Belly of the Beast (COMPLETED)

22

I look at the monster, and I can't believe my eyes. It really is the one that took Shane. It stalks towards me listless, and I take a moment to realize that it's staring right at my eyes. Then the monster lurches forward, and bumps into my legs, knocking me back about a foot or so.

The creature slips into the shadows around us, and I feel it brushing against my legs every now and then. But I'm still staring at Melisande. She really is the epitome of twisted. Not that I'd ever tell her that, though.

No need to inflate that ego of hers. Especially if you don't have to.

"Are you ready for your revenge yet, Eliza?" she asks me as the monster thing appears beside her.

"I guess we'll have to see," I say.

And then I unleash my bony wings, my bony thorns on my arms, and my bony tail. I grin as my teeth sharpen and my wings take full form. It's been too long since I have flown. Longer still since I have morphed the full way, as I prefer to stay on my feet.

But sometimes, a little flair is necessary. You know?

"Come on," Melisande chirps. "Don't play with it."

The monster snarls and pounces.

I fly up to meet it, and I bring my bony spikes down on its head and face. It screams and falls to the ground, and then it roars loudly. I stumble back about a foot or so, and the thing scrambles forward toward me. I hiss at it and smack at it with my tail, just trying to scare it.

It works, but only to some extent. The thing stops short and snarls at me, hissing low in its throat. Then, I lunge at it once again. I viciously bring my claws down on its face again, and I tear out its one eye. The monster screams and slumps to the floor, and the pulsating music from downstairs and all around us blocks out the cacophony of sounds.

I mean, who in their right mind would believe that a bunch of demons are killing each other in the upstairs?

Before David, even I would have had trouble with that.

Now, not so much.

"Good job," Melisande says as the beast does not move. "I think you killed it. Congratulations, David's girl."

"Whoa," I say. "I am so not David's girl. Or his anything. I never will be again."

"Right, right. Whatever you say. Well, I think it would be best if we gave you what you came here for. After all, you did do all of my ridiculous tests."

She hands me a bag heavy enough to drown a shark.

I don't remember what my grandma meant when she said that. But yeah, that's where I got it.

"Everyone's ending is different, Eliza. Vanessa. What will your true end be? Just another beginning? Or something more?"

We glance at each other, and then she tells us to leave. So we do, and head outside together. Once we get to my car, I turn on her. But just as I'm about to yell at her for coming in after me, I see the three teens I saw before, when I was heading into the bar. The ones that snickered at me when I first tried to get in.

People like that have always pissed me off. I feel my arm spikes (seriously, what would those be called?) And then I try to hold them back from coming out prematurely. But it just doesn't seem to want to work at the moment.

"Hello, freak girl," slurs one of the kids.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"A ride." They laugh.

"To?"

"Cancun," another says, and the other two laugh.

"Come on, Liz. Let's go." Vanessa tugs my arm.

"Hey, whoa, hey. You're not going anywhere with her." The one guy comes over to rest his hand on her shoulder, and she grabs him, flips him over her head, and throws him down on the ground hard.

He groans and the other two stumble back.

"Hey, man! You can't do that."

"I could've been assaulted by him. It was self-defense," says Vanessa.

"Come on," I say. "Let's get out of here. They're not worth it."

She nods and comes along, as get in the car and drive off and leaving them behind to clean up their own mess.