Local eighth grader Denisa Heredea arrived at school, Școala Gimnazială nr. 2, Ferești. She threw her backpack on her desk and plopped herself in her chair. She was beyond sleepy.

She tried to steal more sleep while Garofița was picked up to go to Lăutari to get Gabi out of jail or whatever, but her mom had to search for a set of pajamas at the last minute. She didn't mind sharing her clothes with Garo, or anybody else, but her mom was bound to scold her for staying up too late again and she didn't want to deal with that.

At her side was her friend, Patricia Chivu, glued to her phone as always, and behind them sat their other friend, Selena Coltau.

People found out pretty quickly why Gabi went to jail, thus what happened in Văleni with the mayor's pedo nephew. Encampment folks didn't spill the beans on purpose, but Gabi's venting over the winter up until his arrest was too juicy and before they knew it the whole town knew, as well as that the undead girl's name was Aurora. It was typical of Ferești, really. An ambulance comes to your house at 9 am and by 9:30 am every auntie on the street knows your exact diagnosis and the extended family of the nurse on shift.

Most people were glad it wasn't some bullshit Mirabela or the Bisclavu family pulled, thus getting a chance to bash on Văleni for a change. Others joined in wondering what was Aurora's deal? Walking dead? Cultist? Pretty girl? Pedophile hunter? Reanimated corpse? A clone? Is she as pretty as people say? Are she and Gabi in cahoots? Did Mirabela approve of this? Is she pretty, though?

"My brother was taking out the trash last night and he saw a girl that looked like her walking down the street!" Romina Suciu said, smacking chewing gum at 8 in the morning.

"I saw the undead girl when I went to get water from the spring in the forest!" Laurențiu Gologan said, the chronic liar. "I turned around and I saw a pale figure rush past! I'm sure it was her!"

"I think she stole my iphone charger when I left it in the garden." Ovidiu Popa said.

"Why the frick did you leave your charger there?" Romina asked.

"I needed duct tape to keep it together and the only one left was in the shed, so I went to take it, but then I had to go to the bathroom."

"And you just left your charger there?"

"It was an emergency!!"

"I think I saw the undead girl walking along the edge of the woods when I went last night to the McDonalds on Eminescu street." Cristina Maniu said.

"Fat ass." Florina Șerban accused.

"Shut up!! But I'm serious, I saw this feminine figure that wore just a jacket, and she just kind of... sauntered around the woods. It was so eerie."

"She's probably bad as fuck." Raul Ghica said.

"She'd kill you, big dog." Laurențiu said.

"I'm not a pedophile! And she's older than me! If anything, she'd be the pedophile!"

"What the actual fuck are you talking about?" Mr Pașcalău, the math teacher, said as he walked in.

"Can we not sexualise a victim of a sex cult?" Mirela Gombar said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"She's the one walking around butt booty naked!" Raul said.

"Dude, just stop talking." Laurențiu groaned.

"Aurora is probably nice, all things considered." Ovidiu said.

"What did you say?" Selena asked.

"W-What?"

"You think you're on first-name basis with Big Rora?" Patricia scoffed.

Every school had their own legends, more or less based in reality. At one point somebody tried to spread the rumour that Hanako of the Toilet appeared in the girls' bathroom on the ground floor, despite her being Japanese and this being a Romanian school. (come on, guys, at least make it believable!)

Their school's established pantheon had Aurora as its newest addition. Before her came Alex Bortiș, an eighth grader who allegedly stabbed someone at a party and went to jail, hence why he and his family disappeared before graduation; Marie Bisclavu, whose rivalry with another girl while playing tennis got physically aggressive and she was transferred to another school; the ancient, dried up oak tree in the far back of the school yard, whose branches tactically fell on your head and killed you if you stayed under it for too long; and the janitor's closet on the ground floor allegedly haunted by a janitor that killed himself - only people with acute sensitivity to ghosts could hear him and most of them were assholes that exaggerated their retellings.

