He grunted as he fell heavily on the concrete floor. It felt like his brain bounced around his skull. When his vision cleared he saw Răzvan. His hands were tied behind his back too, and his eyes were covered by a tight blindfold.

"Sir!" He tried to crawl closer. "I thought you died!"

"Shut up!!" Răzvan said through his teeth. "We might as well be dead."

"We could still get out!" He whispered. "I saw Șandor's car, by the park! If we could just make it there-"

"You think they'll ever let us out? And if we get out, then what? You think Bălașa will be happy? Whether it's her or these guys, we're fucked!" He sobbed.

He looked down, unsure what to say.

"God fucking damn it." Răzvan kicked his foot in frustration like a child. "I knew I shouldn't have brought you along. First day on the job and you're gonna fucking die."

"... what the hell is this song they're playing? Where even are we?"

à bien regarder, j'aime ta position, les jambes croisées, jupe ou pantalon

"Go easy on 'em, Eddy." Marius said, scratching his own beard. "That guy looks like he's only 20. I swear, that vamp bitch will hire anybody who knocks on her front door."

"You mean I can't kill either of them?" Eduard said, raising his pale eyebrows in surprise.

"What for? Mirabela says she can't drink 'em, she checked. We'd just have more work to do cleanin' afterwards. I ain't in the mood."

"Oh..." Eduard looked down, genuinely disappointed.

"Come on now."

"I was hoping I could source a new coat for Toad. He's always so cold."

"Turn a friggin' heater on or somethin'!"

"I did that once, and the idiot would lie with his bare skin against the hot metal. I swear I saw smoke!"

Marius groaned. "Why do you even keep that blasted thing around?"

"Can't a man have hobbies?" Eduard smiled.

"Come on now." He repeated.

The music grew louder, and high-heeled shoes stomp around the ceiling above them.

Roxi checked her outfit in the mirror of the bar, framed by bottles and decorative black vines. She wore the same black choker as earlier that day, the hoop earrings, a white dress shirt and a black pencil skirt. She fixed her bra so that the black lace would peek out.

"Roxi, when you're done, can I have a shot of Jameson." An early patron asked.

"Right away!"

Mihai was seated by the door, clipboard in one hand, an ID in the other, white shirt and black pants as well. A tall and lean woman, standing just outside the door, was impatiently tapping her foot.

"No, you're right, Miss! You can come in." Mihai said, handing the ID back. "Oi, Gabi! You spelled her name wrong!"

"I don't know Hungarian, okay?!" He shouted from the back.

"You're from freaking Transilvania!"

The woman huffed and strutted inside, the floor groaning under her platforms, mixing into the cacophony of other people talking, laughing, glasses clinking, chairs being dragged and the French singer's moaning.

Gabriel emerged with trays upon trays of clean glasses, his white shirt's sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Thank youuu!" Roxi said, picking out one.

"I gotta leave by 2 am." He huffed. "I gotta wake up early, unfortunately."

"Come on, it's gonna be fun!" Roxi said.

"Hope they don't try to kill me..."

"Oh, they're over that!"

A woman walked in without having to be invited by Mihai. "Sorry for being late, I couldn't find my stupid pants." She said, throwing her coat to Gabriel, who caught it and took it to the back. She wore a white shirt as well, pinstripe black pants and a black tie.

"Thanks." She grabbed the Jameson shot and downed it.

"Wha- hey!" The man who ordered it said.

"Girl, chill!" Roxi said, pouring another one.

"I had a really shitty day at the office, give me some slack." She said while checking her hair in the mirror.

"I can give you slack, Simo, but Mr Marius is gonna get mad if we're drinking stock again."

"Eh, he never stays mad for long."

"Not at you!"

Simona flashed a smile, closing her eyes and raising her foot behind herself.

A very loud group of girls made their way into the club, giggling like canaries and already tipsy.

"Simo, is Robert here too?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah, he came through the back." She said as she double-checked her rail. "Is the ice ready?"

"Right here." He poured the bucket, deafening for a moment.

Simona mixed vodkas and red bulls for the merry girls, while Roxi took on the calmer guests.

"Girl, you look fine!" Mrs Delia from the grocery store told her.

"I look like a board..." Roxi handed her an absolutely filthy martini. Delia always asked them to add unorthodox things, both pickle juice and olive juice, tabasco sauce or wasabi or blue cheese or anchovies.

"You gotta eat!" She said, pointing to her own ample bosom. "You think I got these babies in one day?"

The group of girls cheered in approval.

"Whose tab am I working with?" Simona raised her voice.

"Over here!" One of the girls handed a card. A girl at her side suddenly stopped smiling, instantly sobering up, when she recognised that it was her card.

"Oops!" Simona dropped it.

She crouched close to the floor to get it, paused and listened for a second, then got up with the nicest smile, walked away a few steps and turned the music even louder.

"Simonaaa!" A guy at one of the tables waved his whole arm. "Shots for all my boys!"

