*made a slight change near the end that kept bugging me*

[Yo, if y'all want a sweet Jellie AU fanfic where they actually have some happiness, head over to horrorscope- 's page and read You're Back. It's a wonderful birthday present. :D

Btw, this was an interesting *coughgoreycough* chapter to write, hehe. Just a heads up, ya know?

Song in the MM is In This Moment - Oh Lord (Maria Brink is my literal religion and sexuality).

Enjoy the chapter!]

Stay Creepy, My Friends!~

Chapter 32

Elizabeth's POV

It's been a couple of weeks since I first saw that bulletin board chock full of missing persons posters. During that time, I've been investigating the situation, trying to find the ones responsible for the misfortunes of so many girls.

Finding a specific area where the girls were last seen was easy. It turned out to be a strip mall section somewhere in Nevada (which is where I ended up for grocery shopping last time, somehow). The strip mall didn't seem like an ominous place; in fact it was lively, full with hustle and bustle and friends out for a fun night. Nothing about it had seemed off, but being that I was growing more and more desperate for "food", I delved further.

Turns out, there are clubs in the strip mall that many teens like to sneak into or 'fake ID' their way in. At first, it was hard to pinpoint an exact club responsible; all of those missing girls could've been taken from any one of them. That's why I had to do something I didn't want to do: talk to people.

"Hey, did you happen to see a girl like this recently?" I asked the bartender, showing her a photo of Rina from the missing persons sign (the girl I'm most focused on).

The bartender shrugged and yelled over the club music, "I don't know. I see lots of faces here. Plus, I switch shifts with anotha guy, Paul, so I ain't here all the time."

"Do you think he would have seen her?" I questioned.

"Maybe," the woman replied. "Why are you asking for her? She in trouble?"

"I would hope not," I remarked, though I don't think she heard me.

"You didn't ask the bouncers?"

"Um, n-no," I said, lying about the fact that I actually teleported my way in here instead of going through the front, "they looked busy."

"Yeah. You probably picked the wrong day to come here, what with it being the weekend. Sorry to cut this short, but I've got to tend to other people, ya know?"

"I understand. Thanks," I said, and left her alone.

With a sigh, I looked down at Rina's picture, club lights dancing across the paper and obscuring her image. The mouth at my chest growled and I felt my stomach churn with hunger. I knew a simple snack wouldn't suffice. I have to find Rina's kidnappers soon. Then, curiously, I scanned the crowd of clubbers in the big room and licked my lips subconsciously. I mean...I could always use these people; they're right here.

No! You're on a mission. It's not a mission you need to do, really, but you set a goal for yourself, Ellie! Fuckin' do it.

While I took a seat at the bar, trying to think of what to do next, a man came and sat next to me on another stool. Wary, I glanced over at him and could tell he was intending to talk to me. Here we go...

"Hi," he greeted with a smile. Eyeing him, he looked handsome and young, probably not less than 21 years old--the perfect age for a club.

"Hello," I replied cautiously.

Adjusting the shirt cuffs at his elbows, he asked, "Um, so, I was wondering if you'd like for me to buy you a drink?"

"Sorry," I said, "but I don't drink alcohol."

"Oh, well...there's always a Shirley Temple? Hehe."

"I'm good."

"That's alright. Can I at least get your name?"

Still not fully turning towards him, I sat in silence for a moment, unsure. I can tell he's a bit nervous though. Guess I won't have to worry about him being a jackass.

"Yeah, sure, it's...Rachel."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mike..!" He then held his hand out for a handshake, still bearing a kind smile.

It seems like he hasn't noticed my eyepatch yet (he's at my right, after all). Let's see how he likes that.

"Likewise," I responded, completely facing him and shaking his hand. The expression on his face faltered a bit at seeing my eyepatch, and I almost wanted to laugh.

"Uh," he stuttered, "I, uh..."

"Don't like girls with eyepatches?" I questioned.

"N-No--I mean, yes, I think eyepatches can look attractive--uhhh, but not on like, I don't know, pirates, or the scruffy looking kind I mean, because pirates can be hot if they...uhhh.."

Whatever he's doing, he's blowing it.

"I appreciate the politeness," I began, "but I'm currently on important business."

"Oh, o-okay..."