Denisa was in fourth grade when Alex Bortiș was in the eighth. Something did happen for him to leave so suddenly, but everybody's story was different. She had seen him around the yard and the hallways, and had heard him screaming from inside classrooms. He was the kind of kid that would pick fights with adults, throw chairs and desks, and explode over the smallest things. There was definitely something bad going on at home, but as children within the range of thrown chairs, most students thought he was insane.

The perception of Aurora the undead girl was different. She was viewed almost as a folk hero in the making. Somebody set up a cork board in the art room where anyone could pin an offering onto.

Whenever someone in Ferești or the nearby towns died in strange circumstances, they assumed it was her taking out another former cultist pedophile that had been hiding among them. George Florescu from 7th grade fought for his life when people found out his grandma slipped on the stairs.

"Isn't it kinda messed up that it's common knowledge the world is full of pedophiles, to the point we aren't even shocked about it anymore?" Selena said. "Or that people die around here constantly?"

"Yeah, well, we are used to a lot of messed up things." Denisa said as she rubbed her eyes. "If you're not apathetic, you'll go mad."

"I hope Mr Gabor is the next target." She said, talking about one of the gym teachers who openly hit on the eighth grade girls. "Fucking creep."

"Tsk, tsk, not very Christian of you to wish death upon someone."

"I'm pescatarian."

"I thought you're lesbian." Patricia said.

Mr Pașcalău finished taking out his things from his bag and began class. Denisa's head felt light and swollen at the same time, and she could barely keep her eyes open. In truth, she stayed awake the night before because she fell down another internet rabbit hole. Somebody set up a subreddit for Aurora, with people compiling their sightings and theories. Somebody (probably Tudor from the encampment) got their hands on an autopsy photo that had also been in Gabi's phone.

It was taken down quickly, but it made a big impression on Denisa. She wasn't sure what she expected. She heard that Aurora was 17 years old (at least at the time of her original death), but still, she looked so young. There were dozens of girls that looked like her at their school. She looked like their Laura at the encampment. Maybe it was her imagination, but she didn't look "dead" either. Her father, he looked dead. Aurora looked like she was just asleep. She used to live in the cult just half an hour away from their own town. Denisa and her mom went to Călimari one time for some bullshit with her dad's death certificate and they drove past the forest where it happened, past her when she was still human.

Denisa shook her head, but still felt cold all over.

"Did you see the photo of the undead girl last night?" She asked during the first break.

"I did." Patricia plainly said. "Do you think the people at Amante will find her?"

"I mean, probably, eventually." She shrugged. "She'd fit right in, to be honest."

"Having an immortal employee would be such a flex."

"Well, vampires are immortal."

"No, they can die."

"They're both reanimated corpses, technically."

"Miss Roxi went to Lăutari too, right?" Selena asked.

"Yeah, yeah, the other day." Denisa said.

"I wanna meet her when she comes back." Selena smiled. Roxi was the only other trans girl in town, as far as they were aware.

"Roxi is so pretty I wanna kill myself." Denisa casually said.

Selena checked over her shoulder before saying with a sniffle "I'll never be as pretty as her..."

Patricia smacked her hard over the shoulder. "Lock in!" She said.

Selena instantly stopped whining and started mogging.

Denisa did not feel mentally or emotionally capable of thinking about much that morning, but her mind nonetheless kept wandering back to poor Aurora. She almost wanted to have an encounter of her own, to see her in person, see if she is really real, if all The Horrible is truly real and next door.

Denisa, on 4 hours of sleep, weighed the pros and cons of talking to an undead girl who used to be part of a pseudo-christian sex cult, currently hiding somewhere in their supernatural-infested woods.

"Y'all, I have an idea." She turned to her friends.

"Oh, thanks for the warning!" Selena said and both her and Patricia shot out of their chairs and ran out the classroom. Denisa chased after them, rapidly catching up and jumping on their backs.