"Yessiiir!" She replied, snatching up an empty tray and spinning it on her finger. The tipsy ladies loved that too.

"Roxi," she turned to her, "put on the playlist you made and be generous with the liquor."

"Yes, ma'am." Roxi said.

"Good evening, boss!" Mihai stood up from his chair, politely putting the clipboard behind his back.

A woman entered the club uninvited, because it was hers. She was short and plump, in a dress ruched on both sides, with a precariously low cleavage. Her hair was a storm cloud of curls, ringlets and frizz. Her lips shone glossy pink and the teeth behind them were sharp, misshapen and crooked.

She pointed a clawed fingernail towards the bar. "Gimme my theme music!"

Roxi hit the key and the opening of "Here I go" by Mystikal started blaring. The entire club roared as Mirabela dance-walked across it.

On an elevated platform were divans and a low oak table, and a door leading to the VIP area, concealed by a jacquard wall hanging. It depicted a party, nymphs and satyrs dancing and kissing and passing out among flowers. Mirabela and her clique sat down between the velvet pillows, she looked with great satisfaction at her little kingdom, then gestured to Roxi to put on the regular music.

"You can go between the tables afterwards." Simona said. "I can handle the bar myself."

"Okaaay." Roxi said and hit shuffle.

It landed on "I know you want me" by Pitbull. Roxi nodded proudly to herself, picked a tray and skipped her way to the nearest table.

"Awww, what's wrong?" She asked a young woman with smeared mascara.

"My boyfriend..."

"Oh, forget him! Men ain't shit!"

"He's in the hospital..." One of her friends said.

"Oh... ... And you're here?"

"I need a drink, okay?!"

"I got you, babe."

"I'm bored." One of the women at Mirabela's table grumbled. "And I'm starving."

"Oh, cheer up!" Mirabela said. She had a sundae with chocolate, vanilla and rum ice cream, topped with caramelised cherries and orange slices. She tasted the whip cream with the tip of her pinky finger.

"Why did you even order that?"

"It's pretty!"

"That's stupid..."

"Hajnalka, shut the fuck up before I kick you out."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, leaning back onto the divan. Mirabela picked up a glazed slice of orange and looked through it at the dancefloor like it was glass.

"Mira," a man cautiously scooted closer to her, "you caught those two, right?"

"What?" She asked really loud.

"Those two guys!" He repeated. It was getting hard to hear the person next to you from the music.

"What's with them?"

"You caught them, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Nothing! Just asking!"

"Okay!"

"What is Bălașa going to say?" Another woman asked, meeker than Hajnalka.

"Dunno!" Mirabela shrugged.

"She can say whatever she wants to now, 'cause it won't matter!" Hajnalka said. "She started it!"

"Yes, but it's getting ridiculous." The man said.

"Oh, no, I agree, Victor!" Mirabela said.

"You do?" He blinked.

"I know exactly how to end it, but you won't like it!" She smiled while looking right at him.

He frowned, then sighed deeply.

"Ralou, get us some drinks!" Mirabela turned to the meek woman.

"I'm off then!" Gabriel came out with his coat on.

"Good night!!" Roxi shouted from across the club when she noticed him leaving.

"Good night, dude!" Mihai said, keeping track of who was coming in and out of the club to the terrace tables. He, and everybody else, already knew the usual guests by heart.

"Hey, Simo!" Ralouka arrived at the bar.

"Hey, girl!" She replied without looking up from where she was pouring an entire bottle of everclear.

Ralouka looked with great concern at the concoction, then shook her head. "Mirabela asked for the drinks, if you please."

"They're already in the VIP room."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear them?"

"No, you can't really hear anything anymore!" She laughed.

"Perfect!" Simona grinned.

Garofița woke up to somebody screaming far away down the street. It was still dark, and Buddy was still asleep, his head over her neck. She stayed down and silent, looking at the dark walls and listening.

A sound like a car crashing into something followed the scream, then the usual silence of the periphery at night. She blinked and waited, but nothing else happened.

"Sorry..." She whispered as she pushed Buddy away to stand up.

She tip-toed to the other room at the back of the house, to the windows through which she could see Walker.

"Walker...!" She called out. "Walker, you're still here, right?"

She heard a very unhappy growl, then saw the corpse struggle to lift his head off the ground. She couldn't see it, but could safely assume his eyes were still closed.

"Sorry! Sorry! You can go back to sleep!" She said and returned to her own bed.

Walker sat with his head up for a couple seconds, then let it fall back down on the grass.

"California Gurls" by Katy Perry was playing and the dance floor was full. Simona could recognise in it the drunk girls from earlier, some of Mirabela's buddies and Mrs Delia. Mirabela herself was up on a table, shoes long-disappeared, lips red and smile wide. She was thoroughly drunk if she wasn't hiding her teeth.

"Mihai!" Simona shouted.

"Yeah?" He shouted back.

"I'm going downstairs for a second. See if Roxi needs help."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Simona picked up a tray with ice cold gin glasses, and carried them to the back.

