Page 7 of My Monster’s Keeper

Becky

T his is totally bat shit crazy, and I can’t figure out why I’m going along with this. I just don’t know where else to go.

Hartley drives us to a carpark and turns his head to look at me. He points with his index finger. I follow the direction and find our chief sitting with the mayor of this city. They’re sitting outside a pub, a small table between them, drinking beers and smoking cigars.

“What am I looking at?”

Diablos reaches between the seats and presses the glass of the windscreen.

It shimmers and then clears again. This time, what I see makes my stomach churn.

The man who’s sitting with my chief isn’t a man, it’s a blue-skinned, horned creature that has what appears to be four legs.

I lean forward, not quite sure of what I’m seeing.

“I can sense your hesitation. I know the boys are going to be, well, to put it bluntly, a pain in the ass to deal with. But I want to show you why I set this up. There are some of my kind who arrived and immediately started to infiltrate humanity and take over the new world, this one.”

I stare at the blue man.

“Is that real?”

“Yes,” Diablos whispers.

“Why me?”

“Because you believe in the right thing. You refused to pull that trigger. I need someone like that. They will eat and kill and kill and eat. But you, you’ll be the voice of reason.

Also, they chose not to kill you. Every other human they have wanted to consume, but there’s something about you that made them stay their hands. They listen to you. I need that.”

“They won’t listen to me!” I murmur, following the blue guy as he walks into the pub. My department gets their orders from that guy. Is he the one who is authorising this complete fall into bedlam?

Is he the one responsible for Grant’s death ?

I narrow my eyes. “Are we making that creature accountable?”

“We will be, yes.” Hartley grunts and scratches the side of his face.

My door opens, and Frost leans in, stealing the can of coke in the console.

He doesn’t move backwards, just leans over me and drinks like I’m not even here.

I sit stiffly, daring not to even breathe while he downs the entire can.

When he’s done, he turns his head and exhales a cloud of ice air on my face.

“Do you mind?” I snap.

“Not at all,” Frost murmurs.

“You hate your name because everyone calls you Jack Frost, don’t they?” I say with a malicious smile.

His grin drops away, and he leans even closer to me. “Do not call me that name.” He hisses, and I see the man who smiled with sharp, pointed teeth. I see the inhumane nature of the creature beside me. But I have a reaction, I know how to get under his skin now.

“Fine. But step back because I don’t like you being in my space.”

“Tis not your space. It’s the space, and I needed to be here. It’s your own fault for not moving.”

I snarl. He snarls back.

“Back off, Frost,” Hartley drawls.

“You do not speak my name. You sit and be silent.”

I smile. “Not going to happen, and don’t speak to my partner like that. Now, step back, or I’ll mace your ass.”

His eyes snap to Hartley. I don’t know what they silently talk about, but Frost backs out of my space. I lift my chin and turn to the older cop.

“All right. I’m in.”

“Great!” Diablos almost cheers. “Well then, by the power vested by me, I announce you a Lawman of the Combined Corp of Earth, Fae, Shadow Kin, and others. CCEFSAO for short. Or rather, I just like calling you Earth Defenders.”

“Woman,” I snap.

“What?”

“Law woman.”

Diablos huffs. “You’re either going to be really fun or really painful, aren’t you?”

“The latter,” I say and reach out and pull my door shut. “Take me to the new house. I’m going to need to order some stuff, so I hope someone has a bank card I can use and some money. ”

“Of course,” Diablos says happily.

“Great.”

***

The house is an old mansion in a rundown estate. It’s overgrown in green leafy shit and desperately needs a coat of paint or a bulldozer. Diablos hands me an envelope with a new ID, a phone, the keys to the house, and a bank card in my name.

He and Hartley leave, and I can’t help but be peeved that they’ve dumped me with these human eating psychos.

I go to the kitchen, grab three knives, and check all the rooms until I find one that is nice and empty.

It appears to be the master. It’s huge. The flat I shared with Grant could fit in this room two times over.

There are some dark pink panels of wallpaper that alternate with stripes of cream, all of it torn and peeling.

