So Long You Pretty Thing

The taxi pulled up to the side of the apartment building, and Adam was once again off to the airport. Clair felt the cold metal of the engagement ring with her thumb. This is not possible , she kept repeating in her mind.

Her heart began to pound against her chest, and she cursed herself for accepting. The desire not to see him sad had now put her into a relationship that she knew wasn’t going to last. In that moment, a void inside Clair’s heart opened. All of her dreams when she was a kid were pulled in. Every thought that she was going to travel and visit other countries were gone. Now, her fate was that she was going to stay in this city all of her life and never see what else there is to offer.

Although, that ship had sailed when she had found out that Adam was going to NYU as well. They had even been roommates. She kept the dream until she was 20 (eight years ago) Adam had dropped the L-bomb. They had been dating for two years from the day that they came to collage. That was the day when Clair told him the first in a long list of lies. That was the day that she told him that she loved him too.

Her stomach recoiled, and she realized she couldn’t marry a man that she didn’t love. Her life would become the ultimate ironic statement. The life that she had lived when she was younger, listening to her parents fight, would be the one that she gave her kids.

Kids, that wasn't her. There was still so much that she wanted to do; she wasn’t ready to settle down. The concept of family made her feel sick. This wasn't a commitment she was going through with.

Even so, she wasn't able to have kids biologically because she wasn't fertile enough. It was one less thing she wouldn't have to worry about. Well, she would have to tell him this about herself.

All confidence vanished from her as she imagined what Adam would do. There was no one who would be able to help him that wasn’t in Clair’s life. He had managed to entangle himself so deeply in her life that she would never see the last of him.

That was when another thought hit her, Where would she go? She couldn’t imagine that anyone in her family would be able to forgive her for what she had done. Not even her sister, Lindsay, would be able to help her. There was no way that she would be able to be seen again on either side of the family. All she could do now was sit and pray for a miracle.

The time on the clock was 9:12.

That was when she heard the first shot. She got up from her chair and moved toward the door. The sound had come from the hallway.

This was one of her less intelligent plans as she went to see what happened. There was only a vase of flowers that always stood on the table in the hall when she opened her door. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Just as she was about to write this off as just being her imagination, something slipped by her feet. She whipped around to find that her apartment had been torn apart.

The sofa’s cushions were in the kitchen sink and the sofa frame was shattered and wood splinters coated just about every surface. The television screen was cracked down the middle. “What…?” Clair couldn’t think of anything else to say as she surveyed her surroundings.

In these moments, she saw a flash of red. Her hand slipped into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. When she looked up, the thing was standing directly in front of her.

The thing began to move toward her. It had tattered bat-like wings attached to its child shaped body. That was except for the fact that it was the color of a beet and had had skin that was completely rough and was flaking off. It had short horns that looked more like stubs on the top of its head and yellow teeth that dripped with saliva. They were as sharp as needles. It only had three fingers that looked more like tumors than anything; they were topped by fungus infected nails. It only wore a brown colored sac that looked like a cut up pillow case.

“What?” Clair repeated the word.

The creature lunged at her, and as it did, there was another shot. Not three inches away from her, the thing lay motionless with white liquid seeping from its forehead where the bullet had entered.

In the blink of an eye, it turned into dust before her eyes. “Run,” a man held out his hand for Clair to take it.

She took it without a second thought, and they ran into the hallway. Clair’s mind couldn’t comprehend what her eyes were seeing. Next to her, Liam held a 9mm in one hand and her in the other.

“Wait, what?” Clair tried to stop him.

“Explanations later,” he didn’t even turn. “Running now.”

“What are we running from?” Her question was answered when she looked over her shoulder to see they were being chased by a different creature.

It had pale, almost translucent skin so she could see the veins under it that were black. It had a bald head that was shaped like a human’s if you ignored the two fangs that stuck out of its mouth to touch its chin. They dripped with venom that sizzled on the flooring when it touched it. It had a human like body, but its gait was bestial.

“Right,” her breath carried the word as they ran. She looked at herself to find that she was only wearing a lose nightgown that only came to her knees with fuzzy slippers.

Their hands were bound together as they went down the staircase. The creature was only steps behind them, and Clair could feel its breath on the back of her neck.

She let out a cry as a claw dug into her skin. Her legs were lifted from the ground. Panic and fear were bubbling inside of her. She began to kick at it as its teeth ran over the exposed skin of her neck.

“Help,” Clair unconsciously made the cry.

Liam whipped around and fired two bullets. The creature only hissed as they sunk into its skin. The skin over the wounds closed leaving not even the faintest scar.

“Damn,” Liam cursed before slipping the weapon into his leather jacket that had to be at least ten years old. It was worn and beaten, and it made him look like a young David Boreanaz. That translates to looking really hot in Buffy the Vampire Slayer language.

Clair began to use her elbows to push into the creature. It howled in pain before dropping her. Instincts took over, and Clair jumped to her feet the instant she was dropped. She ducked as a hand tried for her face. Her leg lashed out, and the beast fell to its knees directly in front of where Liam stood with a stunned expression.

“You never really forget martial arts training,” Clair shrugged like she hadn’t just taken a demon in a fight.

A knife slipped into his hand, and he motioned for Clair to turn away. When she turned to see what he had done, all that remained was a pile of ash.

“No blood,” she sounded relieved.

He gave her a tight smile before continuing down the stairs.

“Hey,” Clair called to the man making him stop and turn around. “You aren’t going to just leave me.”

“Never would have tried,” he sighed as she led him to her apartment.

Clair stood just inside away from the doorway and crossed her arms.

“What are you doing that for then?” He asked not making a move to enter.

“Testing to see that you’re not a vampire,” Clair stood perfectly still.

Liam sighed before he stepped into the home, “There does this prove that I’m not a demon?”

“It just proves that you’re incredibly rude,” Clair said with no real emotion to be detected.

As soon as the door closed, Clair exploded, “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

“I’m sorry?” He looked stunned at her sudden change in personality.

“YOU CAN’T JUST DO THIS!” She made motions with her arms to point out the broken furniture.

“I’ll have it fixed.”

“That makes it all better,” the sarcasm in her voice was intense.

“I can’t do much else,” his voice was calm and trying to get hers to do the same.

“Here’s a start, try not to get me killed in your little demon hunting game.”

“You have a point, so I am just going to leave.”

“No way I’m already in this; there is no way out I am pulling out this soon. Tell me why those things are attacking me.”

Liam gave an exasperated sigh before letting her know what was happening.