"Do you need help?" Mihai asked.

"Nah, I'm good." She said, opening the door with her foot.

Mihai crossed the club, dodging people, hair being whipped around, spilling glasses and lost purses on the ground. Ralouka, now loose, grabbed him to kiss his cheek, but he dodged like he was playing limbo. He was surprised by his own reflexes.

He pushed the heavy wall hanging to the side and knocked hard on the door to be heard.

"Come in!" Roxi replied.

The VIP room was red and black, long and luxurious sofas along each wall. Hajlanka was still there, wiping her mouth with the back of her wrist. The shirtless man at her side was half-way sliding off the sofa.

"Hey there!" Roxi said from the opposite side of the room. She was putting a bandage on a girl's neck, who was eating the sundae, lazily bringing the spoon to her mouth.

Another girl was fast asleep, curled up on Roxi's other side. She had bandages on her neck too, and on both ankles.

"Who's into feet?" Mihai asked.

"Guess." Roxi laughed.

Hajnalka rolled her eyes and walked out without talking to them.

The next song was "Hotel Room Service", which was met with shrieks. Mihai was pretty sure he heard a car alarm go off outside.

"Why so much Pitbull?" He asked.

"It's on shuffle! It wasn't on purpose!" Roxi said.

Mihai walked out of the VIP room in time to see Mrs Delia up on a table together with Mirabela. Her martini glass was still in her hand, and she wined down to the crowd's cheers. She quickly straightened up, red like a cherry, and climbed down.

Mirabela applauded, danced a little more by herself, then, as the chorus played, she inexplicably jumped up, brought her knees to her chest, and cannonballed down to the table, breaking it. Mihai was frozen in shock for a second, as was everybody else, then saw her jump back up, laughing wildly.

open up yo' blouse and pull that g-string down south (ooh!)

"Can't believe I used to listen to that as a kid." Simona said as she looked up at the ceiling, which was almost visibly shaking. Even down in that basement they had to speak quite loudly to hear each-other.

Marius downed his glass. "Graaah!" He shook his head and wiped his moustache. "Needed that."

"How's it going with those two?" Simona asked, not much interest in her voice.

"The kid is yappin' like we gave him money. Eddy barely poked him. Said it was 'no fun', the freak. But the kid ain't knowin' much, since he's apparently new, so he took a different strategy."

"Is that why only one is blindfolded?"

"That's the first bastard I caught." Marius wrinkled his nose. "Eddy couldn't get much out of him either at first, but once he started interogatin' only the kid, he became more willin' to talk."

"You told him not to kill them, right?"

"I did!" He looked at her offended.

Simona raised her hands up in surrender, pushing out her lower lip.

"No point in killin' 'em." Marius continued. "This way at least Eddy will get his brain worms out for a while, and Mirabela will be happy."

"You're so nice!"

"I know, right?"

Both of them were startled and spun around when they heard the heavy door open.

"Heeeey!" Mirabela walked down the wooden stairs, slowly and holding onto both walls for balance.

"What was that noise earlier?" Simona asked, easing up. Marius still sat with his arms crossed.

"I broke a table." Mirabela giggled. She looked around, her hair bouncing along. "Where's Robert?"

"He left to deal with a third guy they sent out." Marius said. "One Șandor, if he sounds familiar."

Mirabela looked at him, lips parted, gears visibly spinning in her head, but finding nothing. "He must be new, I don't know..." She stumbled towards Eduard's area. Simona wanted to go after her, but Marius grabbed her arm.

"It ain't good for your head to see shit like that constantly. Look at Eddy."

Mirabela pressed against the wire-fence wall, chest first, making it rattled. Eduard didn't hear her over Pitbull's final chorus and the younger man's screams. She waited for a minute, then carefully positioned her lips over her fangs to whistle.

Eduard snapped his head around, his expression immediately softening into a friendly one when he saw it was Mirabela.

"Hello, boss!" He hopped to his feet. There was blood all over his apron and a splatter on his cheek too.

"What have you been up to?" Mirabela slurred, pushing and imprinting the fence's Xs on her cheek. Her eyes fell on a large pair of pliers in his hand. The iron needn't be bright red to know it was hot as hell.

"I got him to tell me quite a lot about Bălașa and her gang." He said, wiping sweat off his bald head. "I'll tell you everything in a minute."

"Noooo rush." She said, pointing to the lock on the fence's door. "Let me in."

He pulled a key from his pocket and opened it. Mirabela stepped inside half-dancing, and swayed as she stopped in front of their two guests.

The younger one was a mess on the floor. The wounds were cauterised as soon as they were inflicted, keeping him from bleeding out. He was shaking and drooling, looking up at her with bloodshot eyes. She smiled and winked.

The other one was chained to the wall in the far back, hearing everything but unable to do anything. Mirabela took a deep breath to see what he had been smelling. She scrunched her face in theatrical disgust.

