𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔫 | e. brock

•4•

Willow woke up the next morning in a sweat. She'd had a nightmare about the events of the previous night. She wasn't even sure if that had happened or if it had just been another nightmare.

Fuelled by an odd sense of curiosity, as well as wanting to convince herself that it was just a dream, she decided to look it up.

Much to her surprise, Willow found several reports of criminal's bodies turning up around San Francisco. The reports all had something in common; the people who had given statements to the police had all said that a large black creature had shown up and stopped the criminal.

Willow could feel her pulse quickening. Last night hadn't been a dream. The creature was real, and it had killed that man in the alley and several more.

The weight of the world seemed to close in on Willow's chest, her throat closing in on itself. She doubled over with chest pains, pain and sobs racking her body. She curled up, hugging her knees close to her chest. Her stomach churned, and a feeling of nausea washed over her. She curled up into a tighter ball. The room seemed to drop several degrees around her, a shiver crawling up her spine.

She sat there shivering, the occasional heat flush being replaced with spine-tingling chills.

After what felt like an eternity, the sense of dread faded, replaced by a feeling of numbness. She stood up, heading over to the kitchen to make herself some tea and call her friends.

**********

"Why did you want to talk to us?" Amber asked. Her, Willow, and Danielle day together at a table in a small restaurant not too far from the coffee shop where they had met. They were all sipping at their milkshakes, Willow and Danielle ordered vanilla while Amber got strawberry. Willow had messaged them asking if they could get together after her crazy night and panic attack.

"Yeah, what's up?" Danielle added, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Willow took a deep breath. "Okay, so have you heard about that creature or whatever that's been terrorizing the city?"

"You mean the Demon of San Fran? I thought that was just a conspiracy theory. Why?" Amber said, stirring her milkshake with her straw.

"I didn't realize that thing had a nickname. Anyway, I think it saved me."

Danielle perked up. "Wait, seriously?"

"No joke, I'm 90% sure it saved me."

"What happened?" Amber questioned, less focused on her drink.

"Remember when you asked me to cover your shift?"

Amber nodded.

"So I was walking home- and before any of you give me shit for walking home alone at night, my apartment is literally six blocks away- and this guy shoved me into an alley. He held a knife against my throat and said that it was either my money or my life. He actually nicked me with it," Willow pointed to the scab on her neck. "Anyway, so he was probably about to kill me when there was this loud thud. He turned around, and that thing was standing right there. I-" Willow paused for a breath, shuddering as she thought about what she was about to say. "I think it bit the man's head off."

Both Amber and Danielle were silent for a few moments. They clearly hadn't been expecting her to say that, even though it did fit with the other reports of the creature.