Page 41 of The Secret Mate Society

I quickly turned the phone face down."Yeah, just...just work stuff."

May 2005

A very interesting piece I picked up from an art show in downtown Syracuse.It seems some college students bought some old cameras, some cheap costumes, and took to the woods for a weekend to create their senior shows for graduation.The show was interesting and the photos, like this one, were extremely convincing.However, while everyone else was having a good time and laughing at the absurdity of it all, I found myself on edge.

When I find things like this that are faked but SO convincing, it makes me wonder if all the evidence I’ve collected over the years is also fake.Maybe this entire box is just a bunch of hipster-kid art projects and I’m crazy after all.

But then I remember, I was there.I remember my father’s screams.And I KNOW the monster is still out there.

-Ethan

Chapter18

Ethan

I’d managed not to answer Calder’s text all afternoon despite how much I wanted to.By the time I got home, had dinner, and settled into bed, there were at least four messages from him that I hadn’t responded to.However, it looked like he’d given up for some time, the last one having come through before I left work.

They sat there on my screen, staring at me.I felt a strange sensation in my chest, like anxiety and something deep inside trying to break free.I wanted to text him back, to tell him I forgave him, maybe even ask him to come over.It had been a long time since I’d shared a bed with anyone else.Even if it was just sleeping, it would be nice to feel those strong arms of his wrapped around me.And maybe, if he reacted to being so close to me, things could get…heated.

I shook my head, dropping my phone on the bedside table and plugging in the charger cable.Those kinds of thoughts weren’t going to help me get to sleep.A quick glance down showed the sheets were already slightly tented around my groin.Clearly it didn’t take much to get me going these days.But I didn’t want to get hopeful or attached to Calder, not when he had such a history of running off whenever things got interesting.

Besides, Jake had been so attentive during lunch.The way he leaned in when I spoke, how his hand held mine across the table, not accidentally, I was sure.He was everything I should want, confident, established, and actually interested in men without having some sort of sexual identity crisis every five minutes.

I rolled over, punching my pillow into a more comfortable shape.The digital clock on my nightstand showed 11:47 PM.I had to be up early for a staff meeting and I was exhausted.I laid back, staring at the shadowed ceiling until my eyes fluttered shut.If I could just pick one of these guys and get it over with, maybe I’d finally find some peace…

A sudden noise outside my window made me sit straight up in bed, my heart pounding in my chest.I glanced at the clock on my nightstand.It was 2:31am.I rubbed my eyes, trying to figure out what the sound was, but I’d been too deep asleep to hear it clearly.I sat still, listening in the dark for it again, my heart still beating quickly.

There it was again… a strange scraping sound, like claws against the asphalt of the parking lot three stories below.My body went rigid, every muscle tensing as childhood terrors flooded back.I knew that sound.Had heard it once before, fourteen years ago, in the woods with my father.

I slid out of bed, my bare feet silent against the worn carpet as I crept to the window.The rational part of my brain insisted it was probably just a stray dog or a raccoon rooting through the complex's dumpsters.But the part of me that had spent years collecting evidence, the part that remembered those glowing eyes and razor-sharp claws, knew better.

With shaking fingers, I pulled back the curtain just enough to peer outside.The parking lot was dimly lit by a single street lamp, its yellow glow creating a small circle of light amid the darkness.And there, standing directly beneath it, was a figure.

Not a dog.Not a raccoon.But a massive, hulking shape that stood on two legs, its shoulders hunched and its head tilted upward, looking directly at my window.

"No," I whispered, stumbling backward, my legs tangling in the discarded jeans on my floor."No, no, no."

It was the monster.The same creature I'd seen that night in the woods.The same beast that had torn my father apart while I watched, hidden behind a fallen tree.It was here, in Portland, staring up at my apartment.

It hadfoundme again…

I tripped over something solid, the box I kept hidden under my bed.It had somehow been pulled out, its contents now spilling across my bedroom floor.Newspaper clippings, police reports, and sketches scattered like fallen leaves.

My hands scrambled for my phone, knocking it off the nightstand in my panic.When I finally grabbed it, my fingers were trembling so badly I could barely unlock the screen.Without thinking, I pulled up Calder's messages.

"Help," I typed frantically.“Please!"

I hit send before I could think better of it, then crawled back to the window, peering out from below the sill.The creature was still there, its massive form illuminated by the street lamp.I could make out more details now, the thick, dark fur that covered its body, the elongated snout, the pointed ears that stood erect on its head.

And the eyes.Those terrible, intelligent eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light.

The monster tilted its head, as if sensing my gaze, then raised one massive paw-like hand.With deliberate slowness, it drew a single claw across its throat in a cutting motion.

I scrambled away from the window, heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.My phone rang in my hand and I could barely hold it steady enough to hit the green button.

“C-Calder?”I stammered.

“Are you alright?”His voice was urgent and full of concern.“What’s going on?!”