"I'll let you out soon." She said. "Eddy says you told him what we wanted. Well done!"

Răzvan spat in the direction her voice was coming from. It hit her leg, better aim than he might have expected.

"Hmmm..." Mirabela pouted. She walked over to the younger one, who looked terrified. He yelped like a dog when she grabbed him by the hair.

"W-Wait!!" Răzvan suddenly pleaded.

She shoved his head against her leg, wiping off the spit.

"Eddy."

"Yes, boss?" He waited by the fence.

"I changed my mind. Keep them here until tomorrow at this hour."

Upstairs, "Girls just wanna have fun" by Cyndi Lauper started playing. Mirabela gasped and made a mad dash past Eddy, made Marius shout "Watch it!!", and up the stairs.

There was a small park near the grocery store at the corner. As she walked past it, Garofița saw a sign that it was closed for the day. She hoped Mrs Delia was ok.

The park had a swing set, two slides and several benches, and most important of all: a public toilet. That morning, Garofița also noticed an abandoned car that was beat the hell up, every window broken and tires gone. She decided it was none of her business and kept walking.

When she cut her bangs before she ran away, she did not realise how much maintenance they would be. In a way, of course they would. They laid against her skin, getting all the oil. But she had to wash them separately from the rest of her hair almost everyday, it was so annoying!!

She heard the door open and she tried to look over her own arm as she was hunching over the sink, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.

It was that lady, Bea, from yesterday.

"Oh, hello!" She said.

"Hi!" Garofița said.

"What'cha doing?" She asked as she went into one of the stalls.

"Uh, heh, washing my bangs!"

"Do you need help to wash your hair?" She asked from the stall.

"No, it's fine! It's just my bangs."

"I used to have them when I was younger and they were such a pain in the ass, oh my God."

"I agree..." Garofița said. She smiled as she wrapped the wet strands around her fingers, trying to curl them. "Uh, miss Bea?"

"Just Bea is fine!"

"Bea, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot!"

"How did you know I'm around a cryptid?"

"Ah, I'm 1/8 werewolf!"

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, my grandfather was a werewolf!"

"That's cool!"

"Yeah, but all I got is a sensitive nose."

"Do... uh, do I smell bad?"

"You smell like sweat and dust and the forest. And like the cryptid, who smells sour and earthy."

"Oh!"

"You also kinda smell like death."

"Huh?"

"Has your cryptid eaten dead animals recently?"

"U-Uh, y-yeah! Yesterday, actually!"

"There you go."

"Are there many werewolves in this town?"

"Just one family. The Bisclavu family, they live on the other side of town."

"You aren't related to them?"

"No, girl, not all werewolves know each-other."

"S-Sorry!"

"It's ok, I'm just messing with you. Some of them are nice, but I feel weird going up to them like 'hey, I'm a werewolf too a little bit, what's up brothers?', y'know?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Plus they're loan sharks, I'm not messing with that." She said as she flushed the toilet.

As Bea washed her hands, Garofița hesitated to keep asking.

"What's wrong?" Bea said.

"Uh, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Of course! Go ahead!"

"My pet, uh, my cryptid has a pretty big wound on his leg. I think he got into a fight. I wanna go to the vet shop and buy something to help, but I'm not sure what to ask..."

"Oh, girl, don't go to the vet store! It's expensive as all hell. Go to a pharmacy and ask for iodine tincture."

"Oh! Okay!"

"The vet store asks crazy prices because they know pet owners will pay up. Same with regular pharmacies, but iodine tincture is at least pretty cheap."

"Thank you!"

"Where are you off to?" She asked as they walked outside.

"Well, the pharmacy." Garofița put her mask back on. "And to Amante, I think."

"Come to the encampment in the evening! Gliga is cooking, you don't wanna miss that."

"I'll try!" She smiled. "Where are you going?"

"I gotta beat someone up."

"O-Oh."

"I wanna go early to get it over with. Bye!"

"Uh, bye!"

Garofița crossed the street, walking past the grocery store, when she saw a dark grey truck rolling by. She recognised Roxi in the driver's seat, with her straight-across bangs and big earrings. She recognized Garofița too, smiled and pulled over.

"Hello, Gabi 2!" She said brightly. There were bags under her eyes, but she was still cheerful.

"Good morning!"

"How are you?"

"Good! You?"

"Still waking up!"

"Heheh..."

"I'm going to the cult town today. You heard it got busted, right? They're rounding up the former cult members and re-baptizing them. Gabi will do some too!" She pulled out her phone and showed her a photo.

Garofița wanted to ask "He's a priest?", when she noticed a person in the backseat of the truck. It was the man with the wine stain birthmark she saw yesterday, the one Vitalis said was from the cult too.

"Hello!" She said.

"Uh, hello!" He replied.

"Oh gosh, this is Dorel!" Roxi said. "He used to be in the cult too, but a long time ago. We thought that maybe if he got re-baptized too, he'd get some closure, you know? Right, Dorel?"

