Los Angeles. California. 

The day was already getting dark when Katie drove back to her home in Los Angeles. Despite her constant complaints about being financially broke from having to replace all her clothes, Katie was actually insanely rich. The piggy bank she got from Arnold alone could last her for a while, and even if she ran out of money...nothing a few trips to shady bars couldn’t solve. 

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach the man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Katie snickered at the quote. Fish? Fishing? Why bother with those when she could go to the fishers, steal their fish, and leave while promising to be back in the future whenever she was hungry again? 

She was never a law-abiding citizen, especially since the people she stole from had it coming. Plus, she only occasionally left her victims dead! Occasionally!

To make a long story short, Katie had enough money to purchase a house in the richest and safest place in the city. She could live in the most comfortable neighborhood, with armed guards on standby 24/7. This was all nice and good, but Katie didn't do any of that. Instead, she found her new home in a certain apartment complex in one of the poorer and less policed neighborhoods of the city.

The Sunny Apartment Complex. Katie’s eyes glanced across a wooden plank on the side as she pulled her car into the neighborhood. Several people were wandering across the parking spots and the sidewalk. Katie saw a few groups of teenagers who had nothing better to do with their time. They saw her as well, as shown by how they glanced across her SUV curiously. Not everyone in this complex had a car, and Katie’s SUV was definitely one of the better ones. 

Katie quickly parked her car in a parking lot. As she opened the door and got off, she could see a group of three boys lurking not far away, all of whom quickly turning away as she looked over. Their attempt to act normal only made them more suspicious. This brought a toyful smile onto Katie’s face, who walked straight up to the boys. 

“Hey!” She called out to them. 

At first, the boys pretended like they didn't hear her. She had to repeat it twice before they turned back to her. They were young. Well...they were still older than Katie, with the youngest of them being around 18 and the oldest at 20 or so. They looked big as well. The temperature was already getting cold, but they still wore short-sleeved t-shirts out in the open, revealing big biceps. 

“Uh...yes? Are you talking to us?” One of them replied hesitantly. Shouldn’t most girls being observed like this scurry away with her pepper spray ready? What are you coming over and talking to us for? 

“Yep.” Kaite’s smile was large and wide. Almost haunting, in fact. “I saw how you’re staring at my car. I would advise against stealing or looting it...I mean, there are not that many valuables inside, and I really need the car itself. I may be a tad mad if it disappears one morning.” 

“What? We weren’t gonna…” The lead boy said defensively, but Katie didn't pay any attention to that. 

She slowly reached into her pocket...and pulled out two black handguns! The boys flinched at the sight of the weapon, with the quickest one already five steps away in mere seconds. Chill out lady! No need to resort to violence this quickly! But Katie didn't shoot them. Instead, she flipped the weapons in her hand, holding them by the barrels and showing the boys the handles. 

“However...here are two Walther PK380 handguns, and now they’re yours.” 

The first boy coughed. That was...unexpected. “Is this some sort of joke? Are we filmed? Is this a reality tv show or something?”

“I hope not...unless we’re in a Truman Show scenario, in which case I bet I’m a fan favorite…” Katie tilted her head thoughtfully before stuffing the two weapons into the first boy’s hands. “Either way, consider them a gift to you. Do whatever you want with them. Shoot people...shoot yourself, maybe? It’s actually really fun and you should try it out sometime. Or maybe you can sell them? I really don’t care.”

The three boys stared blankly at each other, completely unsure of what to do. Maybe this girl was a cop and this was some sort of bait? But why would anyone go through this much effort with them? They weren’t the sons of crime bosses or mafias. They were just three occasional thieves. No one would spend this much attention on bringing them down. 

Katie didn't wait for them to answer. They could chuck the weapons in the dumpster if they wanted. So why did she give them the weapons? Because...because she wanted to! What other reason did she need? 

The girl sauntered her way toward the main apartment building. She whistled casually as she walked. There was not a care in the world in her eyes. Just as she was about to enter the building, she suddenly saw a young woman walking out of the glass door with a black garbage bag in her hand. Her head was lowered, which meant she didn't see Katie at first.

“Hey, Chloe!” Katie called out as another intrigued smile climbed onto her face. Then again, it could be argued that the smile never left. 

