Darkwater - 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2: The ChadWolf in the fold

Disturbed and a bit frightened, I jumped up from the table. She shook herself and the red hair, normal eyes, and pasted smile were back.

“Want me to wrap that up for you to go, sweetie?” She said.

“Uh, no thank you,” I replied and darted out the door.

I stared into the window and she waved at me, that grin on her face.

And was that just a hint of fang in the corner of her mouth? Also, when had night fallen? The last I remembered it was late afternoon.

I shook my head and kept walking

I tried not to look back again, but now that I was back outside, it felt like other eyes were watching me and I started to run through the streets, feeling like something was right behind me, something that thirsted for blood, that wanted my soul, that I would never escape from.

Then I realized I’d forgotten the one thing I couldn’t forget, my backpack! It was still on the floor of the restaurant.

I stopped running, leaning over to catch my breath. This was stupid. Mary-Beth was simply a waitress, nothing was pursuing me, and no ravening beasts were about to catch me.

I looked up at the sky and all the stars. But that still didn’t explain the sky and how dark it was. It felt like midnight, how had it gotten so late?

Looking into the window of the store next to me, I saw it was a comic book store and there was someone at the counter. Should I take a chance and hope he could explain what happened? I really didn’t want to lose my backpack; not only did it have my sleeping bag and ground cloth, it had my silver pocket watch my dad had given me.

“Uh, hey b.b.bro. Welcome to DarkWater Comics.” The guy had a heavy surfer patois with a stutter that made me smile. “W.w.what can I d.d.do for you?”

“Um, just browsing I guess,” I said, glancing at the racks as if I had all the time in the world.

“I see, I see. Well, I’m C.h.h.ad. If there’s anything you need just holla, my b.b.brotha.”

“Thanks,” I said, moving back toward the window to see if the waitress slash vampire from the diner was following me.

It appeared she’d gone back to the counter. I couldn’t see her in the window anymore, waving her creepy wave. I wondered if she’d found my backpack, and wondered if it was safe.

“See anything you l.l.like?” Chad said from right behind me. I gave a jump, I hadn’t heard him approach.

“Ack!” I said. “You startled me!”

“S.s.sorry, I have that effect on people.”

“No worries,” I laughed, a little nervously. “Do you know the waitress from the restaurant across the way?”

“M.M.M.Mary-Beth?” Chad said.

“Yeah, I think that was her name.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. I opened this s.s.store a couple of y.y.years ago and I’ve dropped in a f.f.few times.”

The guy looked at me with wide-open eyes, like he was terribly afraid of something. “Say, man, if ya aren’t gonna b.b.buy anything, I g.g.gotta close.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said.

“No w.w.worries, it’s usually o.o.okay but t.t.tonight I…” he immediately began itching his skin. “I f.f.forgot it w.w.was a f.f.full moon!”

I blinked. That was an odd thing to say. But as I was going to open the door, he let out a growl, or a rough yowl, and started pushing me.

“You g.g.gotta g.g.go nowwww!” He said, and on the last word, his eyes shifted and his voice grew deeper as if it belonged in a much larger throat.

Transfixed, I watched as his clothing shredded and his face elongated into a rough snout. His eyes faded to burning orange, and his jaws opened to slavering teeth. He snarled again, and this time I didn’t need to be told twice, I dashed out the door!

I could hear him behind me, chasing me. I ran into the square across the street, leaped over the wrought iron low fencing, and tried to put as many barriers between us as I could. I swept around corners, over tables, and into bushes, trying to get away from him, but the Chadwolf was so fast!

I dashed past an older man walking with a cane, and yelled at him to take cover. He looked at me confused, as I sped past, and then I heard a snarling and a shout as the Chadwolf intercepted the man.

I stopped to turn back and see if there was anything I could do to help but—

The scene was out of my worst nightmares. Blood from the older man had splashed across the street in huge swaths as the Chadwolf feasted on flesh. It spied me again and snarled, which was all the motivation I needed to keep running.

Finally, after trying several doors, I found one that was still open. I almost walked back out, because it was a beauty salon, but I was so tired from running, and from my long trip before that, I thought maybe I could take a breather in one of the waiting room chairs.

“Good evening, Sir, and welcome to Curl up and Dye!”

I blinked as my eyes fell on the woman behind the counter. She was beautiful with her hair caught up in a soft updo, and alabaster skin. She wore a lovely white top with a blue skirt.

“Uh, hello…” I said, wondering if she was going to change into a vampire or werewolf too. Was everyone in DarkWater cursed?

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Uh—“ I glanced up at the sign. “No. No. I just got into town.”

She gave me a soft smile. “Looks like you’ve met the welcoming committee.”

I nodded. “If you mean the vampire at the pizza place and the werewolf at the comic book store…”

She gave a soft laugh. “Mmmm, indeed, you have had quite the night!”

I sat down in one of the waiting room chairs, panting as I rubbed the sweat from my face and hair.

“I suppose you’re going to turn out to be a demon or something?”

She gave that soft laugh again. A laugh I realized I really liked hearing.

“Now, do I look like I could possibly be a nasty old demon?”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t look like either of those things.”

“Of course not!” She said, smiling softly again. “Can I get you some water? You look very thirsty.”

I glanced at the nearby water cooler. It had cucumbers floating in it, and there was a pink bottle of something next to it. Condensation beaded the glass, and it looked very inviting.

“Um, I…” The water looked really good. I was tired, thirsty, and frightened of just about anything in this town. The woman appeared very nice, and so far, nothing strange.

“It’s okay, Sean,” her voice had a soft quality I really liked.

I nodded, feeling sleepy as she pressed a cold glass of water into my hand. I lifted it to my lips and drank most of it down in one gulp.

“Easy there!” She said, laughing softly.

“Sorry,” I said, blinking. “I was really thirsty.”

“Well, there’s more of that where it came from, Sean.”

I nodded again. Something was off, not right. I stared at the glass. The water within glowed with a soft pink light, similar to the bottle on the counter. I took another drink.

Feeling strange, I looked at her. She was so lovely. I wanted to do anything I could to make her happy, and to give me one of those small smiles again.