"Mikey!" another patron of the club yelled from a table with some other people. The guy raised his arms up, like he was confused and annoyed. Mike turned around and sighed.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"My friends. They kinda dragged me here..."

"Ey!" the man hollered again, "what's up, Mike? You're a senior and you still can't get a girl?! You're gonna be lonely forever! Ha!"

"Ugh..." Mike groaned and hung his head.

My attention was caught on what had been said: senior.

"Are you a teenager?" I inquired to Mike.

Suddenly, his vibe shifted and his body tensed up. Before he could spring out of his chair and hurry off, I snatched onto his arm and kept him in place. He winced and tried prying my hand away but I was much stronger than he was.

"You're an undercover cop, aren't you?" he stammered. "L-Listen, I didn't want to come here! My friends dragged me here! I look older than I am so they thought it'd be easy for me to get in here and--!"

"Have you seen this girl?" I interrupted his rambling and showed him the picture of Rina.

He stared at it for a good few seconds before shaking his head frantically.

Nodding at his table of friends, I asked, "What about them?"

"M-Maybe. Are you an actual cop or no--?"

Without letting him finish, I yanked him away from the bar and sauntered up to his group of friends. The guy who kept hollered had a smug look on his face and said, "Shit, Mike, you met a dominant girl? I don't know if that's impressive or worse off than being single--."

Slamming my hand down on the table, I got all of the teens to be quiet and focus their attention on me. Furrowing my brow, I presented the picture of Rina and asked them, "Have you all seen this girl?"

I only got silence as a response.

Glaring, I added, "I know you all are here illegally, so I suggest you give me some answers before I rat you out to club staff and have you sent to jail."

That got them animated. The teens--two other boys and two girls--shared anxious glances and shifted uncomfortably. Just when I was about to speak, one of the girls piped up, "I-I've seen her once before..."

"Where?" I asked urgently, scaring her a bit.

"U-Uh, she's a junior class VP for some other school!"

"This one?" I questioned, flipping down a section of folded paper to reveal the info on Rina.

"Yeah!" the girl confirmed.

"Why're you asking?" the hollering guy inquired, looking irritated.

"She went missing and was possibly abducted from this area," I stated bluntly. "I need to find her."

The girl who was brave enough to speak up added, "If it was here...then check out this gay nightclub three blocks from here. I remember she came out last year, a-and all any teen does at this strip mall is hit up the clubs, soooo..."

Another nightclub. Great, more people to talk to...

"Thanks," I said. "You all be safe and don't get yourselves abducted."

Before I left, I finally let go of the boy Mike and said to him, "Also, word of advice: don't bring up anything about pirates to a girl with an eyepatch on first meet."

"Noted...," he said, rubbing his arm where I had been gripping him.

With that, I spun around and hurried off to the club's exit to make my way to my next destination.

Like that girl said, there was a gay nightclub three blocks away. Again, I found a spot off to the side where I wouldn't be seen teleporting and showed up inside of a storage closet. With little effort, I turned the doorknob, breaking it in the process, and walked out.

For the next hour as a half, I was surrounded by more dancing, sometimes drunk, people, and pulsing club music that annoyed me. I talked with the bartender like before and he had said he'd seen Rina a few times, but it wasn't significant. She was just a club-goer and that was that. I thanked him for his help anyway and stayed at the bar, staring at Rina's picture and information. Dammit, where the fuck are you??

"H-Hey," a melodic voice chimed in next to me. Oh, another Mike. Maybe they'll be as awkward as him too and go away easily?

I turned and saw a woman sitting to my left, obviously drunk as hell. She flashed a giddy smile and said, "I couldn't help but--hic--notice you, hehe. I'm a straightforward kinda gal, so I wanted to tell you that you look pretty...!~"

"Thank you," I replied, wanting to leave already.

She glanced down at the paper in my hands and said, "Oh my gosh, I--hic--I know that girl! Sweet girl. P-Pretty girl. I miss talking to her. She doesn't come here anymore..."

Suddenly intrigued, I faced my whole body towards the drunken woman and said, "You've met her before??"

"Yup! Told me her--hic--troubles and whatnot! Used to talk about a bunch of stuff, like why tampons are so expensive and tedious to get??"

"When did you last see her?" I asked.