Having somewhat woken up after the rigorous jog, Denisa began to plan. Telling her mother was out of the question. She was not allowed to leave the encampment on her own after nightfall and sneaking out was basically impossible without alerting on average 5 other people. She had to stay the night somewhere else. Patricia lived deep in the town, as did Selena. They would have to walk for a bit to get to the forest, and, truth be told, she didn't want to walk around the streets at night either.

"Who lives close to the forest and I haven't made enemies with?" Denisa thought out loud.

"I don't freaking know." Patricia said while scrolling on twitter. Denisa watched her bookmark three fanfic links in rapid succession.

"It's a bad idea, anyway." Selena said, fidgeting with her hands. "There's cryptids, and fairies, and weird animals, and bugs-"

"I'm not scared of anything." Denisa declared. "Worst case scenario, I get to be with dad again."

"Could you stop saying that?!"

Adela Potcoavă lived right by the forest, in the neighbourhood on the other side of Mr Delia's store, but Denisa couldn't stand her ass and she couldn't come up with a convincing excuse to stay over. Marian Lupar also lived close to the edge of the woods, but they weren't friends anymore. Sofia Popescu's dad was a cop. Salomeea Mateiaș is fucking rude. Luca Eftimiu was into weird hentai shit, no way she'll go to his house. Tatiana Oltean got chickenpox from her toddler brother. Andreea Miclea-

Andreea! That's it! Bingo!

"Isn't her family cannibals?" Patricia raised an eyebrow.

"It's just gossip!" Denisa replied. "And I won't stay there long, so I don't care!"

"Girl, her grandpa ate a guy-"

"I said I don't caaare!"

"Help me talk her out of this." Patricia asked Selena.

"I don't think Andreea is that weird." She shrugged.

Patricia narrowed her eyes.

Selena glanced away like a guilty puppy.

"You like her?"

"N-No!"

"You like the cannibal girl?" Denisa asked.

"I-I don't!" Selena flustered. "We just talked a couple times on insta and she is actually really nice! She gave me tips h-how to do my makeup discreetly and how to dress up."

Patricia looked at her up and down. "Well, that explains it."

"Leave me alone!" Selena cried out and started to walk away, decorative chains clanking from her belt.

"Wait! Come back! Where can we find Andreea?"

"I don't know... We haven't really talked while at school. I don't think she's avoiding me or anything, we just don't really cross paths between our classes."

The three of them were in class 8C and Andreea Miclea was in 8B. She lived by the forest-line in a house with a garden, together with her parents, grandpa, aunt and cousin. Her grandfather, a former psychiatrist, allegedly killed his son-in-law and ate his remains. Nothing could be proven as his wife and his daughters backed him up with an alibi. And since no body could be found, the case eventually went cold. That didn't stop Andreea and cousin Teodor from insensibly playing into it.

"Where is she?" Denisa asked as she looked out the window into the schoolyard. Some younger kids were playing football. Mr Pașcalău was standing on the side of the gym building, sucking hard on a vape until his arm trembled, then letting out a big white cloud.

The bell rang. Denisa cursed the blasted thing and made her way back into the classroom with her girls.

Romanian literature passed in a blur of threats to study to pass the national exam and the teacher fighting with Florina Șerban over the dress code again.

Denisa wanted to go to one of the two high schools in Ferești, and then to university in Oradea, because it was close and not far away. She had no idea what she wanted to do when she grew up. Something that brings money and isn't too annoying.

"There's a homeless guy walking by the gate." Romina Suciu said as she looked out the window.

Denisa glanced as well. Oh, it was Adam.

"Isn't that the crazy guy?" Florina Șerban asked.

Denisa glared at them.

"Maybe he's itching because he needs a shower." Romina said.

"Heh. My mom doesn't even let me walk past their encampment." Florina continued.

"Most of them are nice, aren't they?"

"I guess yeah, but she doesn't like them on principle."

"Isn't it crazy that we've got a whole abandoned apartment building that homeless people took over?" Cristina Maniu chimed in.

