Chapter Fourteen

 

  The club was futuristic in its design. In every corner, humans and nonhumans drank under neon lights that dazzled onto their bodies. It made them glow, along with the bracelets they wore showing that they paid to be let in. Both women were stopped as they walked in and told to hold their arms out. Soon, the same bracelets were slapped on their wrists and began to glow in the dark.

 

  “Phones, ladies?” The woman who gave them their wristbands asked, holding out her hand.

 

  Momo sighed and forked over her phone, not wanting to fight over it. She hoped Sonya was telling the truth about them being able to get their phones back. A recording of her target giving her information was more valuable than her word. Plus, she hated the thought of someone looking through her phone without her knowing. Her phone was locked into a nearby safe along with Sonya’s which was quickly locked.

 

  The safe wasn’t a combination lock or pin so she was unable to figure out how to open it. They were ushered into the bar area soon after, someone else gaining the woman’s attention. Looking down at her wristband, she noted it was custom-made, bearing the language that was on her skin. This irritated her as while humans wouldn’t be capable of seeing it, the idea was still incredibly risky.

 

  Sonya turned towards her, determination on her face. “I’ll get our phones while you look for the guy.” The redhead nodded over to a guard who was eyeing her with lust in his eyes.

 

  Typical. “Got it,” Momo replied watching the older woman walk away and press her body onto the man with annoyance.

 

  She walked past humans who were drunk and dancing with one another. This caused her to bump into more than a few of them, the poor lighting above them not helping. Her nose was burning from all the scents she was taking in. There were members of her kind centuries-old partying and hooking up with newborns. It was a mess to try and seek out a singular person with everything presented to her all at once.

 

  Growling under her breath, she rubbed at her nose and looked around. There wasn’t much to do in the club with the space they had. A few stripper poles were mounted allowing people to play around with them drunkenly. Some had decided to throw cash at the patrons trying to pole dance, shouting at the top of their lungs. Besides that, a bar with tables had been set up with two bartenders serving drinks and chatting with those who weren’t already drunk off their asses.

 

  ‘I might as well get something to drink while I’m here.’ Momo walked over to the bar, pushing past anyone who got too close for comfort without care. Her outfit caught the eye of a few people, her skin showing to help draw the person she was looking for out.

 

  From what she managed to strangle out of the last nonhuman she chased after, this guy liked women around her age. He was a drunk who constantly partied and hooked up with girls in their late teens to early twenties. Momo had to tweak herself a bit to fit his direct fetish, a woman with no problem showing some skin and being aggressive. He’d want to be manhandled and would try to trigger a violent reaction from her once they met.

 

  As far as a physical description, she was given the bare minimum. He was in his late forties with balding hair and a dad body. Was most likely going to tower over her, especially if she had forgone wearing heels. She was disgusted to learn some of his teeth were rotting, so if it came down to it she’d bite his lip if he tried to get a kiss. She made sure to look around the bar as she took one of the last empty seats, the stool feeling like wood beneath her as she sat down.

 

  Almost instantly she was blown away by how bad it smelled. She could tell some of the nonhumans sitting near her weren’t eating. When her kind forgoes meals, their smell became bitter and left a sour taste in her mouth. It stuck to the back of her tongue as she suppressed a grimace, keeping her act together to avoid suspicion. She wiped at her nose with the back of her hand before a bartender came over to her, smelling healthier than the others.

 

  “I’ve never seen you here before,” The bartender asked, giving the man next to her a drink that looked like a heart attack in the making. “Are you friends with Sonya?”

 

  Momo nodded, making sure to ignore the men looking at her ass. It made her uncomfortable but the urge to punch them balanced that discomfort out. “Yeah, she recommended this place to me. I haven’t gone out since my graduation.”

 

   “You’re a college graduate?” There was disbelief in his words.

 

   “High School.” A head turned, a man with a dirty bird and bloodshot eyes.

 

  The bartender raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything about her possibly being underage. She could feel the man still looking at her from afar and thought of what to do. Talking to him out in the open would be too risky, someone could interrupt. Or worse, they might hear something they shouldn’t which would cause her to become violent. The nineteen-year-old watched from the side of her eye as the man began to walk towards her.