The woman shrugged. "Pssh, dunno. A while ago? I remember introducing her to my buddy Paul and that's it! They became friends. After that--hic--saw her less and less..."

Paul? The other bartender from the previous club. There's something here...

"Is Paul here tonight? Could you introduce me, too?"

The woman bunched up her ruby red lips and said, "My buddy Paul is a very 'to himself' kinda guy and--hic--doesn't want to meet new people unless he really needs to."

"I need to," I urged, leaning closer.

She smirked and added, "Well...he only trusts whoever I trust. I need to--hic--make sure you're a good person, ya know? Hehe..."

The expression on her face made me suspicious and I asked, "What are you saying?"

She hiccuped for the umpteenth time already and brushed her hand on my thigh. "Maaaaaybe we could get to know each other real quick?"

Oh, crap. And she's drunk too so this makes this more awkward. But when I was unsure of this situation, the mouths beckoned me by growling and demanding to be fed. I felt them writhe slightly and grit my teeth to ignore the discomfort. My actual stomach growled as well, reminding me of my own hunger.

I need to feed. I need to feed..!

Heart racing, I grabbed onto this woman's hand and led her away from the bar. She stumbled behind willingly, clinging onto me as we left the club for somewhere else.

"W-We can go to my car..!" she suggested, wobbling in her heels. Too impatient to bother with her slow pace, I swept her off her feet and carried her instead. She let out a playful giggle and held onto me as I walked. The smell of alcohol was strong on her and I resisted gagging.

There was a separate parking area away from the strip mall and that's where this woman's car was parked. Towards the back, we found it and I had to set her down so she could unlock it. As soon as I could open the backdoor, I swept her inside and climbed in.

"Whoa," she awed, "here? Okay!"

My stomach began churning with nervousness just looking at her. The smell of alcohol was stronger now, and the car felt smaller than it was. She better tell me something after this..

"Alright," I started, closing the door behind me, "make this qui--."

Her lips seized mine in an instant and I was extremely caught off guard by her eagerness. Her slim hands snaked their way behind my neck, trapping me in her embrace, and when she fell back, I went with her. Even though she was drunk, I knew I had to make it seem like I was into this, so I started kissing back. My arms were shaking since I was holding myself up on top of her. In fact, my whole body was shaking.

While she was kissing me quite roughly, surely smudging her lipstick on me, my left hand came into view beside her head and the two wedding rings sparkled at me. Like that, I felt my stomach drop. I'm sorry, Jeff, but I need to feed...

At the thought of Jeff, I felt even more disgusted with this situation than I already was. If this woman was Jeff, maybe then I could enjoy this, but she isn't. She's just a drunken woman whom I don't even know the name of; I just picked her up right from the bar without any question. Just a drunken woman who's hands keep groping me and tugging on my clothes and hugging me closer against her body.

A part of me wished this was Jeff, and my heart ached at the thought that it might never be him. I miss him, so much... I wish he was here, not just to make-out, but to actually be here so I could know he's well and safe and in arms-reach. That day will come though...I'm sure of it! And until then, I have to learn to maintain this hunger I have boiling deep within me, a hunger so strong that the mouths can break my bones in retaliation. If I can't maintain it, who knows what I could do to Jeff?

At this point, there was no escaping the woman's heated embrace. Even her legs trapped me against her and I felt so confined. I was unsure of what to do, so she ended up leading the way and I wasn't sure what to feel. I tried to let my mind wander to something, anything, else, but I'd be yanked back into reality with the drunken woman's every intimate touch. Keeping up with my act, I kissed at her neck and her moans unnerved me. Shivers went up my spine when her nails brushed against my back.

When her hands began slipping my jacket off, I squirmed and pulled away. The woman smiled at me and said, "No need to be shy. It's too hot for that anyway."

"N-No..," I mumbled, adjusting my jacket.

She grabbed at my hips and said, "I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Just take it off."

Without hesitation, she yanked down the shoulders of my jacket, revealing the mouth tattoos at my biceps. During the split second they were revealed, they glowed scarlet and snapped their teeth. Quickly, I pulled the jacket back up and glanced at the woman's face for a reaction. Her gaze was confused, and when I thought she'd scream, she cackled and slurred, "Woooo, I'm drunk as fuuuck, haha! Okay, keep the jacket on."

