9 R 2 2

Cadence of rain changed. It sounded like it fell on tin somewhere. "What's that?" I asked corking my head and trying to find the source. "There."

Something started glowing in an eerie neon in front of the monster and floated away towards the sound. I tried to see what he'd done but was blind as a bat. Could only observe what he let me see. Grumbling, concentrated on blocky shape instead and was delighted to find that it was a van. A wide roof and possibly a cushy seat or two to nap in. I squealed and ran for it. Fought with the rusted up door and after few good whacks eventually won. Take that, inanimate objects!

Fell inside. The front was wrecked and a tree decorated interior, but it smelled dry. I stomped towards the back. A breeze told me some other window was missing here too, but the angle must have been just right to keep the elements out.

I fell into a chair and melted. Ahhh, it was so good to sit down. In all honesty, I had no idea how will I ever get up to resume the march. Everything was sore.

"You not coming in?" I asked after a while.

"No. Water doesn't bother me," sea monster replied and I shut up dejectedly. I had forgotten again. He would probably not hear very well from inside of this loud tin and that would be a bother. How fundamentally different they were.

I bent down to untie my shoes and spilled unfair amount of liquid from one of them. Rested them upturned, but wasn't holding my breath for dryness. This would be uncomfortable and painful tomorrow. I had no hope socks would do any better either but after excessive wringing they joined the armrest nearby too.

"I smell blood," monster growled from the outside. "Do you need me to heal you?"

I huffed. Probably. My heels did not want to be prodded. "Boy, do not sugar-coat it. That's the least of what you can smell," I grumbled and monster had not commented on the state of my griminess. I wasn't normally that self-conscious of a little sweat, being street kid and all, but the creature could and apparently did catch a whiff of me leagues away. That did things to self-confidence.

I might have heard sloshing footsteps outside and huffed tiredly, "It's fine, just a minor scuff. Leave it alone."

I removed two remaining cigarettes from a chest pocket and put them and the matches safely away. Fingered the coin or whatever else it was in the pocket as I lied down to rest. It sure was chilly, especially with pants still partially dripping. All too familiar state of existence, I was just missing a warm back shivering against mine... Do I even have the luxury to rest? He was probably trying to break into certain high-end estates for information and revenge.

Monster's growl changed and it discontinued my brooding. I tensed up and asked, "What is it?"

"I smell somebody. They know we're here too." I noted he didn't say hear. It was something my monster couldn't observe. The air trembled as if a gigantic hand swatted at a moon.

My leash holder's growl was starting to rock the ground too and the dead of the night was growing even more terrifying. I remembered how much I hated being outside. Exposed and powerless. People weren't even supposed to be here. I wanted to be back in civilisation, behind thick walls and numerous weapons.

I muttered, "I really should have showered."

"It objects to my presence, not yours."

It talks. A reasonable ginormous monstrosity. I can work with that. "Let's go. Uh… tell it to give me a moment." I fumbled around for the shoes. There were just the dry leaves.

"Sleep. It won't do a thing," the demon rasped smugly.

"You know, I like pancakes but I do not aspire to become one. And bold of you to think I could even sleep now," I whisper-shouted out of the window, but did cease looking for the shoes. The absolute confidence had a calming effect. The outside had strong fleshy odour and one of thunder. The monsters must have had serious heart-to-heart.

"You've slept next to much worse before," growls hissed back at me and sounded mocking, but the volume and reverberating ground was highly worrisome anyway. Dread was consuming my moves. Something very large was out there. My bones knew that, even if eyes saw nothing. Scratch that, there was a shape in the clouds.

"If you're implying yourself, you need to remember all those other monsters which thought the same and died in your damn maw. Arrogance kills people and I've places to be tomorrow. Stop intimidating the nice giant and let's just leave," I pointed out through my panic.

"Readily accessible mass isn't everything. It knows. That's why it won't come close. Don't worry, it's old and wise."

Something brushed my face and I flinched, but it was a familiar touch and I didn't fall back. Sat down in the dilapidated seat and leaned onto the car frame. Some droplets were landing on my face, but that quickly ceased too.

"Why do you all come out at night?" I grumbled into the darkness. It would be far less scary if I could see what was coming at me. Not each and every time, because I'm sure the incomprehensible organisms would still freak me the fuck out, but it would be nice to at least see what was coming.

"Safer to move. This world's predators are active during the day."

Huh?

"Us? You mean us? Humans."

"Yes."

"You… Are afraid? Of us?" What a mind-blowing concept.

"You are very vicious organism, capable of destroying worlds. Luckily for all the rest of us, you started with your own."

"Yes, yes. Thank you," I nodded with an upturned nose as befitting an inter-dimensional ambassador. "Assistance of you monsters is much obliged." I said it in a jest, with no venom behind the words. Things were what they were, there absolutely was no point lamenting the what ifs. To begin with, monsters were a very recent development in my life.

"That only reinforces what I've said. Separate humans die easy, but when you band together as a singular organism you're a vicious threat. It's rare for different constructions to cooperate to such an extent."

I felt that this was intended to be a compliment, but all I got from it was that he saw me as a mitochondria.

"So even we can kill that?" I pointed for the blind man yet again. I needed to stop.

"It's hard to ignore boiling within a crater," horned monster offered and even the slow child like myself could see some sense. The military had some serious hardware.

Speaking of dangers. "Why are you even growling all the time? I get that you need to see, but why not y'know… have eyes?"

"Sight is very limiting. I can hardly comprehend how nearly all species over here exist with such fatal flaw."

"Um, because it's not a flaw?" I argued very eloquently.

"You can't even look at other human's both eyes at the same time," monster said petulantly and I wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of this statement. Then imagined a person right in front of me and found my gaze jumping back and forth between the eyes, or just fixing on the nose. Hm. Peculiar finding. Change tactic.

"But making noise all the damn time is just asking to be attacked."

"And it is therefore a warning."

He was making good points all around. At least one of us here had all his shit figured out.