Page 5

I stop in my tracks. By over there, Zach means over to where he has the creature chained to the fucking brick wall.

“What the fuck!” I shout, rushing over to him. The creature, for his part, hunches over, wings curved over himself like a turtle’s shell. “Why the fuck do you even have chains in your basement? What did you do to him?” I drop to my knees in front of him, impulsively reaching for his wounded wing.

"Does it hurt?"

He doesn't nod. He doesn't do anything. His eyes fall from mine and lock onto the ground in front of me. One of my hands slips forward. I watch it go, and he watches it, too. My fingers get closer to the dark fur covering his shoulder, but the sound of footsteps behind me makes me pull back.

The creature’s eyes slide up to meet the shadow that falls over us, and for a moment, I see the demon that everyone thinks he is, but I can hardly blame him for being mad when Zach chained him up and left him to bleed. Ignoring Zach, I reach out and slide my hand onto the shoulder I just pulled away from.

"He's not going to hurt you,” I say, even though I’m not sure it’s true.

Zach steps up beside me. “It doesn’t understand you. I tried talking to it.”

My jaw clenches at the way he keeps saying it. I haven’t taken my eyes off the creature. “What exactly was your plan here, Zach?”

He puts his hand on my shoulder, and I fight not to flinch away. I hate that he’s towering over me, towering over us. “I’m not sure yet. Become internet famous? Sell tickets for people to come see him? Let him die? Not sure.”

I fight not to react, even as my mind is running through all of my own possibilities. How can I get him out of here without Zach knowing? How can I free him when I can’t get through his chains?

"Grace, look at me."

I fix my eyes on Zach’s face, a face I once found so beautiful. But now, he looks far uglier to me than this creature he chained up. A creature with big fangs sticking out of his mouth, with a flat nose and yellow eyes, with fur covering him from head-to-toe.

“I think you should go. Give me a few days to figure out what to do with it. Maybe I should just turn it into the police, let the town have a field day.”

I ball my hands into fists and stand. He’s not going to get the chance to do anything with him because as soon as I get the chance, I’m going to set him free.

4

Now that I know what lives in the woods, it’s far less scary to cross through late that night. In fact, the entire time, I’m hoping to run into one of the creatures… the Yellow-Eyed Treufel. Because maybe that would mean the creature in Zach’s basement figured out how to free himself.

It’s two in the morning. I’m just hoping that Zach will be asleep. Generally speaking, if Zach sits still longer than five minutes, he falls asleep. I should know; he’s fallen asleep on top of me enough times after sex.

Standing at his back door, I take a deep breath and slip the hammer out of my bag that I stole from my roommate. It’s a little pink thing that apparently her parents insisted she have. I’m fairly certain this isn’t what they intended it to be used for. Quickly, before I can lose my nerve, I smash the sharp end of the hammer into the glass and watch it splinter like a spiderweb.

Wrapping a towel around my hand, I shove the glass in, satisfied when I get enough of it out of the way to be able to reach in and unlock the door. Inside, I stop and listen for sounds, for evidence that Zach is awake. But I don’t hear anything.

Moving quickly, I head straight for the basement, hoping and praying that Zach isn’t down there. I slip in through the door, startled when I realize I’m at the top of a steep staircase and all the lights are off. He left the creature in the dark, the asshole.

Reaching out carefully, I find a light switch on the wall and move down the stairs, careful not to let the bag slung over my body hit the wall. When I reach the ground level and turn the corner into the basement, I’m not surprised to find the creature slumped over, asleep. I’m sure he’s exhausted after all he’s been through. I reach out to wake him, but then stop myself.

My eyes trace the curve of his neck, connecting to his strong shoulders. I quietly set my bag down and walk around the back of him, where he’s chained to the wall. I still don’t know what the hell Zach or his parents need chains in their basement for. Squinting in the shadows, I examine the way his wings protrude from his back. They look like they would be soft to the touch. I reach out to caress one, running my hand down the length of it.

The creature jerks, his head whipping around to face me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, throwing up my hands. But when he sees it’s me and not Zach, his face changes. He almost looks… excited.

I pull back and move over to the bag I left on the ground. I can feel the creature’s eyes on me as I dig through it. “We had extra food,” I say, snatching it up and holding it out to him. “I thought you might want some. I don’t know if he’s fed you.” I feel like an idiot, offering him a Tupperware dish of crock pot chicken. My roommates would kill me if they knew I stole it.

His eyes take in the container and then slide back up to mine. He doesn’t reach for the food, just watches me skeptically. When his eyes move down to the food again, I can see the hunger in them.

“Here.” I try to offer him the dish. Finally, after a lot of prodding, he takes it. He hesitates a second, sniffing the meat, and then half of it disappears into his mouth. I watch, taking in our situation as he chomps away at it. After a few moments, he finishes the first piece. I pass him the other.

“I’m Grace.”

He doesn’t stop eating, but his eyes move up to mine. I can’t seem to look away from them, like they have me in a trance.

I put my hand to my chest. “Grace.”