The offer with two edges

I am surrounded by something soft and warm from all sides. Like a thick sleeping bag that smells of something cozily earthly and thick, despite a hint of spiciness to it. But it's also a bit crammed, and the bones of my bra cut into my sides, so I shift, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Then I remember I went to sleep *on the floor* and open my eyes with a start.

The darkness doesn't change. For a moment I fear I became blind, before I start trashing, trying to get out.

Under my swipes and kicks, the blanket of solid darkness bursts like a bubble and flows to the ground to coalesce into Zeke's figure a moment later. The monster's face and emotions are as hard to read as before, thanks to his bottomless eyes, but his lips curve into a small smile.

I breathe heavily and press my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat frantically into my ribcage. It takes me a few minutes to calm down enough to glare at Zeke.

"What the fuck was that?!" I point my shaking finger at him. "I told you to not touch me, you creep!"

Zeke makes a strange movement with his shoulders, as if he attempts to shrug, but doesn't know exactly how. "I wish you well and healthy, my wrathful Lock. Sleeping on the cold floor would have the opposite effect. If it was in my power to offer you a proper bed…"

I still glower at him. "What about *asking* first? Also, my name is Maya, and I'm certainly not yours."

Now Zeke smiles. "You'd just refuse… My Maya."

I groan and rub my face with my palms. One thing I've to admit, even if only to myself—I rested much better than I'd do without Zeke's help. I'm somewhat refreshed now, even if that's still a far cry from a good night's sleep. The last couple of days were too stressful. I had nightmares again tonight, but at least I've already forgotten all the details. Now I just need some food and a shower.

The morning light fills the dilapidated church. Sun just rose into the sky, and it's still cast into pinks and purples. Without my phone I can't guess how many hours I've slept, but not enough to feel like appreciating the scenery. My eyes are too itchy and my stomach silently howls at me in hunger.

In the daylight, the church is even a sadder sight than before. Broken and thrashed pews, a destroyed altar, pieces of brick and old wood lying on the floor. A lot was swallowed by weeds, though none dared to grow inside the church itself. Maybe the stone floor is just too whole for them, or maybe Zeke is the reason.

Zeke. He, too, looks different when illuminated by the sun. Out of place. The pale man belonged to the deep shadows that hid under the broken pieces of furniture, not to the sunlight that fell on his sharp cheeks and threw highlights on his curling hair.

He is still devastatingly handsome. Enough to distract me from being angry with him. Especially because it seems pointless to explain things like personal space to a monster who might not think in human categories at all.

I get up, stretch, and meet Zeke's gaze again. Yesterday was a mess, but now I feel like my questions have settled down in my head somewhat. At the very least, amongst them all, a new and a very important one floats to the surface.

"Zeke… Why have you called me here? What do you want from me?"

His smile widens enough to show teeth. "You ask the smartest questions, my Maya. Why, I'm glad to answer…" He leans towards me. "Besides, I think you will be eager to help."

"If you want me to free you somehow, then I don't think so."

Zeke chuckles. It's a smooth, sensual sound that makes hairs on my arms stand on end. "Willow Creek is a web, and you can't cut a strand without affecting all others. Consider my freedom a side-effect of what I offer to you, my Maya. Revenge. Revenge for your lost friend."

I frown and pace a few steps down the hall, carefully avoiding the strewn debris. With how cryptic Zeke is, I have to recall and piece together his previous words, which is hard, because yesterday was a bit of a blur. Something I don't want to remember at all, because it makes its terrors more real.

"You mean those monsters that, as you say, hide in the grass plains? I don't know if they even really exist! Why should I trust your word?"

The skepticism hides my eagerness. Oh, I want whoever did this to be stopped. For justice, for all the people who disappeared in Willow Creek before.

"My Maya… Are you so hasty to share your friend's fate? This isn't in my plans." Zeke's voice sounds from right behind my shoulder, making me jump and turn towards him. He's there, smiling at me, and his hand is only a few inches away from my hair.

I glare at it until it lowers.

"You don't have to see them to know they are here. Their calls permeate the night… So annoying." Zeke's face flashes with deep anger, one so powerful and sudden that I stagger back a step. But it passes as swiftly as it came. "But with your help, they will become silent. Forever."

"And I'm the only one who can do something with them," I drawl out. "The chosen one. Is that so?"

Zeke tilts his head. "No, you weren't chosen–you were born. A Lock, my beautiful Lock… Not a channel, not a door, but a Lock. A keyhole to the Great Beyond, and a mechanism that can open the world."

With wide eyes, I watch how Zeke's form shifts, and a see-through hole the size of my fist opens straight in his chest. He points at it with his long, thin fingers.

"This is you, Maya." A long tentacle rises behind Zeke and passes through the hole to appear in front of him, where it curls again to wrap around Zeke's neck. The tip caresses his cheek and Zeke leans into it. "And this is me. We will be so majestic together… Powerful and free."