Who in their right mind throws an office Christmas party all the way out in the worst part of town? Merrie's office, apparently, most likely to cut costs on the venue. Not like the catering was particularly good, the cheapskates, but there was a glorious amount of alcohol available and she indulged. Office Christmas parties almost beg to be attended in an inebriated state, and it was the only way she could tolerate hearing her manchild coworkers talk about Japanese anime and video games without putting a tablet stylus in her eye. But, she made it, all the way to the after party at her supervisor's apartment, where creepy Alex the motion designer put his hand up her blouse. Merry Christmas, Merrie! She downed two fingers of whiskey and then left in a huff, intent on telling HR the moment she stepped foot back in the studio.
But, in her rage, Merrie forgot her jacket, because of course she did. Why wouldn't she? It would really cap the evening off, she thought, if she got mugged. Too bad! Her wallet's in her jacket pocket, along with her cell phone. No buses, no cabs, just a nice long walk back to her townhouse near campus. It was only an hour walk, no big deal, but she'd have preferred not to teeter drunkenly down the street for so long in such a shitty place. She may as well have worn a sign that said "Please assault me!"
Barely anyone was out, though, which was a relief. The only people she saw were drag queens, walking sure and steady on their platforms and laughing raucously. At least someone was having fun.
Merrie rounded a corner and came face-to-chest with some absurdly tall crackhead lurking in the shadows. Awesome, the absolute perfect place for a crackhead to be. When a knife didn't enter her ribs, Merrie cleared her throat and apologized, skirting around the gaunt woman with an urgency she couldn't place. Fight-or-flight? She was definitely a flight person. Well, more accurately, she was a scream-and-fall-down person, but that wasn't one of the options.
Keeping her eyes on the ground, she hunched her shoulders, trying not to freeze to death. Did she have anything to drink back home? Peppermint schnapps would be a lot of fun for the occasion. She'd get home, drink until she fell asleep, and then wake up hung-over at 12pm to make biscuits and watch some Christmas movie. Probably Die Hard.
She didn't make it much further down the street before she ran into another crackhead, wearing the exact same letterman hoodie and ragged jeans as the other. This one was also super tall, and in fact, was probably the same crackhead. Did she take a turn somewhere and didn't realize it?
A huge hand came down forcefully on her shoulder and the crackhead leaned forward, meeting Merrie's startled gaze with a sharp-toothed grin.
"Run," the woman whispered.
Merrie screamed.
YOU ARE READING
Night Lights and Dark Places
ParanormalJames is a monster. Not that he minds; he's never known any alternative. Disgusted by him and his shortcomings, he is rejected by his own kind and is forced to leave his cave. However, when he arrives in a human city, he discovers that he doesn't be...