After that little scare, the woman went right back to kissing me and touching me in places I didn't want to be touched. Regardless if she's a gay woman, or if she were a straight man--if it's anyone but Jeff I'll feel disgusted. Ugh, calm down, Ellie. This is all for a good cause. This is all so you won't destroy every single living thing that crosses your path...!

Suddenly, from the car's silence, I heard the buzzing of a phone. The woman groaned and reached down for the handbag she had dropped on the way in. "Guess I have to take that," she murmured before putting the phone to her ear. I just sat up, waiting impatiently.

"Helloooooo," she answered. "Yeah, I was at the club.... Uhhhh, no I didn't find more people.... You don't have to scold me, weren't the others enough?.... Psssh, whatever.... Yeah, I'm drunk as hell, so what?.... I'm busy right now.... I'm with someone!.... No, I'm not taking her, stupid.... Yes, you interrupted something!... P, I've been so lonely lately, so just let me have this?.... Thanks! Mhmm, talk to you later, bye!"

The woman hung up the call and tossed her phone onto the floor of the car. Smiling and grabbing onto my hands, she said, "Where were we again?"

"Wait," I interjected, pulling away, "you called that person P. Was that Paul?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh, y-yeah," she replied.

"What did you mean when you said you're not taking me? And that you're finding other people?"

"You don't have to worry about that, hun," she said nonchalantly.

"Tell me," I demanded.

"It's really nothi--."

"I'll give you the best oral you'll ever get if you do," I stated.

Biting her lip, she giggled and responded, "You're cute...! Well, Paul is just one of those...whatcha-call-it, those counselors for troubled teens, ya know? I like to help him out by finding the young ones and referring them to him. Just that."

"Troubled teens," I muttered, pondering her explanation. It'd make sense for Rina, since that girl might have gotten crap for being gay. I don't know about the others. But this woman's answer seems fishy. It's weird enough that she'd scout out teens at nightclubs, but only going to gay nightclubs for troubled teens when not all of them have to be LGBTQ? How would she know they're troubled anyway? Why go to nightclubs for that in the first place when there are centers??

"Okay," I said, taking her answer.

"Can we continue now?" she asked, twirling a lock of her hair.

Bearing a smirk, I retorted, "Of course."

Looming over her, I clutched onto her hair and kissed her as passionately as I could. She hummed with satisfaction and grabbed onto me again. When I pulled away, I whispered to her, "I'm gonna fucking break you..."

"Oooh, yes, do it...!" she mewled.

As she nipped at my neck, I added, "But first, I need you to tell me everything you know."

"Huh?"

"Tell me the truth," I said.

She pulled away to look at me. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Sitting up, I began slipping off my jacket and said, "Well, you better start figuring it out."

The drunken woman tilted her head, puzzled for a few moments, until she looked above her at the car window. Her change in expression was instant the moment she laid eyes on the black web that began creeping up the window, and covering the entire interior of the car. Beginning to panic, her breathing grew faster, while I was busy taking off my eyepatch and stared her down. When she returned her gaze to me again, her face was wholly stricken with fear. Just before the car window in front of me had been completely covered by the black web, I saw my red eyes reflected back at me in the glass.

The second the woman opened her mouth to scream, I clamped my hand on her throat and squeezed hard. Hissing in her face, I commanded, "Start talking."

And talk she did. Though her words were affected by her terror, I was able to get the truth nonetheless. Her story about helping troubled teens was a lie; in reality, she scouts out for any girl she can and informs her 'buddy', Paul, so that he can abduct them, and he also scouts for girls at other clubs too. The woman gets paid a lot of money for it apparently. She also told me where to find this Paul bastard too. I asked if she knew what he did with the girls, and after some hesitation, she told me they're given off to Paul's gang for...ugh...

"Thanks," I told her. The mouths at my arms were glowing now, snarling and snapping their teeth with hunger.

"P-Please, let me go-o," she whimpered, tears rolling down the sides of her face.

I cocked my head and said, "But we still need to get to know each other, don't we? Don't worry, I can take good care of you."

Holding her down, I leaned forward and kissed her ruby red lips again. Slowly, I made my way to her neck, brushed her hair as she cried and trembled underneath me. Next to her ear, I whispered, "Want me to tear you up, right?"

She nodded hesitantly, sobbing.

