There's something wrong with Mary.
I watched her walk towards the car in shock and fear. "Mary! Don't..." She slowly turned around and gave me a kind, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, J. I'll call you tonight, hmm?" Without waiting for a response, she turned back to the car.
Why was I so worried? The reason sat behind the driver's seat of the truck, with a Cheshire grin plastered on his face. Lucas had a reputation of not knowing the definition of the word no.
Several women , and more secretly known a few guys, had whispered of trials and trauma at his hands. The fact that he had a police chief as a father made things no better. No one dared bat an eye.
I went home, and waited (and worried). Finally, a light knocking came on my apartment door.
There stood Mary, smiling her signature smile. I immediately wrapped my arms around her, eyes beginning to tear up.
"Are we gonna stand out in the hall all evening?" She giggled, brushing past me and heading inside.
Following her inside, questions began spilling from my brain and out of my mouth. "What the hell were you doing with that creep? Have you lost your mind? What could you two possibly have in common?"
Laughing again, she turned around and gave me a knowing look. "Ew." I said grimacing. I did not want the deets on that.
We spent the evening as we usually did when we have a surprise sleepover. Laughter, delivery, wine, then bed. However, I awakened in the wee hours of dawn to Mary silently slipping out of the front door.
I paused for a beat. We don't have secrets. This woman knows everything about me. But do I really know everything about her? Especially since she's keeping rather unusual company these days.
With not another thought, I slipped on my shoes and my hoodie and slipped out after her. I caught sight of her heading towards the park. I sped up silently cursing every crunching leaf, every snapping twig. She exited the edge of the park and headed into the woods behind it. There was definitely something shifty going on. And I was going to find out what it was.
I followed Mary's semi-tangible shadow through the maze of trees and darkness until I could see a bonfire burning in a small clearing. When I got closer, I felt my stomach drop. Holding Mary by her neck, was Lucas.
I began to run, but stopped dead in my tracks as Mary began to giggle uncontrollably. I didn't know how she could breathe, let alone laugh. Lucas tightened his grip, in his eyes were a mix of cruelty and confusion. This only seemed to make her laugh harder.
I then realized her face began to change. Her soft, round features became sharper, more angular. Her eyes widened and slanted, becoming the color of the night sky. And her teeth... her teeth became fang-like.
Lucas, horrified, pushed her to the ground. Stifling a scream, I watched as she landed on all fours, her talon-like hands digging into the earth. "Luuuucasssss..." she hissed.
Next thing I knew, she pounced on him like a cat. "Lucassss. How many lives do you plan to destroy with these filthy, filthy hands?" He was punching wildly at her, but it did nothing to deter her. Opening her jaw way wider than humanly possible, she caught one of his hands and promptly began chewing.
Lucas' scream filled the air, causing me to flinch. Angrily, Mary grabbed a handful of earth and shoved it in his mouth tho stifle the screams. "Shut up! You know you like it!"She purred. " Isn't that what you said as we screamed! As we cried! As we bled!"
He was now sobbing, looking utterly defeated, and bleeding out no doubt. I stepped into the clearing and cleared my throat. Both their heads snapped towards me. Mary smiled slowly at me, while Lucas stared at me pleadingly. I smiled and nodded at her, spun on my heels, and made my way home.
There's something wrong with Mary.
And that's just fine with me.
