Page 16 of Twisted Diaries of a Monster Groupie

Dear Diary,

The prodigal monster returns. He’s lucky he’s hot.

XOXO – Roxy

Roxy leaned against the cold steel counter as she watched Hank’s interactions with customers to be sure no one noticed his change. To her delight, everyone who entered his little butcher shop liked the new Hank. After a few rumors dropped around town, they all believed the older couple was in therapy and making a huge turnaround. It was smooth sailing from here, she hoped.

Despite how well it was going, the rain outside was reflecting her solemn mood. She’d blocked Acid’s number if only to attempt to forget about him. She still had thoughts of kidnapping, but she had to be honest with herself, she was lonely without him.

The smell of raw meat in the air, mixing with the odd scent of cleaning chemicals made her want to vomit. She hated her stepfather’s shop. Since her dog died she hated the idea of any animals being butchered, and this was a house of horrors for the defenseless creatures. She was no vegan but something about the place gave her the icks.

The jingle of the front doorbell drew away the focus from the stench, and the green figure standing there made her heart skip a beat. Then the ghastly sight of him hit her like a ton of bricks. There was Acid, looking like he’d been put through ten rounds with a prize fighter. His lip was split, his left eye swollen and bruised, and he looked defeated as he dropped his bag on the floor.

“What the hell happened to you?” she asked, rushing to look him over.

“I’ve been trying to reach you all night. Donnie knows who you are. You blocked my number.”

“I know.” She turned away, busying herself with a sample tray of deli slices. “Are you okay?”

“I will be. Not sure about my ego. We need to talk.”

She could feel his eyes on her, waiting for an explanation, but she wasn’t ready to talk about why she’d blocked him. She couldn’t. Science was easy. Real honest-to-God feelings were not.

“What happened?”

“Donnie’s guys. They found me at my agent’s office and shook me down for a bigger payoff. They beat me up to convince me to turn over what they wanted.”

She stilled, knowing what he was about to say. If he was trying to reach her, and they knew who she was, she was that payoff. “They’re threatening to come for me?”

“They have a sex tape of us in the hotel. If the authorities see it, they’ll de-animate me and there will be no way for me to protect you. Frankie’s are forbidden to have any sort of relationship with humans, especially if it’s sexual.”

“You said he knows who I am?”

“Yes, and he brought up your dad and he knew who you were at the convention. That doesn’t sit well with me. You know what he wants, and I need to get you out of here. He wants you to create Frankie’s on the black market.”

Roxy paused, meeting his gaze. She wasn’t going to let some Neanderthal bully her. She’s never done it before and she sure as hell wouldn’t now. “I’m not leaving. I’ve got a new life here, and I’m not afraid of Donnie or his men. You have no idea what trauma I’ve faced over the years. Some two-bit thug isn’t going to scare me.”

“Roxy please—”

“No. Let them come. Acid, you know what I’m capable of. Look at Hank. Do you think I even batted an eye when I…” She stopped mid sentence when the last person in the shop passed to leave. “…when I changed him.”

“I know you’re brave, but this isn’t just some run-of-the-mill asshole. He’s got deep mob connections, and he won’t stop until you’re on his payroll or dead. I’m sorry I got you into this mess, but I have to figure out a way to get you out. Your little kidnapping attempt is nothing compared to the things he’s done.”

“Yeah, well… You’re not very fun to try to kidnap, anyway.” She pouted. “The next time I’m finding a less annoying monster to try to nab.”

He chuckled at her little pouty lip, but the light-hearted moment didn’t last long. The door dinged open again, and a figure stepped inside, locking the lock behind him.

Quickly, Acid rushed to push her behind him for protection. The tall, stocky man’s eyes landed on them, and in an instant, he pulled a gun from his jacket, aiming it straight at Acid’s head.

“Donnie sends his regards,” the man growled. “Looks like you’re warning this bitch instead of bringing her back, so I was told to take care of this myself.”

Roxy’s mind raced as she watched Hank ignoring the man and tending to his work.

“Our roast beef is on special,” Hank said as he wiped the counter.

The man watched as the bitcher didn’t even pay attention to him. “What the fuck is wrong with him?”