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly. In a few seconds, I felt black substance leak from my left eye, crawling over my face and changing me. As I gripped onto her face to keep her still, she noticed my black claws and began to cry out. With one last look at her face, I growled with a distorted voice, "My pleasure."

What came next was all a blur to me. There was a lot of blood, a lot of bones cracking, some crying and squealing here and there, some squelching and uncomfortable popping sounds, and then finally pure silence. Once I was finished, my clothes were drenched in crimson and my stomach felt full. Leaning against the back seats, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. In the rear view mirror up front, I saw my face was back to normal, yet my mouth was covered in blood instead of red lipstick. Now that the deed was done, the black web that covered the inside of the car fell away, revealing a perfectly calm parking lot outside.

All better now?

Sitting in the driver's seat, Zalgo looked back at me curiously.

Scoffing, I said, "I guess."

What a mess you've made. You'll have to clean this up somehow.

"I've got it," I assured him. The former Lord chuckled.

You're so cruel, Elizabeth. That woman was looking for a good time and you ate her. And not in the way she wanted.

"I wasn't going to have sex with her anyway," I grumbled. "She would've been my first, and I'm not gonna let some random lady, no less someone drunk, be my first."

So you were going to kill her anyway?

"That wasn't my initial plan, but...well..."

Zalgo laughed aloud, bearing a genuine smile on his pale face.

Oh, you're so amusing, my dear! I'm glad you're not a boring girl.

"Happy to entertain," I muttered. Sitting up, I added, "Now if you excuse me, I have a mess to take care of."

After stealing the car keys from the woman's purse (and stealing her money because why not? it's money) and trying to figure out the car, I managed to drive the vehicle out of the parking lot. I took back-roads as much as possible to avoid traffic, since my driving is rusty after so long. Nevada is an interesting state, what with its barren desserts. But, these desserts are perfect for ditching a car and summoning the black substance to come up and destroy it, along with whatever leftovers there were of the woman.

While spikes and tendrils were crushing the vehicle into oblivion, I took out the woman's phone from my pocket and went through it. In her contacts was a name, P, and an address. A grin creeped up onto my face as I heard the mouths howl in triumph.

Gotcha.

...

The next day was the day that this hunt would end.

Outside, the weather was cool and stagnant. Caedis crouched next to me, wearing a mouth mask and baseball cap to hide his hair. Together, we crouched behind the ridge of a hill, watching an old warehouse with very faint light peeking through some of the cracks. Even from here I could hear the pained screaming and crying of some girl inside, but just barely. That gang inside sure know how to pick a hideout...

After waiting around and listening to those shrilled screams, they finally stopped and I turned to Caedis. Taking out the picture of Rina, I said, "Remember, if you see her, keep her safe."

Caedis nodded. I shoved the paper back inside my pocket and adjusted his baseball cap as I added, "Alright, I'm going in. After I give the signal, you come in and subdue everyone but the girl. Ready?"

Again, he nodded, and so did I. Taking a deep breath, I got up and stealthily made my way down the hill. My heart was racing with anticipation, but I knew I had to calm myself before intervening. At the foot of the hill, I rolled in the dirt and ruffled up my hair, just to look like I'm some lost person out in the Nevada desert seeking help.

Once I was at the warehouse, I came up to one of the doors and knocked frantically. Feigning a feeble voice, I called out, "Excuse me? Is anyone here? P-Please, help me? I-I've been lost since yesterday and starving..."

It took a while, but the door finally opened and a man stood there. With a wary look, he asked, "What's your name?"

"R...Rachel...," I murmured, rubbing my arm.

"Why'd you come here?"

Sniffling, I replied, "I don't know where else to go. This was the only shelter I've seen for miles a-and I heard people, I think? C-Can you help me?"

The man's cautious attitude gave way for charisma as he said, "Of course. The name's Paul. Come inside and I'll see what I can do for you."

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" I cried, clutching my hands together. Paul stepped aside and gestured me to enter the building. Without hesitation, I stepped in and continued inside, while he quietly closed the door behind us.

"You have no idea how much I'm grateful that I came across you!" I told him in the most heartfelt voice I could pull off.

"Well, you're extremely lucky you did," he said.

"I'm also glad you didn't ignore me either! I know some stranger hollering in the middle of night in a desert is probably a scary thing..."