“Oh, Katie!” Chloe replied, finally looking up and noticing her fellow resident in the apartment complex. “Back from work?”

“Yeah...you can say that. Taking out the trash?”

“Yep.” 

“Here, I’ll come with you!” The brunette offered politely as she turned back and started walking side by side with Chloe the way she first came. 

“Hmmm...that’s unnecessary…”

“Nope. I insist!” 

After the initial objection failed, Chloe went silent. She has never been a dominant person. A twenty-year-old woman who mainly relied on part-time jobs in the local grocery stores to support herself financially, Chloe swore Katie was being oddly friendly to her the moment she met her a few days ago when Katie first moved in. Well...Katie was strangely friendly to everyone in the apartment, but she was especially nice to her. The brunette would literally find every chance she had to stay with her. 

If this was a guy, then Chloe might think he liked her? But a girl? Well...Katie might be into girls...Chloe really didn't know what she should think. 

As the two made their way to the dumpster, Katie’s eyes glanced down on the black garbage bag. “So...what you’ve got inside?”

Chloe glanced at her quietly. What sort of question is that? “Just some garbage...I mean, it is a garbage bag!” She did her best to come up with a joke and relieve the invisible tension she could sense between the two women. 

“Well…” Katie shrugged at the answer. “Garbage bags can be used to hold a lot of things. Garbage. Leftovers. They’re actually surprisingly good at holding dead bodies. I mean...you have to pick the bodies apart first so they get small enough, because if you don’t, pieces of the body may pop out into the open and make things really awkward...”

“Katie!” Chloe raised her voice in objection. What is wrong with you? How did you jump from garbage bags to body disposal? “That is awful!” 

“Awful? Maybe…” Katie’s nose twitched slightly as her eyes glanced at the garbage bag again. “Anyway, did you know it’s not safe to be out in this part of the city late at night?”

Chloe did her best to hide her frustrations. What am I? 12? I’m a lot older than you are! “Yes...I’ve got mace in my bag.”

“I like that, but I’m afraid there are things out there that even mace can’t protect you against.” Katie pushed forward, and she watched as Chloe’s cheeks turned pale. “I’m talking about the monsters in the shadows. The phantoms. The wraiths. The things out there that will snatch you up and eat you whole.” 

She suddenly grabbed onto Chloe’s shoulder. 

“Boo!” 

Chloe jumped at the scare. As she shuddered, the garbage bag she was holding onto slipped out of her fingers and landed on the ground. Katie quickly knelt down and picked the bag up. 

“Katie! Stop that! It’s not funny!” Chloe called out in utter annoyance. She has had a long day, and she didn't have the patience to deal with the lice relentlessly clinging onto her skin that was Katie.

Interestingly, she chastised Katie first before taking the garbage bag from Katie, and even then, as she walked up to the dumpster and tossed the bag inside, she didn't pay any attention to the content inside the bag. 

So she doesn’t know...which makes it very interesting. Katie tilted her head as she looked down at the blood on her fingers. Blood that came from the garbage bag. With her more than plentiful amount of experience, she could tell for sure this was human blood. 

A mule who had no idea what she’s carrying...but that’s impossible, given that... The girl thought to herself as she watched Chloe make her way back into the apartment building, alone. As soon as she was out of sight, Katie walked up to the dumpster and fished out the garbage bag. She reached inside before pulling something out. Something completely normal and expected.

A human hand. Yep...nothing wrong with that! Honestly, why would anyone be scared of human hands when everyone has them? Yeah, this hand was not attached to the rest of the body, but...so what? No one would scream when they see hair on the ground! 

“Ok…” Katie whispered to herself as she casually examined the hand. It looked like it belonged to a man, but that was all Katie could see. Not bothering with any more investigating, she tossed the hand back into the bag and the bag back into the dumpster. 

The surroundings were almost completely dark by now, and as fun as it has been, Katie was willing to call it a day. She was about to make her way back to her apartment room when she heard something. She heard...someone. 

It was a low growl. It was the noise made by a beast, a beast that could leap out from the shadows any second and tear Katie to pieces. 

“Uh…” Katie paused. She was unsure of what to do, so she jumped to the most logical response. “Grrrr? I really don’t know how to growl loudly, so...I’m sorry?” 

