( SHE WOLF. )
CHAPTER NINE.
shadow monster.

KATIE PACKED UP her stuff from her evening study session, seeing that she was once again the only person left in the library. She had been coming as late as possible in order to avoid Brennon. At least she told herself it was to avoid Brennon, but truly, it was to avoid Erica.

The sky was dark, and once again the street lights were the only light to Katie's path. The sun seemed to be setting so early these days, leaving the town of Beacon Hills pitch black before nine PM.

A light fog threaded its way through the trees and across the road as Katie made her way back home. With her bike gone and hardly any money to buy a new one, she was now forced to walk everywhere except for lacrosse (which Elijah was now driving her to and from) and school (to which she now took the bus).

So she walked. By now it was solidly nighttime, and Katie regretted coming to the library so late. She had always been rather avoidant of her problems, but just this once she wished she could've sucked it up and gone to study at a normal hour— or just stayed home.

Her sneakers hit the cement in a rhythmic pattern, the sound of her steps being the only thing she could hear apart from the occasional howl of an owl or the distant hum of an engine. The reclusive peacefulness of the night.

Peaceful proved to be the wrong term.

Katie chose to take a shortcut into her neighbourhood, cutting across an open field. When she turned the corner, she realized she had made the wrong decision. Katie spotted it instantly.

Sitting atop the house across the street was a dark form. Katie squinted, trying to figure out exactly what it was in the low light. She caught a glimpse of what looked to be scales glinting in the moonlight.

Katie took a step towards it, curiousity getting the better of her. It was only when the thing turned to face Katie that her heart rate kicked up. The eyes of the creature were a bright, sickly yellow. They were large and reptilian, unlike anything Katie had seen.

Katie froze. Unable to move. Fuck, Katie, run. But her eyes were glued to those of the dark creature. The thing crept forwards, to the edge of the roof. It stared at her. And for the first time in Katie's life, she was certain that she was about to die.

Then, suddenly, it stopped. The creature turned back around, crawling down the side of the house and disappearing into the shadows as if it had never existed at all.

Katie squeezed her eyes shut before peeling them open again. There was nothing sitting in the hazy fog, there wasn't a single sound. A tear fell down Katie's cheek as she finally came back into her body. She knew what was happening before her nerves registered the hot feeling in her hands.

Katie pulled her fingertips up to her face. They were glowing. A bright orange ring of light was emitting itself from her hands. Katie swore under her breath, shaking her hand desperately. Then she took off running; sprinting down the street. The glowing didn't stop, if anything, her hand shone brighter.

Katie stopped abruptly, letting herself sit down on the sidewalk. She stared at her hands. Tears ran down her face, tears of fear.

I must be out of my mind. I must be going insane.

She closed her eyes again. She tried to control her breathing. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the light in her hand dissipating. As soon as her hands returned to normal she fumbled her phone out of her pocket.

She dialled the first number that popped into her head, letting her fingertips do the work instead of her brain. There was a buzzing on the line as Katie waited for them to pick up, then the line clicked and a voice came through.

"Hello?" Erica said.

"Erica?" Katie's voice was shaking slightly. She clutched the phone tightly with one hand while the other played with the strings of her hoodie.

"Katie? Katie, what's wrong?" Erica's voice was instantly alert.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry—"

"Stop saying sorry and tell me what's wrong,"

"I just— I didn't know who else to call and I'm scared. Erica I don't know what I saw, I don't know what's happening to me. I don't know who to tell and I don't know what to do. I'm scared, Erica."

"Are you safe?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay."

"Are you home?"

"No. No, not yet but I'm— I'm okay," Katie closed her eyes again as she spoke, focusing on Erica's voice.

"Katie, breathe."

Katie nodded even though she knew that Erica wouldn't be able to see it. She rubbed her hand over her face before speaking again. "It— It had these eyes. They weren't human. And it was tall and scaly. It looked like a lizard, like that bitch from The Amazing Spider-Man."

"Wait, Katie, what did you just say? Katie, tell me from the beginning."

"I was walking home from the library, right? And then I saw this thing. This giant lizard thing. Maybe not a lizard— more like a scaly shadow. It was on top of one of the houses. And it looked right at me with its freaky eyes. Yellow eyes. And then it left, it disappeared. But Erica, there's a giant monster thing running around Beacon Hills. And I got scared, and then my hands started to heat up again. And then they started to glow and get hotter and—"

"Slow down! I'm coming to get you," Erica said, cutting Katie off.

"But you don't have a license or a car," Katie reasoned, rocking back and forth on the damp sidewalk.

"I don't care, I'm coming."

"Erica—"

"You'd do it for me. I know you would, so I'm coming," Erica insisted. "Now can you tell me where you are?"

"I'm uh— I'm on McKinley Street. I'm sitting on the sidewalk by the field."

"Stay where you are, I'll be there soon. I can help you, I promise I can."

"Okay," Katie nodded again. She pulled her knees into her chest, finding herself still shaking slightly. She felt stupid for being so afraid, but most of all she felt crazy. She didn't trust what she'd seen, and at this point she didn't trust what she felt either.

Neither of them hung up. Instead, Katie clutched her phone even tighter, finding comfort in the faint sound of Erica's breathing on the other end. Gradually, the sound of the engine across the line began to blend with the engine sound nearing Katie.

A black car pulled around the bend. Katie stood up.

"I see you," Erica said on the phone.

Katie let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Erica's honey blonde curls through the windshield. Erica pulled the car up as best she could in front of Katie who rushed forwards, swinging open the passenger side door.

"Are you alright?" Erica asked as Katie got in.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Katie nodded, leaning her head back against the headrest.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry for making you come here, I just wasn't—"

"You didn't make me," Erica stated. Katie turned to face Erica who was already staring back. The slight aggression in Erica's voice was back, but it wasn't a scary aggression, it was just unfamiliar. Katie nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek absentmindedly as she tried to think of what she wanted to say.

"Katie, I think I know what you saw," Erica said, wrapping her hands back around the steering wheel as she gently pressed the gas pedal.

"Really? Because Erica, I'm not so sure I saw anything at all. I mean, I know what I saw— but I don't think it was real. I've been seeing things for a while now. I think I just need sleep. I need to just go to bed and get it out of my head," Katie moved her eyes back out the windshield, staring at the sky.

"Katie, you're not seeing things. It's real. And you're not going back to bed for a while. I told you I could help you and I can. But first, I need you to trust me," Erica kept her voice calm, she kept it steady for Katie's sake.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I need you to trust that I can help you and that I'm not lying," Erica said, glancing over at Katie's face.

Katie furrowed her brow slightly, looking at Erica. "Where are you taking me?"

"Trust, Katie. Please," Erica repeated.

Katie watched Erica for a moment before nodding. She had been the one to call, she'd been the one asking for help. It was only fair.

"Okay," Katie agreed.

Erica nodded, doing a U-turn on the road and turning back the way she came. She was speeding slightly, but Katie could tell that she was trying to drive safely.

They pulled up to a tall building. It had metal pipes running up the walls and no windows. The walls were made of stone and were weathered with age.

"What is this place?" Katie asked as they stepped out of the car.

"It's where the help lives," Erica replied with a shrug.

"Here? The warehouse district?" It seemed like a strange place to live. Katie didn't even know that there were buildings this big in Beacon Hills.

"Well, recently yes."

Erica locked the car, leading Katie towards a metal door on the side wall. It creaked as Erica opened it slowly, motioning for Katie to follow her.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

sorry this took so long!! i'll try my best to post more often now. anyways i love erica.

love,
skye