"Oh, it's alright. It's important to help others, right? Don't you worry and I'll take care of you until we can get authorities," he chimed.

"Again, thank you so much," I retorted as he ushered me into another room, "thank you--."

Inside of the grand, nearly empty room, were other men; some lounged off to the side, drinking, smoking; others surrounded a cowering figure lying on a filthy mattress. That figure was a girl, half-naked, whimpering and hugging herself. I've been staring at Rina's photo long enough to recognize her.

Before I could even react to the appalling scene, I felt something slam into the back of my head and I went falling. Curling into a ball, I held my head and tried to fight off the throbbing pain. Above me, Paul loomed over me ominously, not charismatic and polite anymore.

"It's so nice of you to just come to us instead of us coming to you," he commented, pinning me down with his foot, showing off the gun in his hand. "Kidnapping sluts like you does get tiring from time to time..."

Looking at another man, he ordered, "Tie her up and put her with the other girl. I'm sure they'll make great friends."

Before anyone could touch me, I put two fingers in my mouth and whistled loudly. There was a few seconds of silence and the air in the room seemed to thicken. Then, a few men laughed while Paul remarked, "What was that? Tape up her mouth too, will ya--?"

Suddenly, a familiar, disguised soldier barged into the room and rammed a knife right into Paul's shoulder. With incredible strength, Caedis hooked him and heaved him into the wall next to the door, creating a dent. Paul was knocked out. The mute soldier ripped out the knife from Paul's shoulder and turned towards the rest of the room.

Sitting up, I glared at all of the other men--thirteen in total besides Paul--and said to Caedis, "You know what to do."

Lighting fast, Caedis dashed forward and attacked the closest man he could lay his hands on. When one of them took out a gun, he grabbed that man's wrist, broke it, swiped the gun, and shot the bastard pointblank in the hip. Using the gun, he shot at all of the other men, careful to wound them and not kill them. There were times when it looked like he was being overwhelmed by these thugs, but Caedis pulled through and fucked them up anyway.

Watching him fight was amazing, since he was so swift and accurate with every move. The only time I've ever gotten to see him fight was when he and I battled. Now that I can observe him as an ally, I could fully understand just how he's the perfect soldier like Zalgo always said. He's a perfect warrior too. Caedis never shied away from spilling blood, even slicing a man's ear off at one point. Such an amazing fighter. I'm almost proud to call him mine.

Now that I had recovered from the hit to my head, I stood up and looked at the girl, Rina. She still lied on the mattress, watching all the fighting with wide, panicked eyes. Just when I was about to go to her and rescue her, I heard a voice behind me tell me, "Hey, bitch..!"

The moment I turned around I was immediately greeted with a bullet to the face.

I felt the shot go into my left eye, completely obliterating my eyepatch. Blood spurt out in front of me and my body went completely numb. I fell back with a thud and laid limply on the floor, like a rag doll. My consciousness faded in and out, obscuring what vision I had left. I watched blood pool beneath my head, reaching across the dusty, concrete floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paul standing over me with a crazy grin on his face.

"That's what you fucking get!" he barked heatedly. As if the bullet to the head wasn't enough, he started kicking and stomping on my body. Caedis must be too busy with the other men to take care of this just yet. I really wanted him to come and intervene, not because that's what I had ordered him to do, but because I could feel the strong heat of rage rush through my veins.

The more the bastard Paul kicked me and spat on me, the more I felt this heat turn into pure fire. And I thought about Rina's screams of pain and fear, and what these men have done to her all this time. My stomach churned and I heard the mouths' voices rise with fervor. The memory of last night, when I had mauled that drunken woman to pieces, kicked in, and the fire within me became unbearable. The mouths chanted to me...

FEED

FEED

FEED

K I L L
THEM

K I L L T H E M

D E V O U R--

--them all.

I interrupted Paul's kicking by grabbing his ankle and breaking it with one twist of my wrist. He cried out in pain and fell over, dropping his gun in the process. All feeling in my body came back, especially the pain of having a hole in the left side of my face. Standing up, I reached inside and yanked the piece of metal out, tossing it aside irritably. More blood fell down my face but was quickly overwhelmed by the black substance that formed from my bullet wound.