"Sure..." Dorel smiled with one side of his mouth.

"Do you want to come too?" Roxi asked Garofița. "It's a whole event!"

"Uh, I'd rather not..." She said. She didn't want to be around so many people and be recognised.

"Okay! Mihai is at the restaurant if you wanna go. Today's menu is easy, even he can make it!"

"Thank you!" Garofița smiled with her eyes.

"See you lateeer!" Roxi said as she drove away.

Garofița walked only for a few steps before she saw Vitalis, coming from the direction Roxi did. She raised her eyebrows and waved when she noticed Garofița. Garofița perked up and ran to meet her. Vitalis smiled a little.

"Good morning!"

"Mornin'. Did you see Roxi?"

"I did! She's going to the cult town with, uh, Dorel!"

"Oh yeah, with much effort and threatening we managed to convince him to go." She took a drag from her cigarette and turned around. "It'll do him good to be part of a more legit religion."

"What did the cult worship?" Garofița asked as she started to walk together with her.

"God, it was a hodgepodge of weird occult concepts and Christian legends. It made no damn sense if you thought about it for more than 5 seconds. When Dorel was telling us about it, it felt like their cult leaders slapped together random lines from random scriptures without actually reading them. Chat gpt ass religion. They were stealing ideas even from The King in Yellow."

"They read The King in Yellow?" Garofița made wide eyes.

"No!! That's the kicker! They misspelled those two bitches' names too. Like, I swear, this cult only happened because nobody had google. Or a freaking dictionary."

"Isn't isolation part of culty things?"

"It is, but come the fuck on."

They walked together for a while, Garofița swinging her arms a little bit, stopping when she saw Vitalis turn to look at her.

A middle aged woman with black hair was coming their way. She was walking fast, holding her coat tight around herself. She and Vitalis nodded to each-other as a greeting. Garofița tried to step out of her way, but was too slow and they bumped into each-other.

"Sorry!" Garofița quickly said.

"Watch where you're going!" The woman snapped.

Garofița hurried to Vitalis' side, brows furrowed and shoulders held close.

"Ignore her." Vitalis said.

"I didn't mean it..."

"It's not your fault. She's in a bad mood more often than not. And you probably remind her of her autistic kid that she abandoned."

"Wha-hu-what?"

"You both got wavy black hair."

That didn't help.

"Live here for a bit and you'll learn everybody's dirty laundry." Vitalis let a smoke cloud above her head.

"O-Okay..."

"It can be fun if you don't take it to heart!"

A man across the street from them waved at Vitalis before entering a corner store. He was fat, wearing a robe and slippers, and had a very friendly face. He certainly looked nicer than that woman.

"That's Ionel, but everybody calls him 'Cola', on account that he used to deal coke. He claims he doesn't anymore, but I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. Which is not a lot, I got weak arms."

"Are there a lot of drug dealers?"

"Not that many, they've just concentrated in the same area. They're almost all neighbours. Do you do any drugs?"

"NO?!"

"I'm just asking. Keep it up, drugs ain't worth it."

"...Uhm... Do... you do any drugs?"

"Only cigarettes and alcohol. I tried coke once when I was younger, but it just made me jittery for a couple hours. I didn't like it. I tried adderall too, but I think I got scammed because I didn't even feel anything. In fact, it made me more boring."

"You have ADHD."

"What?"

"I-If adderall makes you calm, then you have ADHD."

"Huh... Good to know."

"I don't understand why anybody would risk doing drugs..."

"There's a lot more drug users than you may think. They treat it as they would any booze at a party. School teachers, office workers, cashiers, doctors. Me too growing up I thought 'ah, that's a thing that only happens in the big cities, among rich people and actors', but nope! Drug users are super common, actually. Same with gay people."

"Uhhhhhhh..."

"Lots of gays at the encampment and the shelter too. They're lovely people! Except for Gigi, she owes me money."

"A lot of money?"

"Like 5 bucks."

"Oh."

"It's the principle."

"Sure..."

"I remember when I was a teen, 3 of my 4 female cousins came out as gay one after the other, and everybody was looking at me like 'are you gonna come out too or...?' Like dude, leave me alone. That's my business."

"W-What about the fourth one?" Garofița asked, wondering why this lady was yapping so much.

"She got married to this guy she met online. And this was the early internet, mind you, when it was hand-made forums and shoddy websites. This guy kisses the ground she walks on though, so she got it good."

They continued leisurely walking. There was a small pharmacy, white and green, with an old lady at the counter.

"I, uh, I need to buy iodine tincture." Garofița slowed down.

"Go ahead." Vitalis stopped.

Garofița awkwardly nodded and walked inside, a bell ringing above the door. She thought of looking at the shelves first before asking for it, like at the grocery store. There was a tiny bottle with a green and yellow package. 4. It's almost 5. She could buy food with that. With four 5 banknotes she could buy another peanut butter jar.

It's for Walker, she told herself, it's for Walker.

