to lose needed to stand his ground.

Cody widened his stance and readied himself for a fight. As far as he could tell, the man in the janitor's uniform wasn't armed with anything.

The hairs on the back of Cody's neck stood on end, and the only sounds in his ears were his own heavy breath, the stranger's footsteps, and a dog barking in the distance.

The stranger's lips pulled back in a grin, and Cody's blood froze at the sight. His teeth were like those of an angler fish; long and pointed.

Cody's call for help came out as a raspy choking sound. He turned to run, but immediately crashed into something dark and solid.

Hands reached out and grabbed both his arms, the grip so tight he could feel his veins beating against the fingers, demanding release.

Cody looked up into the face of his captor. Another stranger with pointed teeth. "No, please don't!"

The stranger's maw opened wide, and he sank his fangs into Cody's throat.

At first there was no pain. Until the stranger clamped his jaw tighter and pulled away, taking flesh and cartilage with him in a crimson stream.

Then Cody felt teeth tearing into his shoulder. The fangs hit the bone, and the jaws ripped away the flesh like a tender pot-roast.

The last thing Cody heard before the world around him went black was the strangers' lips smacking and tongues slurping.

There are those whose teeth are swords,

whose fangs are knives,

to devour the poor from off the earth,

the needy from among mankind.

-Proverbs 30:14