"Good!" Mirela Gombar turned to them. "It's better than sleeping on the street. If we have empty houses, why not give it to them?"

"Why don't they get houses by themselves?" Florina Șerban scoffed.

"Uhm, we're going through an unprecedented economic crisis?"

"When is anything precedented?" She said. "Just buy a home or rent an apartment, no matter how small. It can't be that hard! It's so annoying, this- this homeless mentality. Get a job, make money, and get out of that bad situation! Big deal!"

"Do you even hear yourself?" Mirela said. "This is the exact kind of entitlement that makes the world as shitty as it is!"

"It's entitlement to tell people to get jobs?!"

"The job market is at the worst it's ever been! God knows what we'll do when it's our turn to work."

"Girl, your dad is a priest. You live next to the Bisclavu clan. You'll be fine."

"While I am privileged and I can recognise that, unlike you, I am also able to think about people other than myself! Homeless people can't just get new houses like bam, like that! A proper government should aid them!"

"AIDs." Raul Ghica ad-libbed.

"Eww! Ugh, you people can't take anything seriously!"

"Girlypops, what do you think of gay people?" Denisa asked. "Quickly."

"Whu-What?" Mirela furrowed her brows.

"Homosexuals. Opinions?"

"They take it up the butt." Florina shrugged.

"I-I don't think about them?" Mirela said. "I mean, yeah, they're people too, I guess, but what do you mean-"

"Homophobe."

"I AM NOT!"

Denisa rolled her eyes and walked into the hallway again. Only Patricia, Selena and the principal, Mrs Cojar, knew that Denisa and her mother were homeless. They had phones, books, toys, a closet-worth of clothes, an old laptop, blankets, pillows and a car in Mr Robert's shop. They just didn't have a house anymore. After Denisa will graduate, she will get a good job that pays well. As long as she will have the money to buy a house for her mom, anything will be fine.

One time when she suggested as a joke to do sex work like Miss Hurrem, both her mom and Hurrem almost whooped her ass. Money was money, damn it. For all she knew she would get cancer like dad and die early, so she might as well make good money until then, no?!

The dynamic trio made their way to the second floor of the building, where most of the B classes were located.

Selena pushed open the door to the boys' bathroom. In the middle, between the stalls and the urinals, was a low rounded table, around which several guys huddled with stacks of cards, cash, bags of chips and a bottle of Pepsi. Some boys stood around them on their feet, a few of them wearing black sunglasses. There were, like, 30 people in there. In the back was another table with more soda bottles, plastic cups, a dish of mashed potatoes and another of pork schnitzels, a bowl of red cabbage salad, as well as a tray of digestive biscuits. On the wall hung a small chalk board with scores. In the ceiling, through a missing panel, sat two more boys, watching from above like hawks with only their eyes visible. Somebody's portable radio from aliexpress was playing ambiental chinese music on a comfortably low volume.

Everybody's heads spun towards the door with suspicious and accusatory eyes, some of them easing up when they saw it was just Selena.

"Hi! What's up?" One of them, Ioachim Paraschiv, said.

"Yeah, hi, uh... We're looking for Teodor Miclea? Please?"

"What's up?" Teodor replied from one of the stalls. Only his shoes were visible and a fart rang out in a moment when the music lulled down.

"I'm looking for your cousin." Selena said, fidgeting again. "Did she come to school today?"

"Yeah, she should be in the library."

"Oh, okay! Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" He said, followed by another fart.

The librarian was sitting at her desk, not even looking up from her phone when the three walked in. Between rows of haphazardly arranged old books full of dust and colourful notes between the pages, they found Andreea. She stood between two shelves at the back of the library, the broken lightbulb casting a dark shadow through which only her pallid figure was visible.

"Good morning." She said, standing unnaturally straight and stiff between the bookshelves.

"Hello..." She said, putting on a brave expression.

Andreea glanced behind her and her own expression instantly softened. "Hi, Selena!"