The growling continued. They were getting louder and louder as if they were insulted by Katie’s sarcasm. They wanted to intimidate her. To terrify her. To scare her off this complex and make sure she would never return. 

“Oh come on!” At the three minute mark, Katie finally got tired. Growl all you want...but can you get some action on? “Either come out here and take a bite at me, or get lost! I want to take a bath soon!”

That was when the animalistic growls disappeared, and Katie was left alone right next to the dumpster. The brunette shook her head in disappointment, but she made no attempt to charge into the shadows and drag the monsters out and stab them to death. She had a brief idea of what was going on, and what was happening in this apartment complex was too interesting to be settled with brute force. No...she needed to take her sweet, sweet time!

All she did was retreat into the apartment complex. 

---

Katie’s suite was on the fourth floor, right beside an old elevator and a set of walls so old the wallpapers were peeling away. This suite wasn’t the biggest residence Katie has been in, but it was definitely cleaner than most of the other suites on the floor. Of course, part of it was because Katie just moved in. It had a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. For Katie, that was all she needed. 

As soon as Katie got into the suite, she shut the door without even bothering to lock it. If anyone tried to sneak in while she was home...she would gladly welcome them with open arms, along with a sharpened Knife. Also, she wondered if the walls were soundproof...

Without any concern for her own safety, Katie quickly stripped down all her clothes and stepped into the bathroom. As water was filling up the bathtub, she picked up her Knife and started carving through her left forearm. 

That was when a knock came from the door. 

Katie raised her eyebrows as she pulled the Knife out of herself. Wiping the blood on the untouched areas of the same arm, she grabbed onto a towel and made her way to the door. But as she opened the door, no one was outside. 

The only thing outside was a footprint. A bloody footprint on the ground, mere steps away from Katie’s room. 

Katie’s response was priceless. 

“Well, come on in! And...feel free to do whatever you’re here to do. I’ll be out as soon as I finish my bath.”

A small smirk appeared on Katie’s face as she gestured at her room before shutting the door several seconds later. She made her way back to the bathroom and tried out the water temperature. Hmmm...ouch. I’ve got a burn on my fingertip, which means...the water is just the right temperature!

The girl dropped the towel on the ground and popped into the hot bath. A quiet moan quickly left her mouth as she enjoyed herself. As her skin was constantly minorly burned and healed, her thoughts went back to the day she just had. From purging that bar to coming back to the apartment to the mysterious guest in her room...in conclusion, it was quite a productive day!

That was when, once again, some knocking at the door captured her attention, breaking her out of the relaxing mood. This time, Katie found herself a little annoyed. She leaped out of the shower, dried and covered herself with the towel on the ground, and charged to the door. 

This time, there were two bloody footprints outside. The second one was one step closer to Katie’s room than the first. Both were engraved into the floor equally deep.

“Goddamn it!” Katie swore, tossing her arms up in frustration. She had a great mood, and now it was ruined! “I’ve already opened the door for you! And I invited you inside! What else do you want from me?”

Nothing answered. There were many rooms down the hall, but not a single resident came out to check out what happened. Frustrated, Katie stood there at the door for a while. Finally, she watched as a third bloody footprint formed out of thin air, another step closer to her room than before. 

This was a haunting sight that would be a good opening scene for most horror movies. Most people in her situation would be screaming in fear at the supernatural occurrence. Katie? She wasn’t terrified. Not at all. If anything, she was frustrated.

“Oh lord…please walk faster! I get that you’re trying to be slow and scary, but there are just times where it’s nothing but annoying! Ok! I get it! You’ve got a nice pair of feet! How about we get this phase over with and start with the real deal?”

She waited for a few more seconds, and still, nothing happened. Finally, Katie got bored. “Fine! You take your time!” She said as she retreated into the house with the door wide open. You wanna waste your time here taking baby steps? Fine! But I’ve got a bath to take!

Ten minutes later, Katie walked out of the bathroom fully dressed. When her eyes landed at the door and saw the bloody footprints extending all the way into her suite, she finally let out a satisfied smile. 

“That’s what I’m talking about! Now...something tells me tonight is gonna be so much fun!”