The chandelier looks sketchy at best, hanging by a few wires.

The floorboards are dusty, with dried leaves scattered in the corners, but there’s a bed under a sheet, a lock on the old door, and one single window that I’m going to board up.

I sit on the mattress and upend the envelope; to my glee, I find a smartphone that is the newest on the market. I hum as I open it up and set up internet banking. The number in my account balance staring back at me makes my stomach drop out.

Instead of dwelling on it or the sounds I can hear from the rest of the house, I go to my favourite store and start ordering what I’m going to need to begin a new life.

The day turns into night, and my eyes get heavy. The house is quiet, and I’m unsure if they are here or not. If they are, sleeping could be perilous to my well-being.

I’m thirsty and hungry. The orders should start arriving tomorrow morning, so I’m officially done. Dare I go search for food? I wait as long as I can, and then I creep out of my bedroom. In the dark, the house is even more creepy. I hear every creak of the house, and it sends my heart thundering.

One of the first discoveries I made was that there’s no power.

I’ve fixed that. Tomorrow, they’ll come out and fix that.

Light and illumination are my friends! But walking down here at night, it sends all my instincts screaming to run.

Only the torch on my phone lights my way, and it lights a very small path.

I recognise what I’m feeling are primitive fears based on a gut feeling of being watched, being hunted. Hell, I know what’s in the dark now, but I can’t see it. I can sense the danger as well as any prey animal. I’m small and weak, and they are apex predators not of this world.

Fuck, this was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.

I get to the kitchen and find my first problem. When I turn the taps, nothing happens. The pipes scream and squeal, but no water comes out. There’s no fridge, which, per the lack of electricity, I’m endlessly grateful about, and the cupboards have nothing in them.

“Fuck!” I stalk around the blue shadows of the kitchen and ponder what the fuck to do.

“What are you doing?” Wilder snarls and steps into the kitchen from a pitch black room off it.

“I’m wondering where you all get anything to drink.”

He sniffs. “There’s a creek and lots of animals for meat.”

I shudder, no, that is not going to be me. “Are there shops close by?”

“Shops?”

“Fuck me!” I growl and run my fingers through my hair. “All right, you can come with me if you’re brave enough.”

He snarls, but I grip his pinkie finger and drag him with me out of the house. I go down the drive and onto the street. There’s a shop a long way down the road.

“What are we doing?” Wilder asks in a gruff voice.

“We’re getting us some snacks,” I say determinedly. “And you’re going to help me carry it back.”

My first problem is easy to identify and leaves me absolutely stunned while I watch Wilder bumble his way down the aisles of the convenience store.

Wilder has clearly never been in one before. He picks up chocolate bars, brings them to his nose, and drops them absently. He touches everything, but I can see he doesn’t know what to make of them and is trying really hard to hide it.

It’s almost endearing. I grab his arm and give him a basket.

“Just throw things in. I’ll show you when we get back to the house,” I say under my breath, glancing at the suspicious clerk.

We fill up three baskets with drinks and snacks, and then we carry it back.

Neither of us talk, but the tension in him says he’s waiting for me to screw him in some way.

I’m not sure what or how? Because he’s him, and I’m just little me.

But the awareness of his rage and the danger I’m in makes this a very uncomfortable walk .

He watches me intently when I unload it onto the kitchen table. I hum as I look through and finally choose a chocolate bar and open it.

“Taste.”

He takes it, sniffs, and then bites down. In the blue light, I watch as his face widens with shock.

I open a packet of chips and laugh as he groans. Okay, first threat defused. I pop a chip in his mouth before he can argue with me and then climb up onto the counter and sit there with my legs swinging. I’ve got a bottle of water in one hand and the chips in the other, and I’m alternating.

“This is going to be hard,” I say to the room. “We’re different species, with different beliefs and values. But we have the same goals. At least, I think we do. But I can teach you about all of this. I can help you.”

Wilder watches me. I can see the gleam of the reflection of light in his eyes. It’s not quite human.

“This is the right decision. I can’t beat the entire police force on my own.”

He still doesn’t say anything.