“He’s a defective Frankie. Ignore him,” Acid said.

With a gasp, Roxy’s hand went to her chest like clutching pearls. “The nerve! He is not defective. He’s altered to a specific neural pathway that—”

“Roxy. Not the time, princess.”

“Fine.” She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “But I’ll have you know my creations are not defective. Ever.”

The thug just rolled his eyes as he reached to taste one of the samples on the tray. “She’s a mouthing one, Acid. I thought you could do better than that.”

When the man walked around them, she had only a second to nod to Hank to let him know there was trouble. When her stepfather looked at the gun, he seemed to flip a switch.

She was smart. Too smart for this idiot. Did he actually think she wouldn’t have a backup plan for things like this? When Hank headed to the back with a stone-faced determination, she knew the guy was in for trouble when he returned.

Moments later the door to the back swung open again. The man didn’t notice as he turned to face the couple with his back to Hank. Her stepfather glanced up, and without missing a beat, lifted a butcher knife making the horror gal squeal in delight.

She jumped up and down with excitement. “Say goodnight, asshole.”

In one fluid motion, he let it fall. The knife embedded itself deep in the man’s skull with a sickening thunk. His eyes went wide for a moment, and then he dropped, hitting the floor with a lifeless thud. It was then the gun fell from his hand, spinning across the tiled floor.

“Thanks, Hank. I think it’s time to close the shop today. We have some cleanup to do.”

“Clean up.” He gave her a nod, wiping his hands on his bloodstained apron as if this was just another day at the butcher shop.

Acid looked from Hank to the body, his face a mixture of horror and confusion. “What the hell just happened?”

“Hank happened. I told you I fixed him,” Roxy replied cheerfully. She turned to her stepfather. “Good job, ya sick fuck. Help me drag this guy into the back, will ya?”

“Back.” Without hesitation, Hank grabbed the dead man’s ankles, dragging him across the floor, leaving a line of blood.

Acid couldn’t believe his eyes, although a bit relieved they were safe, this was pure insanity. Still processing, he didn’t know what to think. “Should we call the cops or something?”

“Call the cops? And tell them what? That Donnie’s hitman tried to shoot me, and Hank the butcher saved my life by planting a knife in his fat head? Yeah, that’ll go over really well.”

“You are crazy, woman. I fucking love crazy. All right, let’s deal with this. What do we do now…?”

Once the body was out of sight and into the meat locker, Roxy leaned against the wall with a hum. Her brain was running through every scenario in her mind of the possibilities she could do with the body. She knew they couldn’t keep this up every time Donnie’s men came knocking, but it would be fun to make a new monster to do her bidding. They were being hunted like prey and this wasn’t okay with her in the slightest, but in her sick demented mind, it sure was fun.

But… What if they turned the tides on the guys out to hurt her undead king?

When a devious smirk traced her lips, Acid knew she had

something brewing. “What’s in that pretty head of yours, princess? I never trust that gleam in your eye.”

A wildly insane idea sparked in her mind, one that made her heart race in a way that had nothing to do with fear.

“We need to fight back.”

“What?”

“We’re going to take Donnie down and the whole lot of those assholes who help him. We’re going to stop this by turning his men against him one by one.”

He watched her playful eyes and knew her plan. “We’re going to whack the fuckers and reanimate them. We’ll build an army of the undead. A fucking army.”

“It’s time to turn the tables.”

Hank, who had been quietly listening, held up the bloody butcher knife, broken from pulling it from the man’s head. “We’ll need more knives.”

The couple laughed as Acid went to hold her face in his hands. Before he planted a kiss, he added, “You’re a genius. A crazy, beautiful genius.”

“Crazy’s what I do best.”

“Not in a bad way, baby. You’re protecting those you care for. If that’s crazy, then we all are.”

“I killed people, Acid. I’m going to jail if anyone finds out about this.”

He sucked air through his teeth. “Yeah, about that. We may need to take a trip to LA tomorrow to do a little cleanup.”

Rubbing her hands over her face, she sighed. “What did you do?”

“My agent, Carl—He had it coming. He’s on ice in my freezer.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”