 

  He fit the description she was given perfectly. It grossed her out how unkempt he was. His belly hung from beneath his shirt and his teeth were bright yellow. The nonhuman would enjoy roughing him up. She could see the hunger in his eyes, he was eyeing her like a piece of meat. Her nostrils burned as he stood near her, smelling like rotting meat.

 

  "Can I buy you a drink?" Momo felt revolted by the way his breath smelled.

 

  "No thank you, I'm just waiting for my friend." She answered dryly.

 

  The man huffed, looking annoyed. "You're friends with Sonya, right? That little whore?” He pushed closer, making her crawl as their bodies touched. He was slurring his words as he spoke.

 

  She growled and pushed him back, the man falling on his ass, drawing the attention of the other sitting near. "Fuck off."

 

  Quickly, she got up from her seat and started to walk away. As she left the man stalked behind her, cursing at her back. He stumbled after her, knocking on someone as he tried to keep up. It was clear that he wanted to touch her but she wasn't interested. Her heart was beating fast as she spotted a bathroom and shoved past a few dancers to go to it.

 

  The man had pissed her off by calling Sonya a whore. She wanted to knock his teeth out. But she had to wait. He kept following her even though she had started to enter the bathroom. Purposely she kept it unlocked, seeing that there was only one stall. It was incredibly small in size with the toilet being close to a sink with a suspicious-looking rusty faucet.

 

  She sniffed the air and groaned. ‘Here we go'

 

  What happened next was fast. The door slammed open, nearly hitting her as the man came in and locked it behind them. Momo glared at him, her annoyance rolling off of her body. She knew she was his type, but this was ridiculous. She decided to forgo playing along with him and simply get down to business. He was taller than her, but she was planning to hit what she could.

 

  He leaned forward, spitting on her face. It was hot and dirty, making her teeth come out full force in all its glory. This made the man jump back, his face showing his disbelief as he quickly sobered up and realized what he had done. A hand reached up and grabbed at his beard, yanking him downward with a cry of pain leaving his chapped lips. Bloodlust pumped through her veins as she struggled not to tear him into shreds.

 

  “You’re lucky I need you. Otherwise, I’d fucking eat you.” Momo hissed, tightening her grip to begin pulling some of his hair from his chin.

 

  The man began to sob as he watched his hair be ripped out. Drops of blood fell onto his shirt as more were pulled out. “Please let me go. I’m sorry, please don’t eat me.”

 

  Momo laughed in his face hearing his pleas. “I will kill you if you don't do what I say.”

 

  Desperately, the man sobbed harder, begging as she tore out a chunk of his hair, skin, and blood included. She dropped it to the floor before stepping on it. “I’ll do anything. Please stop. Please!”

 

  “Who is possessing all the humans in this town? Newborns are popping up every day and your little friend told me you know who. So, tell me what you know or I’ll rip your balls off.”

 

  "I don't know! I don't know!" The man screeched as she twisted his beard harder. "Okay, okay! I don't know who's doing it, they just ask me to help cover up the mess!"

 

  "And I'm supposed to believe you are working for someone you don't know?" She laughed at the despair filling his eyes.

 

  "It's the truth they pay me under the table. I didn't know that it was going to get this big, it was just a favor at first!" He sobbed, unable to continue as she let him drop to his knees, becoming a blubbering mess.

 

  If she wasn’t waiting for Sonya to show up with her phone, she’d have already killed the bastard. The redhead’s scent was strong so she had to be close. Staring at the crying man, she wondered if she should beat him up a bit more and see if he cracks. Just by twisting his arm for a couple of minutes, he had become terrified. She cracked her knuckles and snickered when he flinched.

 

  It was pathetic that he was able to work with people willing to body-snatch humans with no problem. But when someone confronted him about it, he acted like a little bitch. Maybe they didn’t give a damn about him, since he was so fragile. Wanting to test out her theory her expression became dark. She cleared her throat to gain his attention, smirking at him.

 

  “If I killed you would your boss give a damn?” She asked.

 

  “No no no don’t kill me!” He screamed right as her jaw unhinged itself, prepared to take a bite.

 

***

  “The search for the missing seventeen-year-old is still ongoing despite the trial has gone cold. Police have stated that the girl is most likely still alive without any life-threatening injuries, with a possible captor. We are asking anyone with any information on the murder of the Mitchell family and the disappearance of their youngest daughter to come forward.”