"I really am grateful I came across you, Paul," I said, cracking my neck. Gaping with horror, he began to pathetically crawl away from me. I continued, "You said it's important to help others. You should feel honored to have helped a queen. Thanks to your stupidity and disgusting ways..."

Finally, the black substance formed a mask on my face and I grinned my sharp-toothed, monstrous grin. "I can finally eat."

In an instant, I leaped on him with unhinged jaws wide open. With just one bite, I took off most of his head and stained the wall behind him with his blood. Meat hung in strings from my teeth, the taste of blood was sweet on my tongue, and bone was weak under the strength of my jaws. Unlike other times, I chewed and swallowed without hesitation--I was getting used to the feeling. A deep, sinister growl reverberated from the back of my throat as I turned to see everyone, including Caedis, looking at me. As soon as I released a loud, spine-chilling, beastly roar, the room went into a panic.

Some men were quick and unharmed enough to escape the grand room through another door that led to another part of the warehouse. Others weren't so lucky and succumbed to my salivating maw. Blood and meat burst in my mouth with every bite I took out of the mens' necks, heads, arms, stomachs--anywhere I could sink my teeth into.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Caedis running out of the room to catch the thugs who escaped. There's no point in him doing so; I'll hunt them all down anyway. I appreciated the effort, though.

Out of the six men who were left behind in the room, I had killed all but one, who was trying to crawl out of the room with a severed leg. Without moving from my spot, I called upon the Dark Hands from my back and had one grab him. His screams were hoarse and miserable to hear. Gazing up at his petrified face, I watched it change as the Dark Hand began tightening its grip--tighter, tighter, tighter--until there was a wet pop.

"Pathetic human...," I hissed and had the Dark Hand toss the remains aside.

My stomach growled once again, needing more. The mouths were still eager too. Following their will, I ran out of the room to hunt the other prey that scurried off.

It was easy to find all seven of them left; I could hear their panicked breathing through the warehouse, could sense their frantic heartbeats. I plucked one man out from behind some old crates using the Dark Hands, and slammed him into the floor, leaving pulp behind. Two others I found hiding in a storage closet; I ended up biting one man's neck out while the other was ripped in two by the Dark Hands. The more I ate and killed, the more I felt...alive, powerful even..! All of these horrible men will become nothing but fodder for me, just like every other wretched human on this Earth!

The old warehouse was too crowded and full of junk to bother running around on the floor, so I had the Dark Hands haul me up to the metal support beams above. With a higher perspective, I could see the rest of the men clearly and struck. Picking them up from their spots and leaving their remains on the beams, eating out their stomachs while they're still alive, crushing them like cockroaches under my Dark Hands, I finished off three until there was one left.

Tired, I took a seat by the last human and let the black mask on my face dissipate. His weak gurgles and moans annoyed me yet still I rested after such a hardcore workout.

"Let's see what you've got," I retorted, taking out his wallet from his blood soaked pants. Opening it, the first thing I saw was his driver's license and a photo of a woman and two boys on the other side.

"Huh," I began, "you've got a family. How surprising. I wonder what they would think of you if they knew you were a kidnapper, murderer, and rapist. Too bad you won't be around long enough to see their reactions."

Then, grinning maliciously, I looked down at him and said, "You know what, it'd be such a shame if something horrible happened to them. They look like such sweet people. Or will your sons end up scumbags like you because of your inferior genes? In that case, maybe it'd be better to have them die. What do you think?"

The man replied with choked cries since his stomach was practically falling apart. I chuckled, amused.

"You're right. What's their address? Twenty-three o'five Ochre street... How cute. I'll pay them a visit after this. I bet they taste delicious...!"

As the man weakly shook his head in protest, I summoned a spike to shoot through him from the ground up, finishing him off. Ahh, finally some quiet.

To my annoyance, the silence was interrupted by the sounds of feminine screaming and pleading on the other side of the warehouse. Frowning, I summoned the black mask over my face again and leaped back up to the support beams. From my place above, I spotted Caedis and the girl, Rina. She was struggling and trying to pull herself out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go. Honestly, I had forgotten she was here, but I'll finally rescue her and be done with this self-set mission.