"Excuse me, I'd like to buy this." She said.

"Careful, honey, it stains the skin orange." the pharmacist said.

"That's ok."

"Do you have a fidelity card?"

"Uh, no. It's at home."

"Do you know your mom's phone number so I can scan that way?"

"N-No, it's fine. I'll bring it another time." She should have said just 'no'. Idiot.

"Have a good day, honey!"

"I'm done!" Garofița said outside.

"Good job." Vitalis said.

They headed for the town center.

"You got a lot of money?" Vitalis asked.

"A bit..." Garofița said. "I saved up, to buy food, and bus fares, and other stuff."

Vitalis nodded. "Don't tell anybody else about it."

"They'd steal it?"

"Probably. Until they get to know you and would feel bad about doing it. But that doesn't guarantee it."

"... uhm..."

"What?"

"Is it dangerous, around town? Like, bad people?"

"Oh, plenty."

"Oh..."

"If you mind your business and don't take shit from anybody, you'll be fine. But you gotta be tough."

"I'm not tough..." Garofița laughed.

"You ran away from home and live by yourself in the woods. Sounds pretty tough to me."

"Has anybody ever tried to steal from you, Vitalis?"

"Many times. One time I got a whole mattress stolen. And I was living on the 6th freaking floor, and I was gone for like maybe 10 minutes. They threw it out the window or something."

"... did anybody try to attack you?"

"Anybody who tried, I beat the shit out of 'em. A guy tried to rape me once. I grabbed a pencil and aimed for the eye. He survived, the little shit, but I did blind him in that eye. When I heard he was out the hospital, I chased him down for a week together with Marius to finish the job. He ran out of town and sure as hell never bothered me again. Nobody ever did. I must have scared them to behave themselves."

"Hehehe!"

"If you're in trouble, you don't call 911. You call Marius. He'll show up faster and angrier on your behalf."

"Can I ask something?"

"Depends."

"Have you been homeless for a long time?"

"Almost 30 years."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Did... you run away too?"

"Mmmmh, yeah, but it's a little more complicated... I didn't just end up here one day like you did, it was more... gradual, I guess? I lived in a bunch of places, one shithole worse than the last, until I said 'fuck it' and moved out here."

"You're not from this town?"

"Everybody thinks I am, but no, I'm not. This place fits me like a glove, I suppose."

"Did you want to disappear too?"

Vitalis paused. "In a way, yes."

She lit a new cigarette. Her nails were so dirty. Garofița wondered if she would look like that too eventually, and dreaded it. Then she thought that was a really mean thing to think. Just stop thinking already. "I worried for so long where I was going to live, then one day it hit that I could just be homeless." Vitalis continued. "That way I could just leave, whenever and for whatever reason. Boom. Done. I'm in trouble? Gone. I'm bored. Bye!"

"I want to get a job." Garofița said.

"Got anything in mind?"

"Maybe a waitress? Or cleaning a kitchen? Uhm, I could also get spare food and water."

"Good thinking."

"I want to work with Roxi!"

"At Amante?"

"Yeah!"

"... don't work there."

"Why not?" Garofița furrowed her brows.

"It's shady."

"Why?"

"The bosses are blood suckers. And if you get involved with them, you'll get dragged into their shady business too. It's not worth it."

"Roxi works there, though."

"I don't approve of that either."

Garofița frowned and looked down.

They reached the town center, where people filled the terraces and kids were running around the square. The bust of Dr Anemona Balint-Rățoi stood proud, but the bronze shine needed a touch-up. They waited to cross the street together, and Garofița admired the manors again.

Vitalis pointed with her cigarette. "Over there are the Palaghiu House, the Rulikovski House, and the Balint House. In the Palaghiu House live a bunch of vampires. Their names are Mirabela, Victor and Ralouka. If you hang around the center at night, you'll see them for sure. It's best to keep your distance."

"Are they dangerous?"

"They're dangerous and assholes. In the Rulikovski House live regular human assholes. And in the middle is the Balint House, where the scientist Balint-Rățoi lived with her family."

"Does anybody live there?"

"Only a ghost. Have you ever seen a ghost?"

"Not in person. At my, uh, my old school there was a ghost in one of the boys' bathrooms, who would emerge only when somebody was smoking to ask for cigarettes."

"Hah! I'll do that too when I die."

"Heheh. Who died in the Balint House?"

"Dr Anemona Balint-Rățoi and her man had 4 daughters. The eldest, Lilica, died at 12. She fell while running with scissors and stabbed herself in the neck. I'm not joking. She stayed behind even after everybody else died or moved away, she refuses to leave the manor."

"Why?"

"She's a bitch like everybody else. Can't think of any other reason."

"O-Oh... The manor is really pretty, though. It'd be sad to let it crumble away."

"I agree, but nobody has the money to fix it. Not to mention nobody wants to deal with a bratty ghost that hurls things at your head."

"What happened to the other daughters?"