"Hi!" Selena smiled and gave an awkward wave.

Andreea smiled too and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Anyway!" Denisa said. "We need your help."

"What is this regarding?"

"I... I mean we..." She turned to the girls to confirm. Selena reluctantly nodded, not wanting to let Deni go into the woods by herself. Patricia remained frowning. Denisa glared. Patricia pouted defiantly. Denisa glared harder. Patricia tilted her chin up. Denisa looked like she was about to cry. Patricia furrowed her brows. Denisa shed a tear. Patricia sighed and nodded. "Yes, we would like to have a sleepover party. With you!"

"Selena included?" Andreea asked.

"Yes-"

"Sure, I'll come!"

"Wait, hold on! Could we host it at your house?"

"At my house?"

"Y-Yeah."

"I mean, sure, but why not yours?"

"My house?"

"Yeah."

"I, uh, it's a little messy right now. We're renovating and stuff."

"Oh, okay."

"Because it's spring and stuff."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yeah! You can come over!" She said and pulled out her phone. "Let me just tell my mom about it."

"Yes, of course!"

"That was easier than I expected!" Denisa beamed as they left the library.

"Yeah, but now what?" Patricia asked. "How do you plan to find the undead girl?"

"We'll go in the forest and look for her."

"Yeah, but how? Are you-"

"We."

"Are you going to wander around until you find her?"

"For, like, a couple hours. And if I don't find her then I'll just give up."

Patricia sighed.

They heard a commotion coming from the way they came. When they opened the door to the boys's bathroom again, they were met with a scene of one of the boys, Ioachim, being crucified on a makeshift cross made out of cardboard and plaster, tied to it with shoelaces digging into his sleeves and pants. Playing cards and chips were strewn over the tiled floor, and the game table was pushed to the side, as if a huge fight had broken out. The lights were off and one of the guys with sunglasses was now holding a lit torch above everyone's heads like the statue of liberty.

"I didn't cheat!!" Ioachim cried out.

"Uhhh..." Selena's eyes quickly looked around the whole room.

"Did y'all manage to find her?" Teodor asked, holding the dish of mashed potatoes in his hand and eating from it.

"Y-Yeah... We'll meet tonight for a sleepover party, by the way."

"Oh, neat!" He said as one of the boys poked Ioachim's side with a salad tong.

The rest of the day passed in monotonous peace. Denisa made sure to call her mom as well, to ask her if she could stay the night with her friends and Andreea. She was confused about who Andreea was, realised who she was talking about when she mentioned cannibals, asked Denisa if she was really sure about it, then sighed and agreed. She didn't want to deny Denisa chances to sleep in a normal bed again.

Outside the school, in the yard, Ioachim was under the old oak tree with a half-circle of students around him. He sat down on his knees, hands on his thighs and with his eyes closed, expression tense and solemn like a samurai moments before ritual suicide.

Denisa went to the encampment to eat with her mom, Vitalis, Gigi and the other ladies, do some of her homework, find some nicer-looking pyjamas, then off she went to the Miclea house before the sun went down. Her mother needn't tell her to behave herself, or call if anything was wrong, or not to tell "about the situation at home", because Denisa already knew.

She met with Patricia and Selena on the street half-way to Andreea's house and they all trotted together, the world unaware of their plan. The Miclea house was a small but chic little home, with a white wire fence, a palm-tree-like shrub, gnomes and pinwheels in the front garden. Andreea was waiting for them at the door.

"Mooom, the girls are here!"

"Welcome!" Mrs Miclea said, coming up to greet them in the entrance hallway. She paused for a moment. "Who is this?"

"O-Oh, it's, uh, uh, my friend! S-Coltau! Coltau! Yeah!" Andreea replied.

"Nice to meet ya, ma'am!" Selena smiled like a fool. Why did she say 'ya'?!?!

"Welcome, dear! Come in!" Mrs Miclea smiled back.