 

  Silently, Kaeo listened to the news report being broadcast on the television set above the two. She was losing her appetite, pushing away the dessert the older man had bought her with disinterest. The entire time they had been at the restaurant the news was on. Each broadcast was the same as the previous one. It was an endless loop reminding her of Lea, of her lifeless body in her arms.

 

  The town had taken to having a sick fascination with her disappearance. It led to them getting the most press they've had in years, with hundreds flocking to join the search parties. Lea's extended family had contacted private organizations for help too. This made everyone obsessed with the idea of saving her and bringing justice to her family's death.

 

  Kaeo felt like her head was going to explode with all of this happening around her. Everywhere she turned, their faces stared back at her. They were judging her for not seeing if they were still alive when she entered the house. They asked silently, in their still frozen forms if she had thought about them at all or if she just wanted Lea for herself.

 

  She sipped from the curly straw given to her by the waitress, stabbing into her diet soda without a care in the world. Some of the ice splashed around and caused the liquid to fall onto the table but she didn't pay attention to it. Instead, she looked over at the older man in front of her, eyes focused on his brooding figure that seemed to be lost from the depression on his face.

 

  Zachary had comforted her after her encounter with auntie. He told her that the woman wasn't mad and simply was upset that it happened this way. No one has ever expected Lea's change to happen so quickly and Kaeo had panicked leading to evidence being left behind. Evidence, he had called their dead bodies that. She knew he didn't care for humans but it still sickened her.

 

  Unlike herself, he had been human once. But he acted as if he never was and the bloodlust he showed when killing them frightened her. Everything about the man was frightening in his calmness and gentle behavior that contrasted with his predatory nature. Still, Kaeo remained silent as he was one of the few people on her side about Lea. She didn't want to anger him so she accepted his invitation to lunch that afternoon.

 

  The fifteen-year-old still maintained her refusal to eat any human meat. This led to her arms weakening, with a long sleeve sweater dress having to be her outfit to hide it. She was worried about how bad they had become but she couldn't eat. She found it impossible to bring herself to take a single bite knowing that they could be found out due to her stupidity.

 

  It had been drilled into her head by auntie that she should have disposed of the bodies. It made her sick to think that way, but her aunt was right. By leaving the bodies she left Lea more pain to deal with once she awoke. And the police weren't able to say the family ran away or left in a hurry because she hadn't done anything. She just ran away like a coward, knowing Lea would ask about her family's fate once she regained consciousness.

 

  The glass began to shake in her hand as she tried not to see their dead bodies in her mind. Zachary noticed her growing turmoil and put his hand on the glass, slowly helping her put it done. She looked away from his face, not being able to meet his eyes out of disgust in herself.

 

  “We can leave if this is hard for you.” His voice was gentle, careful not to say something that would set her off.

 

  “You didn’t get to eat your food.” It was hard to recognize her voice under the pounding in her ears.

 

  “Kaeo, you look like you’re about to throw up. The food doesn’t matter, I can ask them to get us a to-go box. You’ve been shaking for the past five minutes and you need to lie down.” He argued, leaning over to hold both her hands. He was right, she was shaking uncontrollably.

 

  A waitress started to come over, and some of the people sitting near them stared at the two. They stared behind their menus, while others ate their food awkwardly. She looked worried for the young girl and glanced at Zachary sourly. Kaeo flushed not realizing that her freak-out was so noticeable and buried her face in her hands.

 

  "Is everything alright, sweetheart?" The waitress talked in a calm tone, careful not to come too close to the panicking child as Zachary tried to diffuse the situation.

 

  "She's been frightened by the recent disappearances in town. We thought getting her out of the house would help but the news was on and well…" Hearing this the waitress nodded with a sad expression.

 

  "My younger brother went to school with the missing girl. Everyone's lending a hand to help find her and the other people that were taken. Everything will be alright, I'm sure that she'll be found safe." Kaeo was unable to speak, staring at Zachary frozen as he engaged with the woman so boldly.

 

  “They started another search party already?” His voice sickened her.

 

  “There are too many people who want to join not to. I have never seen anything like this happen before, it’s like the entire state’s come down to help. I can give you the phone number of the family members of the girl who is leaving the search tonight. It might make her feel better if she could pitch in.”