"Oh-hoh, they made Dr Anemona spin in her grave. After she, Anemona I mean, passed away, the family fell apart. She was the one keeping everybody on a short leash. After they wasted their wealth on gambling and booze, they tried to cuddle up to communist party members. You know when a rich person is on their deathbed and all their leeching relatives suddenly show up and act all sweet to get something at the last minute? That's what they were trying to do. And failed, hah. After the revolution in 1990, they lost the manor. When the communist regime fell, it was a free for all. God forbid you were associated in any way with the government back then! Poor Dr Anemona must be tearing her hair out seeing what destitute provincial trash her descendants became."

"Aw, that's kind of sad."

"Don't feel too bad for them. The Balints were always trash, they just had the money to hide it. You can put a dozen layers of wallpaper, but the rotting wood underneath is still there."

"You know a lot about them."

Vitalis laughed bitterly. "I know more than I wish I did."

Amante was dead silent compared to the night before. They walked inside the restaurant together and found Mihai at the bar, his cheek against his palm. Propped in front of him was a phone, with a fervent voice coming from it.

"Oh, hello, Vitalis!" He said. "Hello, Garo!"

She told them my real name, Garofița thought.

"Do you want to order anything?" Vitalis asked her.

"Uh, just water."

"Right away." Mihai said and turned the volume down.

Garofița looked at a chair, then at Vitalis, fidgeting and taking off her mask.

"You can sit down, if you want." Vitalis said.

"Okay!"

"Here ya go." Mihai brought her a glass with rounded ice cubes. Ice spheres.

"Be nice and bring me a drink too." Vitalis said.

"Alright." Mihai sighed. He handed Vitalis a small bottle from behind the bar's counter, wrapped in a paper bag. Garofița glanced at the clock on the wall and didn't comment.

Vitalis took a sip and wrinkled her nose. "Did Roxi water it down?"

"Mmmmaybe." He said.

Vitalis groaned and took another sip. "She'll never learn. See you around, Garofița."

"Bye-bye!" She said.

"Gliga is cooking for everybody this evening. You should come."

"I'll try!"

"Later." She told Mihai, who sat back down by his phone.

After Vitalis left, Garofița tapped her nails against the glass, wanting to speak but constantly changing her mind. She wanted to ask Mihai if they were still hiring. He was absentmindedly watching what seemed to be a live-stream. She quickly realised it was Gabi's voice.

"I, too, like any other man, have been led into the desert of doubt and despair, wondering what was the point of it all, wondering if God had abandoned me, if God was real at all. And truth be told, I'm still not certain, for we can never be fully certain of anything in this life. For all we know, there is no God!"

There was a murmur of confusion through the crowd.

"Wait! Let me finish! Let me be real with y'all. Is there some sort of higher being? Probably. Do we know what they or he or she is like? What they want from us? If they want anything at all? If any of the religions we have is the correct guess? No, we don't know. We live in a world of uncertainty, and that is quite frightening. But that is not as bad of a thing as you may think. No, because listen up! We don't know for sure if what we do is right, but we also don't know for sure if what we do is wrong. So what do we do in this case? We do our best! We live in such a way that we make the best of it, of our limited time alloted in this world. THAT BEING SAID, hold on now! While I did say just now that nothing is for sure right or wrong in the eyes of whatever god is up there, I think we can all agree there are certain things that are FOR SURE wrong. You know? Don't take it the wrong way, hahah!"

Everybody is yapping today, Garofița thought to herself.

Mihai yawned and poured himself more water. Garofița thought to ask now, but he was in the middle of drinking. She told herself to do it afterwards, but then he started typing something on his phone, the live-stream still going. Now, but then he started searching for something behind the bar. Oh God, just ask already.

"Mihai-"

"And have no doubt in what I am about to speak onto you next!" Gabi's voice grew louder. "A benevolent god that wishes the best for you all, that appreciates your efforts to please them, would definitely not ask you to ruin your own lives in the ways you have been! Now, I am not saying all your efforts were in vain, for faith is good, but what I'm trying to get at is that you have been terribly misguided. But worry not, for the real God's forgiveness is boundless, and lost lambs are especially welcoAAAH-"

Gabi's sermon was suddenly cut off by a former cult member propelling himself onto the podium, tackling him down. In the background were sounds of shock and panic, including Roxi exclaiming "Duuude, what the fuck?!"

Mihai stared at the screen very much surprised, then he looked at Garofița, who was also looking at him wondering what the hell just happened.

"Uhhhh, the cult is still crazy." He turned off his phone and set it down. He turned on the radio behind him instead, adjusting it to not be too loud.

like a dog without a bone, an actor out of loan, riders on the storm

"Do you want anything else, Garo?"

"Uhh, uhm, I wanted to ask you something, if you're not busy."

"I'm all ears!"

"C-Can I get a job here? I saw you're looking for a waitress!" Garofița smiled, nervous and hopeful. "I could clean the kitchen too, or swipe the floors, or anything really!"

"Ohhh, uh..." Mihai scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, you can't."