"Mom and I prepared monte cristo sandwiches!" Andreea excitedly brought them to the living room. Teodor joined them too, then turned on his playstation. Denisa and Patricia ate without a care in the world. Just because someone allegedly killed and cannibalized one time, they probably wouldn't do it a second time, right?

They met grandpa Miclea too. He was very old, so many wrinkles on his small face that his eyes looked always closed. When they greeted him, he mumbled something inaudible, like "hhhff hhhrfmh ffrrhhmm". He's probably harmless now.

"We're going upstairs!" Andreea announced.

"Okay!" Teodor replied.

"Don't stay up too late, honey!" Mrs Miclea said. "Close the door so you don't wake up gramps!"

"Close the door?" Mr Miclea raised an eyebrow from his spot on the dining table. "Don't they have a boy in there?"

"It's a little gay boy." She waved her hand dismissively.

"I actually liked you since before you came out to me." Andreea casually said as she laid out blankets and comforters on the floor around her bed.

"R-Really?" Selena asked, blushing pink.

"Yeah! Guess I'm bi now!" She giggled. "For a long time I was too intimidated to talk to you live in person."

"You were intimidated by me?!"

"Andreea." Denisa said, suddenly very serious, but she was sitting at Andreea's desk which has a spinny chair and she kept slowly spinning from side to side. "I have something to confess."

"What?"

"I have been lying to you."

"About... what?"

"There is an ulterior reason as to why I proposed this sleepover party."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and it's going to sound crazy, I know, but... I want to be transparent with you. Please don't get mad at me for lying, I admit I didn't think I would be able to get this far-"

"Get to the point." Patricia huffed.

"Yes, yes, I, uh... I..."

"Are you gay?"

"W-What? No. I'm bi too."

"Oh, cool! I'm glad you felt safe enough to tell me!"

"Wait, that's not my confession!"

"Oh. What is it?"

"The reason I proposed this slumber party is because... you live close to the forest, and I... I mean we... want to look for the undead girl."

Andreea stared at Denisa for a moment, blinking twice. "Why would you do that?"

"B-Because I want to meet her!"

"At night in the forest?" She raised an eyebrow above one eye and squinted the other. "Girl, that's not a good idea."

"I won't go far!"

"There's some really weird shit in these woods, Deni." Andreea sighed and shook her head, getting back to setting up the bedding. "During the day at least you can see it coming, but at night - good freaking luck."

"There will be safety in numbers, no?" Selena said.

"You're going too?" Andreea asked.

"I mean, yeah, I'm not leaving Deni alone."

"We're her suicide watchers." Patricia said.

"I'm not suicidaaal!" Denisa groaned and leaned back in the chair. "Can y'all stop saying that? If I wanted to die I would have done it years ago!"

Andreea looked at Selena, then quickly looked away blushing when they made eye-contact. The frilly lamp behind her head seemed to turn on by itself as she was deep in thought and then she smiled. "I'll join you as well!"

"Really? Yay!"

"When do you want to go?"

"After everyone else is asleep. It's probably best."

At night, the people of the encampment are lulled to sleep by the sounds of car engines passing by, dogs on late-night walks, and a low hum of electrical poles. By the forest it was eerily quiet except for a choir of crickets.

The four girls sneaked down the stairs. Gramps was asleep before a TV with static, the blue-ish light contouring his wrinkles. It was unclear if he was breathing or not. Andreea mouthed to them that it's okay and they went through the kitchen to the backyard, where they simply hopped over the fence.

Denisa imagined the crickets moving out of their way like fish do around sharks, a bubble of silence around them as they advanced.

"Which way?" Patricia asked, using her phone as a flashlight.

"To the left of our house is Mrs Delia's store." Andreea said.

"Oh, you know Mrs Delia?" Denisa asked.

"Yeah, we buy chips all the time!"

"There's buuugs...!" Selena said, a tremble in her voice and hands swatting away at the air. "Can we please go back...?"

"Come on!" Denisa gestured to keep moving.

"I'm a city girl, okay?"