“I want to protect my city.”

Something flashes across his face. “I want to protect my home, too.”

I stare at him. The pale light only illuminates part of his face, but I fancy his expression is softer. There’s a thread between us now. Something that connects us. And if there’s a connection, perhaps he will be less likely to kill me.

That’s how the others find us, drawn by the scent of the strange foods I’ve brought in.

I bounce to the ground and grab a spicy jerky and tear it open, popping it into Puppy’s mouth before he can hiss at me.

Then I grab a hot pie and pass it to Frost. He’s more reluctant to try the food, but he does try it.

The suspicion is still there, but he devours the pie in two bites.

Then comes Stix, moving towards me in that mesmerising gait. He reaches out, dragging his fingers over the food, exploring the pile and different wrappers. But his eyes don’t leave me. My stomach tightens and flops, and I find it almost impossible to speak.

I pull out the item I selected for him and hand it over.

He looks down at the cornetto and frowns.

I take it from his fingers. Peeling it for him feels strangely intimate, and when I pass it over to him, his finger touches mine.

I jolt, nervous, aware of my body in a strange way and the tingle of where we touched. I try to hide my strange reaction .

“This is human food. If we’re going to live together, then you’re going to have to change some things around here. Like food and electricity and running water,” I mutter. “Also, this place needs to be cleaned up, it's disgusting.”

I look up and find them all staring at me. Wilder looks bored and irritated. Frost confused. Stix’s eyes smile at me. But the fourth with his stupid yellow and black eyes looks like he’s still considering eating me.

“Now, I gave you food. You stay out of my room.”

I give them a stern look that I hope gives weight to my demand. I grab up another drink and a chocolate bar, leaving the rest for them, and find my way back to my room.

The plastic sheets I bundle up in the corner and then I flop down on the bed and exhale. It doesn’t smell great, but I’ve slept in worse.

It’s at times like this where Grant would be lying beside me. He’d turn his head towards me and give me that half smile of his.

“What’s up, buttercup?” I can hear his voice as clear as day.

“I miss your face.”

“I miss your face, too.”

I curl up on my side, facing the memory I’ve created. He imitates my pose and studies me.

“So, monsters, huh?”

I snort. “You’d love ‘em. You were always telling me there’s more to this world. Who’d have thought you’d be right?”

“I did.”

We share a smile.

I hear a creak, and my door swings open. The memory visage of Grant fades away. I turn my head to find Stix creeping into my room. He looks around curiously but eventually comes to stand beside the bed.

I watch him, waiting for an indication of what I need to do. He leans down and sniffs the mattress and then puts his knee on it, testing the surface. Stix’s eyes widen at the spring. He makes a sound that I can only translate as pleased and crawls up and lies beside me.

“Hey!” I protest. “This is mine.”

“Share,” Stix purrs and snuggles deeper. He reaches out and grabs one of the blankets and drags it over himself, making a sound that is distinctly like a purr.

I lay there stiffly, debating whether I should be arguing about him being in here. It’s not right, but I don’t trust the other one. Could I ?

“Fine, you can protect me from the one that wants to eat me,” I snap.

He hums in agreement and rolls around until he gets comfortable. I hear another creak and tense, watching the door. Frost and Wilder appear at the edge, looking in.

They look over the room and then disappear, leaving the two of us alone. Stix is an uncomfortable bed mate in that he needs to be pressed against me, but he falls asleep quickly.

I lay there, listening to the noises in the house, waiting to see if Puppy is going to attempt anything tonight.

My head is reeling. Monsters and nightmares exist. The world is bigger than I thought it was, and Grant is gone. My job is gone. Everything I worked for has slipped through my fingers and vanished.

I make a silent promise. I’m going to get justice for Grant. For the other rookies and cops that died and for those poor women. It’s with that thought circling my brain that I fall into a light doze that then pulls me deeper.

At some point, I think I wake up to see a dark shape hanging from my ceiling. A long tongue dips out of its mouth and touches my cheek. It doesn’t feel threatening, and I’m so tired that sleep sucks me back into her embrace.