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The truth is this, every monster you have met or will ever meet, was once a human being with a soul that was as soft and light as silk. Someone stole that silk from their soul and turned them into this. So, when you are a monster next, always remember this. Do not fear the thing before you. Fear the thing that created it instead.
*
Alexandria.
Its houses were haunted.
I lounged on the banister at the far end of the porch, not ready to cross the threshold of such a beautiful home. It looked like the ones I used to look at with my mother, discussing our dream homes. Ones with wrap-around porches, big backyards, and room for children with the perfect husband. But, husbands die and so do dreams. It brought back too many memories of plans just out of touch and I didn't know if I had the strength to walk the halls, sleep in the beds..
I leaned against the bricked beam; my head faced the expanse of the suburban neighborhood, the seemingly normal street with working lights, mowed lawns and actual living flowers planted in fresh dirt. My arm rested on my bent knee. My other foot dangled just above the floor, the toe scraping the painted wood.
Everything was too good to be true. Happy endings didn't exist anymore. Family was scrounge together only out of necessity. We were hanging by a thread, each day tugging on it harder, threatening to snap.
"Nikki? Nikki Amir?"
At the mention of my name, I slowly rolled my head to face the woman. Deanna Monroe, the self-proclaimed leader of her little utopia, stopped a few feet away. Her presence didn't surprise me; I'd expected it for hours now.
"Nikki has a bit of a temper. Get her angry and she'll tell you how she really feels."
I remembered the words I overheard my 'best friend' telling Deanna right after her interview when she asked how to approach me. I watched the old woman gather her thoughts, preparing her mind to use Savanna's warnings against me, plain and full of tactics.
"Did you practice your speech?" I said. She stopped just at the top of the stairs, not coming any closer. Good, stay far away.
"I did practice, yes. I've heard a little bit about you from your friends and I thought it best to prepare. They warned me. Knowledge is key, right?" She explained, not showing any care that I knew she'd interrogated my group.
"It's power."
"Power, yes. To advance my plans and build my community, which–"
"No."
Seeing my stare, Deanna instantly stopped whatever spiel she planned on next. My eyelids drooped, dark in color and deeply sad. Heavy and full of tragedy. Numb. Empty. I knew I must've looked a sight. I hadn't bathed properly in a few weeks, not that I cared now that I knew there was a working shower upstairs. Black makeup smeared around my eyes and down my hollow cheeks. New and old bruises littered my jawbone, my temple, down my neck and disappeared into the neck of my old jacket.