"This forest got monsters and you're scared of some bugs? Really?"

"Girl, fuck you!"

A twig snapped somewhere and Selena almost jumped out of her skin. Andreea took her hand in hers and she seemed to calm down. Andreea looked very pleased with herself.

Denisa and Patricia at the front, Selena and Andreea at the back, they walked between the dark trees, the outlines of houses and the backs of yards on their left side. To the right might as well have been a void, as looking for too long at the light of the phone made everything else pitch black. They recognized the hexagon shape of Mrs Delia's roof, a streetlight illuminating the sky brown behind it.

"Aurora!" Denisa decided to call out. All of them stayed quiet and waited. "Auroraaa!" She tried again, more confidently.

The crickets were all quiet, then resumed.

"Are we sure her name is Aurora?" Andreea asked.

"T-That's what everybody says!"

She was about to try again or suggest a different route, when Denisa's head spun towards the woods. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Selena mumbled, pressing closer to Andreea.

"Shh! Shhh! Listen!" Denisa insisted.

"Girl, this isn't funny anymore!" Patricia said, starting to look uneasy too.

They could hear it, faintly between the trees: a cat's meowing. It sounded like a baby kitty. They all stayed still, listening, until Denisa pointed with her arm in a direction. "That way!"

The street next to Mrs Delia's store led to a dead end with abandoned houses and skeletal remains of walls. Behind those houses and underneath the blooming trees' canopies it was so dark that the flashlight became vital. The ground it illuminated was green and brown and taupe, misshaped here and there by thick roots. Grass and sticks crunched under their feet. The kitten was nowhere to be seen, but they could hear it clearly.

They came across an old house with a dilapidated wire fence and no glass in the back windows. In one of them was the silhouette of a young cat, standing elegantly like an old postcard illustration.

"Kitty!" Denisa whispered excitedly, stepping forward. "Don't flash it, you'll scare it!"

"I wasn't gonna!" Patricia rolled her eyes.

The cat mewled and jumped down into the house, disappearing from sight. It meowed again, loud as hell, as if it was there next to them.

"Meow meow!" Denisa said.

"Ugh, this place stinks." Patricia grumbled, moving the flashlight around the ground to see the source of the foul smell, cat meowing all the while. She found it behind Selena and Andreea. It wasn't a cat.

She shrieked and backed away, almost falling over. Selena and Andreea, no questions asked, dashed to the side. The former turned to look at the figure that had been right behind them and screamed too.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!!" Denisa shouted at Patricia.

She slapped at the phone screen in a panic, its shaking light revealing the creature with squinting eyes as it moved towards her. Finally it was off and the world was gone for a few seconds.

The girls flew to the forest floor, lying as flat on it as they could. There were no crickets for a while, then they gradually started singing again one by one. Denisa looked up, forcing her eyes to grow accustomed already. In the black darkness, there, she could see a slightly darker figure, turning its head left and right, side to side. Selena and Andreea were next to the trunk of a tree and Denisa was closer to the fence. Patricia was out in the middle, phone and head facing the ground.

Walker turned his head slowly up to the sky then back down, mouth slightly ajar as he focused. Dead hair spilled down, brushing against his coat and polluting the silence. He wrinkled his lips with almost human-like impatience, then took a deep breath.

"Hello" He intoned questioningly and Denisa nearly gasped out loud. It was Garofița's voice. "Who is there" it went on. "Who is there"

"What the-" Selena whispered incredulously.

Walker's head snapped in her exact direction. Selena would have squeaked in fear if Andreea didn't muffle her with her hands.

"Kitty" Denisa's happy voice came out after a moment of silence, and the real Denisa felt goosebumps all over. "Meow meow meow meow" It repeated twice, exactly like a recording. Skin-walker copying a human copying a cat.

Denisa's mind scrambled for an escape solution. There is no fucking way to outrun a skin-walker, that's what everybody said. She watched Walker take uneasy steps, stalking disconcertingly close to her and Patricia's bodies. It shambled - was something wrong with its leg? - but its posture, how it held its long arms and tilted upwards its sagging face - it moved like a girl.

