All the Monsters We Cannot See

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps

I'm sure Mr. Bowie won't approve, but hey all done in a bit of fun - enjoy:

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I was twenty-three years old and on my way home from a graduation party the night I got it all terribly wrong,

I still have the scars.

I studied at a University within the city limits of Chicago because I thought it important to be somewhat close to home for various reasons that would make sense to anyone, getting laundry done on weekends by my parents and the like, and for others that would only make sense to me.

At that stage, even though Kaylee had still never shown any sense of being aware of the monsters, it still worried me that she might be vulnerable despite everything I knew.

As far as my own safety, though my encounters were fewer, further between and generally at a distance I was still cautious about being too far away from my loved ones.

I stayed on campus for the first couple of years and my visits home would grow less frequent over that time as I began to feel confident in my ability to venture out in the world.

At the end of our sophomore year, the lure of independence from RA and the overbearing of the University prying on our partying and extra-curricular activities became too much.

So me and my two roomates, Dev and Chad, found a functional but basic three-bedroom apartment in Lakeview, just south of Wrigleyville.

There was some maintenance and electrical work that needed doing but Chad's Uncle was in construction and had a couple of guys come round and knock off the to-do list over a weekend.

I always wondered about the one guy, Pedro, Chad's Uncle had helping. He was a little guy, kind of scrawny for a construction worker, didn't speak English but he would refuse to go into the room that would become my bedroom.

Not like in a hysterical way but quietly, like if something needed taken in there he would walk to the door hesitate and they either just toss it on the floor in there or leave it by the door.

Other times he would tap his colleague on the shoulder and point into the room. It was weird because I never saw anything that first weekend.

Maybe he was more attuned than I was?

The room was unspectacular and this time my parents hadn't bothered trying to decorate it or make it homey like they had the first college dormroom.

There were no cushions or artwork or fancy bookcases that doubled as computer desks (that my father had painstakingly assembled at the expense of a particularly pivotal Bears game) to fall victim to particularly robust games of beer pong.

It was functional and basic and we had it sorted after some hard labor that first weekend.

For various reasons, everyone was out of town our first week in the place. I studied for my finals at home, Dev flew home to Nebraska because he was done with his and Chad stayed with his latest girlfriend.

But all three of us were back to celebrate graduation that next weekend. Plus we were kind of celebrating the new place.

We knew a lot of the graduating class and it was always a good night.

So it proved. We hit the bars right after the ceremony and it got out of hand fast. It wasn't like we were causing trouble or anything, just that we didn't have much of a pause button.

About midnight, the texts from Chad's girlfriend became increasingly aggressive so he heeded the call to call it a night or face the consequences.

Not long after that Dev, who never did do too well with the ladies, excused himself after striking up what we'll diplomatically call a friendship with a graduate student.

That left me stumbling and bumbling home at around two when the bar emptied out.

At that moment I had left all thoughts of the monsters behind and they never entered my mind and I tumbled down the street, tripping over the sidewalk, bumping into walls on a haphazard road home.

I got in threw my sweater and jeans on the floor and collapsed on the bed, anticipating a lengthy recuperation from the night's exertions.

The night was cool, the apartment quiet and still with none of the traffic and bustle that usually accompanied city life.

I was dozing peacefully when I heard movement under the bed. Nothing sudden, nothing loud but only the brief shifting and setting of something gaining purchase.

When it happened it happened in the blink of an eye.

Before I knew what was going on I felt a lightning burst of pain sear through my left shoulder and clavicle.