Quietly, I traveled across the metal beams to get to them. When I was close enough, I dropped down and landed on the floor in front of Caedis and the protesting girl. She immediately stopped her struggling upon seeing me and gaped in horror. Eyeing her, I calmly sauntered up to the two, my Dark Hands looming behind. Rina quaked in her spot and went as far as to reel back into Caedis to get away from me.

Part of my mask disappeared so that half of my human mouth was revealed. Lowly, I told her, "You must be Rina.."

She gulped and whimpered, "H...How do you know my name?"

Crossing my arms, I answered, "Missing persons. I've been busting my ass to find you."

Scanning me up and down, she asked, "Wh...What are you?"

"Your rescuer," I replied blatantly. To Caedis, I commanded him, "Carry her. She's too weak to walk."

Anxiously, the teen girl whined and tried to escape from the mute soldier, but he picked her up in his arms with no effort at all. Frowning, I said, "There's no need to freak out. He won't harm you."

"Wh-Where are you taking me?!" she questioned in a shrill tone that hurt my ears.

"To the police, where else?" I grumbled.

"B...But, you...you k-killed the men...you--."

"I killed them to save you," I stated firmly. "Are you not thankful for that? Do you want me to leave you here to die out here in this desert?? I can."

"N-No--!"

"Then hush. You're lucky I bothered to waste my time on you. In fact, you're lucky I didn't kill you too," I said. "Now, keep your mouth shut and save your breath for the police. I'm sure they'll want to question you about everything that has happened to you."

With that, she nodded and resigned herself. I huffed and commanded, "Come, Caedis. Let's leave this horrid place..."

As we walked out of the warehouse and stepped out into the cool, night air, Rina spoke up and said, "Thank you..."

I didn't respond. Again, she went silent and rested in Caedis' arms. Once we were far enough away from the warehouse, I looked back and summoned my magic. Gradually, the old walls were covered with a black web and lengthy spikes punctured the rooftop. The cars of the gang members left behind were also destroyed instantly. Sounds of metal screeching and crunching was loud, but we were so far out into the desert that surely it would never be noticed. So long warehouse. So long despicable humans; this world is better off without you.

Though one thing I did appreciate about them was the cash they had on them. Feeling inside my pockets, I touched the rolls of money I stole that weren't blood-soaked. Got myself food and cash in one raid. Haha, I'm such an asshole...!

Done with my Dark Hands, I let them disappear, but I still donned the monstrous mask of my Nightmare form so that Rina can't identify me to police. Same goes for Caedis and his cap and mask (I'm surprised they're still on after the scuffle).

Catching up to them, I grabbed onto Caedis and hailed the black web-like substance to surround us and take us far from this now barren desert.

...

Rina was successfully brought to the police. Caedis and I went back home without any other problems. I did make a stop by a cute little house on Ochre Street though...but didn't do squat. By the time I got to the house, I felt way too tired to do anything at all. Didn't really think the family was worth it anyway. Besides, having no more dad is probably more painful in the long run.

Back at the cabin, I took a well-deserved shower, and then had Caedis wash up after I was out. While I sat in the living room, feeling refreshed in clean clothes, Zalgo showed up next to me.

I must say, you did splendidly, Elizabeth.

"Thanks," I replied tiredly.

How do you feel?

After giving it some thought, I answered, "I guess...rejuvenated? The mouths aren't acting up, though I know they will eventually..."

You can always feed on more criminals, though innocents are most preferred.

"I don't want to kill innocents."

You considered that family.

"Considered," I argued. "Either way, I ruined that family emotionally. That's good enough, I guess."

Zalgo chuckled, throwing his head back with delight.

Ah, you truly are cruel, and so wonderfully cold! Maybe killing them might be better off, but you decided to let them endure suffering instead. How mean.

"Mhmm," I mumbled, closing my eyes and dozing off.

Zalgo's cold presence came close and I felt his lips gently touch my forehead. I was too exhausted to react in any way at all.

I'm so proud of you. Rest well, my darling Queen. Sweet dreams.

Not too long after, I fell asleep curled up on the couch. And, peculiarly enough, I finally had pleasant dreams after so long of having nightmares and blackness in my subconscious. The mouths praised me in my dreams, honoring me for a job well done, and I loved their every word. I even dreamt of Jeff, and he told me all sorts of great things, like that he loved me and was proud of me too, and I wanted to hear his amorous words forever.

Sweet dreams, indeed.