My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the pen in Miss Walter's hand. "Just a little souvenir, they were giving away free pens at my work and I thought you might like it," she said when she noticed my confused expression.

Being polite, I gladly took the offer. The gesture was random, but an innocent pen wouldn't hurt anyone. It was a small shiny black pen with a nice silver carving at one end reading the brand name 'Sharpie.' For such a basic company, this pen looked very high quality, unlike their usual markers and pens.

"Bye Miss Walter," I thanked her for the food and the gift. Emily and I headed to her grey Camry car. I insisted on walking home but she refused my denial.

"I have legs, I can walk."

"It's cold and I feel bad."

"Don't feel bad."

"Do you not like me anymore?" She pouted. Her puppy dog eyes surmounted my urge to protest. She was guilt tripping me, and it worked.

"Fine. I hate you."

She was triumphant about her victory as her tough stuck out like a child fighting with their sibling, "I love you too."

After the little dispute, Emily brought the car to life, the heater coating us with warmth. We pulled out of the driveway and rode down the narrow city road. Our heads bobbing to KISS blasting on the stereos as we passed old city buildings.

"If anything else goes wrong, call me, okay?" She said concerned. "My mom and I and heck even my dad and little brother can help"

"I got it, there's no need to babysit me," I looked out the window and watched the leaves twirl as we zoomed by.

Emily was quiet for a bit before she spoke up, "I'm serious." my head nodded, here we go with the over-protectiveness. My skinny fingers played with the gifted pen. The top compressed and decompressed, the clicker obnoxiously abused throughout the entire ride—it was a great stress reliever.

"I know and I will, Em. But for Christ sake, I can handle myself. This isn't 9/11, I'll be fine. The world won't end for another billion years. Plus, I've learned to live without my parents for three years now, I think I can handle whatever life puts in my way."

The familiar white apartment complex came into view. She pulled up to the curve. "I know you can handle yourself, but what if that one last branch snaps? Just please, be safe." Our arms wrapped around each other before I got out of the car. I agreed to whatever she said without second guessing, then we exchanged goodbyes.

My thoughts jumbled in my head as I walked through the front entrance of the complex—Emily was acting up more than the typical protective best friend.

I closed the door behind me and locked everything up. The temperature in the room had dropped to fifty degrees, it was so cold I could see puffs of white smoke escape my shivering lips. I toggled with the thermostat and turned the heater on.

I dropped my keys onto the kitchen counter and grabbed a bag of chips. My hair danced in the air as I hopped to the other side of the kitchen to grab a cup of yogurt. I ripped open the bag of chips, the crumbling brought satisfaction to my ears.

On the shiny tip of the bag, I noticed a reflection of flashing lights. I stared at the bag, baffled, but my eyes descended to the origin of the strobe lights. It was coming from the living room.

The lights flashed like a rave, they were so bright, I thought I went blind. I swiftly turned the corner to see the tv running. The television played an old 60s movie with the sound extremely low. I must have forgotten to turn it off on the way out.

The remote sat between the creases of the sofa, I grabbed it and shut it down. It became eerily silent, but I didn't think much of it. I threw the remote on the other couch and sat there enjoying my bag of chips.

—

My stomach finished the delightful yogurt as the music stopped playing. It was the end of the "Wiped Out!" album by The Neighbourhood. My ears begged for more, so I rewinded the vinyl, the first song off the album repeated.

My feet danced through the hallway to the bathroom, when the lights in the room flickered twice before it went back to normal. I reached the handle to open the door when a low growl came from behind me. My heart jumped out of its chamber and I immediately faced the source of the voice.

I held onto my chest and tried to get my breathing back to normal. "Andy! You almost gave me a heart attack," I panted.

"I'm sorry," he smiled sheepishly.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get in? With your sudden outburst earlier, I didn't think you'd be back so soon." I looked over to the door and saw the lock undone.

He followed my stare and responded, "you left it unlocked." He grinned and walked closer to me until my back was against the door frame.

"Are you okay?" I backed up, my hands in front of my body for protection. I heard him sniff before smiling. Without a second thought, he dived for my neck and started to suck on it. My body froze. "Andy, please stop," I said. He continued to trail harsh kisses.

"Why?" He grinded his hard against me. I tried to push him off but his grip didn't budge, it was like trying to push a boulder. Cold, sharp teeth touched my neck and I gulped.

"Andy... stop," I commanded, but he only grunted back.

I then felt the slimy touch of his tongue on my neck and he whispered. "This might hurt," but before he bit down, I kneed him in the crotch. He let me go and I ran straight for the front door. It didn't take long for him to appear in front of me. He appeared out of nowhere, I couldn't even recall if I heard bustling footsteps.

"H-how," I said backing away from him. His eyes turned black and he bared his long fangs at me. My legs wobbled as I moved away from him. My eyes watered, salty tears seeped through, like dewy raindrops falling off a delicate rose.

"I love the smell of fear," he said walking closer to me. "Now if we do this the right way without any complications, no one can get hurt, okay?" In milliseconds his hands choked around my fragile neck, but he wasn't choking me enough to where I was dying. "Tell me, where is Andy?" He spoke, his voice shifting.

My eyes widened. "W-what do you mean? That's you?" I cried. I tried to wiggle out of his hands, but he only tightened his grip.

He laughed and the inhuman sound of crackling bones resounded through my empty apartment, he had shape shifted. I gasped as the blond man from the party and the coffee shop stood before me. "I know he's been hanging around you!" he yelled which made me whimper in fear.

"I-I don't know," I stuttered with every tear that fell down my cheeks.

"Liar!" He boomed and pushed me against the wall.

"Get the fuck away from her, Derek," the voice came from the front door. Both our heads turned and there stood Andy. Derek smiled at the sight of him, appeased to see his next victim.

"Look who decided to show their face," Derek teased.

"Leave her alone," Andy demanded. He walked closer to use and he gave me a reassuring look.

Derek laughed, "A pathetic human?! Andy, you're not getting soft are you?" That made Andy tense up. "I'm surprised you haven't killed her yet. Look at that delicious blood, can't you smell the fear, the sadness. Everything a demon could want."

"Shut the hell up!" Andy shouted. His voice shifted from his usual deep voice to an even deeper and raspier one.

"How about this. You join us and I'll let her go."

"You've got have the smallest brain for joining their team. You're a fucking traitor!" Andy boomed.

"They're doing us a favor."

"They're doing themselves a favor, they don't give a shit about anyone else."

I just cowered in fear as the two argued back and forth. My face was numb from all of the tears and my body was giving into the weakness.

"Come on, Andy. We need you. We all can have the power to control! Either way we're almost there. With or without your help, we'll get there soon. It can all work sooner if you just fucking joined!"

Andy was enraged, soon black smoke appeared around him and his eyes turned fully black. He opened his mouth and revealed sharp teeth, but they weren't as sharp as Derek's. Andy held out his hand and knocked Derek against the other side of the wall. I fell to the ground as his hands released me.

"You fucking bitch!" Derek came running towards Andy. A pair of large dark, broken, bat wings emerged from Derek's back. He ran forwards but before he attacked Andy, Derek dived towards me and scratched the side of my neck with his long claws.

I didn't feel a thing, until I saw the blood stain on my hands as I tried to touch it. I seethed in pain. The wound began to burn, it started from my neck but the pain emerged throughout all my veins. My body twitched, feeling the fire coarse every inch of my body and my vision became blurry from how intense it was.

I watched as Andy grew bigger. He must have reached his peak. He knocked Derek over, dragged him like a rag doll before Derek couldn't take anymore, "this isn't over." He then vanished into thin air.