Mad As A Hatter (Completed 2015) [WATTY AWARD WINNER *Featured Story*]

chapter two ◊ owt retpahc

His nails plunged into the black heart, slime dripping between his fingers and onto his fancy Givenchy shoes. He squinted hard at the object.

"What, are you gonna eat it or something?" I smirked.

"I-I-I think so."

I choked on my own saliva. "Pardon?"

He twisted his hand around, fixing his gaze on the beating organ. "I-I-It is America so I'm not surprised they've enlarged their McNuggets."

Bubbling with a mix of irritation and shock, my hands did a crazy flap. "Can you not see what you're holding?!"

He wrinkled his freckled nose and peered closer. "A soggy McNugget." My silence caused him to look up, panic slicing across his face. "W-W-Why do you a-ask?"

The dots slowly connected, wiring to the mental bulb that flashed above my head. "Kid, do you need glasses?"

His feet did an awkward shuffle and his eyes fell. "M-m-my Ray-Bans are in the truck. And my c-contact lenses..."

I slapped my hand to my cheek, sliding it down with a groan. Stupidity couldn't even begin my current state. "Okay. So you haven't been able to see this entire time?"

He squinted again, eyes closing to slits. "I can see some stuff; occasional blurry things."

My system hummed, the demon souls returning for their daily Innocence. Just kill this boy, feed those bad bitches and you'll be on your merry way. Tiredly unsheathing my knife, an eerie moan whisked through the air, sending my spine upright.

The boy sensing my cautiousness, stuttered, "W-W-What's wrong-"

I sloshed through a blood puddle and swiped the dagger to his lip, putting him on mute. A high screech burst from the outside of McDonalds and I immediately pointed the dagger to the darkness that still lingered past the broken windows. Except instead of the dagger heating at the approach of humans, it was left cold.

"Demon," I whispered.

"Semen?"

As if the creature was offended, it released another thunderous screech that shook the hanging lights. "Total demon," I confirmed.

Terror emitted off the boy's features and he dropped the heart in the paper bag, crumpling the top with his balled fists. "I-I-I'd prefer it to be semen..."

I wiggled my thick brows. "What about demon semen?"

Mortified, his hands were trembling, the bag now vibrating. "D-Don't say that kinda stuff. I-It makes me uncomfortable." The next screech wobbled the tables and I heard glass crunch under heavy impact. "Why is there a d-demon outside?"

I casually picked up a thief's shotgun and answered, "Yeah...I'm not so sure myself." I stuck a look through the barrel, measuring the bullet with a single glance. "Hey my eye fits!"

He backed away, tripping over the chair behind him. "Why aren't y-you doing anything?"

I slurped a ball of spit and spewed it on the gun like a tobacco chunk, to then polish it along my bloody shirt. "I will. Gimme a sec."

"W-we don't have a"-there was a sharp howl of wind before the demon leaped through the window, its two clunky feet making an earth shaking touchdown as the cement tiles shattered beneath those hideous toenails.

"Someone needs a pedi," I said.

My eyes struggled to register the demon's truck sized body, its jagged black scales and red Sabre tooth fangs that gleamed in the sunrise. His footsteps approached us; its talons dragging across the ground to sharpen, sparks igniting. The boy squinted. "Grandma, is that you?"