 

  She wanted him to tell the woman to leave. Hearing more about the way everyone was mourning the family’s death sickened her. And more people had gone missing? The idea of hundreds of other bodies, mangled and torn into unrecognizable chunks at her feet. Were they even alive still? She hadn’t heard that news yet, but now that she had it was too much to handle.

 

  Teary-eyed, the fifteen-year-old stood up from the table with her glass being knocked over onto her plate. The commotion drew everyone’s attention to the girl’s pale face, her emotions running wild as she struggled to breathe. It felt like the world was crashing down around her and she was trapped in its debris. Her lips moved as she gave silent apologies, the guilt hiding within the dark crevices of her mind coming forth.

 

  All of this was her fault. If she had checked and called the police when she found Lea’s family, then maybe they could have been saved. She didn’t know whether or not that was possible but she should have tried. If she had done something, anything else they would be alive. They didn’t even have the choice in a proper burial, there was nothing left. Staring at her hands, she imagined blood covering them as she walked through the house.

 

  Kaeo had just wanted a moment of peace. Her aunt had confronted her when she was with the maids ruining it. Zachary had tried to help but he forced her to sit and listen to them speak about what she had done. The entire town thought she was a monster and she knew deep down they were right. She was selfish. A waste of space who had made such a detrimental mistake that costs so many lives. When Lea woke up, she’d never forgiven. When she went home, her mother would hate her.

 

  There was nowhere for her to run. The blood was splattered all over her hands and she didn’t know what to do. And despite this, her body craved human flesh. She was so hungry even though she had committed an unspeakable crime. She had to eat someone or else she’d fall apart. But, it hurt too much to even think about. All that came from it was a wave of dread that overcame her. The urge to vomit overtook her senses as she began to hyperventilate.

 

  Everyone was staring at her, a slow but heavy panic setting in around her. A particular pair of eyes pierced through her soul almost as if they knew what she had done. They were alien but familiar enough that they terrified her. Her throat became dry as their gaze met her own as she imagined the accusations that would follow. The cat-like eyes were gone when she blinked, scaring her as a familiar voice came from behind.

 

  ‘It’s all your fault,’ Her mother’s voice echoed in her head mockingly. ‘If you had just stayed in your place, known of this would have happened. They’re dead because of you.’

 

  Kaeo cried when the older man’s eyes landed on her shaking form. Something was wrong but she was too worked up to notice it. ‘Everything will always be my fault, no matter where I go or what I do. It’s always going to be my fault.’

 

  Her body was taken into someone’s arms as Zachary hurried to leave the restaurant. He didn’t bother to pay, shouting at the waitress to stay back once she came too close. The fifteen-year-old felt like she was freezing in his arms, chills going throughout her body as she cried. It had been months since she had a freak-out this bad and it was worse than she remembered. Her body was fighting her, plunging its claws and fangs into her flesh and stripping it from her bones.

 

  “You need to eat, Kaeo. Your body is unstable.” He hissed the last sentence out as too many humans were near the two. “I’m going to take you home, I don’t give a damn if your aunt gets upset you nearly showed your true form in front of humans.”

 

  It was then that she realized he was right, her arms were bleeding. The sweater dress’s sleeves had begun to darken as the blood stained its fabric. This was bad, she hadn’t even realized her human form had started to tear. By now, the two were making their way out of the restaurant. From behind Kaeo could hear the waitress shouting at them to stop before she called the cops. They received looks of shock that only grow once people noticed that Kaeo had started to bleed.

 

  “We have to pay for the food or else the cops will come.” She muttered as the man pushed her towards his car, ignoring the employees who had started to follow them. She felt a strange calm come over her body that frightened her as she fought its approach. Her body wasn’t in her control anymore, she was moving under something else’s control.

 

  “The police will listen to us before they ever listen to humans, Mistress.” A frown formed on Kaeo’s face as he unlocked the car doors and helped her get into the passenger seat.

 

  She looked at his calm demeanor with utter confusion. “What do you mean the police will listen to us first? And why did you call me my name all of a sudden?” The man had never called her name, not even when she was a toddler and he visited. And she was sure the police would side with the employees at the restaurant first, they had essentially dined and dashed.

 

  “We can talk about it after you're fed a proper meal.” before she could open her mouth to protest he turned to look her straight in the eye. His face was still relaxed but she felt the intensity of his stare forces her into silence. “This isn’t something to talk about in public.”