"Auroraaa" Walker said quietly. No, not quietly. The sound came out as if he was far away.

Andreea tapped Selena, who didn't dare breathe. She held her hand close to her face and clutched her arm with the other one. With her fingers she counted 5, 4, 3, 2... 1!

Andreea let out a shrill scream, then immediately pulled Selena to run away with her, deeper between the trees. Walker, Denisa and Patricia all flinched and looked after them. He had the strong urge to give chase, then reminded himself to put his bad leg back down.

Denisa took a deep breath as quietly as she could. At least those two got away. She looked at Patricia, lying flat on the ground. Her shoulders were shaking.

She looked towards the fence and the cat's house, and narrowly stopped herself from yelping. There was a... thing. Piglike, white and four-legged, almost no features except for alcoves where its eyes would be.

Buddy looked at Denisa, almost pensively, then rattled the fence with his front paw. Denisa wanted to strangle him.

Walker made a sound like a muffled growl, kind of like... a scoff?

Buddy rattled more.

Walker hissed at him over his shoulder and defiantly stepped towards the trees, away from Denisa!

She crawled army-style towards Patricia. Her face was covered in her hands and she was silently crying. As she cowered she thought of all the things she regretted and should have done in her far too short life. She should have gotten better friends. She should have studied better and gotten into a good school and gotten out of this town. She should have been nicer to her mom. She should have used the arts and crafts kit she received as a birthday gift from cousin Alicia. She shouldn't have called Alicia a bitch.

"Patri." Denisa whispered close to her ear. "When the thing comes again, flash the flashlight right in its face."

"What...?" She whispered.

"Blind it, then we run! Okay?"

"I-I-I can't...!"

"I'll do it, then! Give it!"

They pressed to the ground and huddled like rabbits when they heard a crow break the silence. They couldn't see it but it was cawing frantically, then they heard another girl's voice.

"What's going on here?" It intoned, then they heard the rustle of leaves behind them. Denisa peeked up and saw Her.

"Hello" Walker said in Garo's voice.

Run!!! Denisa telepathically pleaded with her.

"Oh, God." The girl said. "You're ugly as hell." She giggled.

Walker froze. He took a step backwards.

The girl took a step forward. "What's wrong? You scared?" She grinned, talking as you would to a puppy. She even tapped a hand on her knee and made kissy sounds.

Walker hissed, head low and spine arching under the layers of skin and cloth.

Suddenly, Selena came running, armed with a tree branch. Before anybody could react, she bashed the skin-walker's head as hard as she could with it, making him lose balance and fall on his ass. She tried to draw it back, but the decomposing skin got caught onto the bark and splinters.

She screamed again, dropping the weapon. Andreea sprinted from the woods and tugged Denisa and Patricia to their feet.

"I-I did it!" Selena babbled.

"Go! Go! Go!" Andreea ordered, leading the way. The four of them scrambled and tripped, but they ran and ran all the way to Mrs Delia's store and then home. Denisa glanced back and saw the girl standing there, waving them goodbye.

Aurora turned heel and theatrically reached to the ground at the same time, then ran away as well before Walker could push himself back up.

Buddy, still behind the fence, puffed out air through his nose as Bezea watched from the window. Walker growled at him and punched the fence with his claw.

"Oh my God, oh my freaking God!!" Denisa panted as they reached the Miclea safehouse. "Do you think that was her?"

"W-Who?" Patricia asked, still wiping her face.

"The undead girl!"

"Are you shitting me right now?!"

"There was a girl there, seriously!"

"I'm gonna beat your ass."

"Y'all, chill." Selena panted with a hand over her chest.

"Let's just head inside." Andreea said.

Patricia nodded and patted her pockets. Her eyes flew wide open and she patted them again, harder. "W-Where is my phone?!"

Bonus: