Twitch Story

Prologue

I glanced around the attic for the fourth time. Large leather-bound books were stacked on shelves and in corners. Most of the titles were the same, or at least sounded the same. "Monsters and Magick." "Myths and Monsters." "Supernatural Monsters That Live Today." I thought most of the books were bogus but cool to look at least. But I was really interested in the boxes of raw stones. Quartz, Topaz, Opals, and so much more. Apparently, they all had some sort of spiritual effect. I didn't really know much about that kind of thing; it was more of my friend Chloe's thing, but I liked to look at them while listening to Chloe try to explain them.

"So, your dad really wants to move all of these down stairs?" I asked Chloe. She stood up and brushed the dust from her hands. She popped her gum and sighed heavily.

"Yup!" She said. "He wants to go through them and see what he wants to get rid of." She picked up one of the smaller boxes and grinned. "Woah! This one says shrunken heads!"

"No way," I said, and crossed over to her and lifted the lid. There were indeed shrunken heads inside, though whether they were real or not, it was hard to tell. The gray, wrinkly faces on leather cords were unnerving enough to be real.

"Neato," Chloe grinned at me. I chuckled and shut the lid again. I grabbed a box of masks and jerked my head to the stairs leading down to the main store. Chloe followed me down, the decorative chains of her combat boots, jingled softly as she walked.

Chloe and her father ran an occult shop at the center of town. You wouldn't think they'd get much business in this small town, but it was surprisingly popular. Maybe it was because it wasn't as scary as it sounded. It wasn't all dark and creepy like the stores you see on TV. It was open and clean. It smelled of citrus and sage. I sometimes worked with Chloe on the days I didn't work at my other job. Which was why I was there now.

Chloe and I worked for most of the afternoon, bringing boxes down from the attic. I didn't mind the manual labor too much because Chloe was good company. Always had been. We were back in the attic, grabbing the last of the boxes. Chloe had talked me into wearing one of the creepy masks, so we both wore one. I grabbed one of the larger boxes, it was opened so I could easily see that it was filled with incense and candles, but there was a mirror and a small box too. Curious, I lifted the lid of the smaller box.

"Woah." I breathed. "Chloe come check this out." I lifted the rounded crystal out of the box. A strange, but familiar symbol was carved on the smooth surface. I'd seen the symbol before, but I didn't know where. Chloe looked over my shoulder.

"Ooo, pretty," she said. She traced the symbol with a finger. Her black nail polish was chipped. "I hope dad doesn't want to sell this. I can make it into a necklace!" She smiled and patted my back. "Nice find Gavin!" I nudged her away with my elbow.

"I found it, what if I want to keep it?" I asked. She looked at me, or I assumed she did. It was hard to tell with the mask she wore. I swore I saw her eyes narrow at me, and I chuckled.

I reached to see what else was in the box. I hissed when something sliced into my hand and jerked back. Blood bloomed up on my palm and dripped down my wrist. I muttered a swear.

"Gavin," Chloe said in alarm. She grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to her face. "Oh this looks deep." I jerked my hand back, but as I did, more blood rolled down my arm and dropped onto the stone that Chloe still held. She hissed and jerked back, dropping the crystal as if it had burned her. Maybe it had, because I suddenly felt hot all over. My ground teetered under my feet, and the room spun. I doubted very seriously that it was because of blood loss. I heard Chloe say my name, but it sounded like she was speaking through a tunnel.

I don't remember what happened next, or even how I ended up on the floor. I just remembered seeing Chloe hovering over me. The light from the attic window, shined on her, making it look like her blonde hair was glowing. I groaned as the ceiling spun out of control. I remembered thinking that I couldn't pass out for this. I didn't want to look like some pansy in front of Chloe, but my eyes shut and I knew nothing else for a while.

It seemed like forever before I woke up again. I couldn't open my eyes right away. They felt like they were glued together. My head hurt like crazy and so did my hand. I hadn't really thought the cut was that bad.

"Chloe, call an ambulance." That was Chloe's father. Th deep, gruff voice was a dead giveaway. I heard the clomp, clomp and jingle of Chloe's boots as she moved away from me.

"That was very strange." That voice didn't sound familiar. It sounded more like a growl.

"Human are fragile things, Karim." That wasn't familiar either. This one sounded more high pitch but still rough. I groaned trying to open my eyes and sit up.

"Hold still, Gavin. You hit your head pretty hard. The ambulance is on its way," Chloe's father again. I wanted to see who else was with him, there hadn't been anyone in the store with him all day.

"Do you think he will die?" One of the first voices asked. "It would be a shame."

"Honestly, Karim, I don't see why you care about the humans so much," another new voice. And there was that name again, Karim. I groaned again, I trying to pull my eyes open.

"The ambulance is coming, Dad. Is he okay?" Chloe was back. I wondered why they didn't acknowledge the other people in the room. "Gavin?" Her voice sounded much closer.

I pulled my eyes opened finally. Chloe loomed over me, her father on the other side. Chloe gasped and smiled, relieved. I sat up and froze.

I'll admit that a very, unmanly sound came out of me. Chloe yelped at my sudden reaction, but I grabbed her arm and jerked her away from the monster that was hovering over her. Her father frowned, telling me to calm down, but I didn't see how he could be so calm when there was another monster sitting beside him.

"What the hell are they?" I gasped. My face still felt too hot. Chloe frowned and tugged her hand away from me. The monsters exchanged looks as I scrambled away.

"What are what? Gavin you got to sit still. Your head is bleeding," Chloe said. She looked at her dad and then back at me.

"Karim, he's looking right at us. Do you think he can actually see us?" The monster beside Chloe's father said. The one what was still hovering over Chloe tilted its head to the side, looking at me strangly.

This monster - Karim? - Had horns on his head, and tusk- like fangs. Its face and body was scaly like a snake and th arms and legs were hairy. It was crouched down low but even I could tell that it was tall. The other monster by Chloe's dad, looked like a cat. Well it was more cat like, at least. A hairy face with a scaly body. It had claws that could rip someone's heart out in seconds.

"No ones ever been able to see us before," Karim? Said.

"Of course I can see you!" I hissed. Chloe and her father exchanged looks.

"Well yeah, we are right in front of her,' her father said slowly. "Gavin, you have to calm do.."

"Not you! Those things behind you!" I gasped. Chloe and her father looked behind them, but frowned.

"Gavin there's nothing behind us. I think you are confused. You hit your head hard." Chloe said. I looked around. The box I'd been holding lay on its side. Candles had rolled out and the mirror lay broken off to the side. I saw the crystal, my blood still on it.

"He can see us." The cat monster said in surprise. I blinked and shook my head hard, which didn't help the dizziness. I couldn't believe what was happening. Maybe I had hit my head too hard. I couldn't really see monsters. I lay back down. Chloe scooted over to my side again, but so did the monster Karim. I flinched away from it, though Chloe frowned thinking that she was the reason.

"Gavin? Are you okay?" Chloe winced and shook her head.
Stupid question, of course you're not." I tried to smile, but I wasn't sure how successful I was. My head was killing me.

"Human, why can you see us?" Karim asked. I ignored him. I wasn't going to talked to some delusion.