Garofița's smile fell. "Why not?"

"How old are you?"

"13."

"Then sorry. We can't hire you."

"Why not?!"

"Child labour is illegal, girl!"

Garofița scoffed and rolled her eyes before she could control herself.

"Also, you don't really want to work here, trust me." Mihai said, sitting down in front of her at the table. "Over there is a club where wild things happen almost every night. That's where we need a waitress more so than at the restaurant. A lot of unsavoury types go to the club. Not to mention vampires! It's not a place for young girls."

"So what if vampires are there?" She grumbled, holding her glass.

"Oh, don't get me wrong! They're not, like, inherently evil or stuff like that. There are plenty of vampires who are great people. The ones we have, though, can get creepy and crazy."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"They're... the kind of people who don't care about anybody but themselves and their own amusement. They don't really care if anybody is hurt in the process."

"I understand..."

"You know Mrs Delia from the grocery store? With the cat? You can ask her if she'd let you sweep her shop, or help her stack the shelves. How about that? I know some people you can ask to walk their dogs for them. You said you have a dog, right?"

"Two of them."

"What are their names?" He smiled.

"Buddy, and, uh, Walker."

"Buddy and Walker?"

"I'm not good with names..."

"No, no, I like them! When I was little I had a dog named Bubi."

Garofița giggled.

"The club is owned by a vampire named Mirabela, and the restaurant and the terrace by a werewolf named Bisclavu. It's like a split ownership. It's best you avoid both of them, if you ask me."

"Then why do you work here?"

"Because Roxi and Gabi are here too." He sighed. "It's not so bad with them around."

Mihai looked at the door and his expression changed, and he got up to his feet. Garofița turned to look, rushing to grab her mask.

The man that walked in was in his 40s or 50s, stocky and rather short. He had a very square face, with thick eyebrows and a bushy brown moustache. His hair was brown, greying on the beard. His eyes were dark brown and rounded, and his brows low above them, making him look like he was always displeased. He wore a plain shirt under a leather jacket and plain jeans.

He looked momentarily surprised that Garofița, a guest of any kind, was there.

"Good mornin', Miss." He said. His voice was deep and gravelly, but kind towards her. "Would you like to order anythin'?"

"No, thank you! I already did." She showed her glass.

He smiled and nodded. He then gestured to Mihai to follow him behind the bar.

"Mr Marius..." Mihai began to say. Garofița immediately paid attention.

"Everythin' good here?" He said.

"Here, yes." Mihai said. "Over at Gabi... not so much."

"Why? The cultists did somethin'?" He began to pour a glass of water for himself.

"They started rioting, by the looks of it."

Marius paused, staring at the glass, then sighed and took a long sip.

"I'll go check on 'em." He wiped his beard.

"You don't have to, Sir."

"I will, don't worry. I gotta go there anyways. Check on what that wretch said."

"In the cult town?"

"Yeah, these whores got houses everywhere." Garofița flinched at the sudden curse word. "Also, you and Gabi and Roxi should go straight home tonight."

Mihai sighed, long and exasperated. "Garofița, you should do that too. I swear, this petty bitch fight is never ending."

"What happened?" Garofița quietly asked.

"Nothi-" Mihai began to say.

"They're fightin' over a testament from 200 fuckin' years ago and draggin' everyone in it!" Marius snapped. He realised it was Garofița who asked, who was looking at him backed away into the chair, face white. Marius cleared his throat and brushed his hand over his beard. "I'm sorry, Missy."

"I'll explain later." Mihai whispered.

Garofița nodded. "Thank you for the water!" She got up and pushed her chair back in place.

"Take care!"

Garofița put her mask back on and sighed deeply as she walked down on the street.

"I'm back!" She said as she returned home, and was met with Buddy cuddling against her. She kissed his head and put the money back under the board.

"Look what I got!" She held up the little bottle of iodine tincture, taking it out of the package. It was dark orange, with a white cap. Buddy sniffed it without much reaction.

"Hellooo, Walkeeer!" She said as she went outside, with the bottle, the roll of bandage and one of the blankets on her arm.

"Helloooo" He replied in Garofița's sweet voice, despite not being happy at all to see the blanket.

"Look-ie here!" She showed him the bottle. "Last time I put sanitary alcohol on your bandage, but this one is fancier! I think."

She walked around Walker, giving him a fair amount of space, and tugged down at the old bandage. The bone where he was shot and where he clawed the hell out of it was covered in dark red and brown. It looked like he had a dent in his leg. Was it possible to grow skin back?

She pulled at it, unravelling with ease. It smelled like iron and death, as Bea put it. "This one is gonna sting, probably." She laid out the fresh bandage and poured the tincture on it there, on the grass. It smelled sharp.

"Walker, be nice!" She said as she pulled the blanket closer, just in case.

Walker stared at her from the corner of his eye. Buddy waited at her side, looking at Walker. Walker glared at him once, then looked away. Buddy puffed with his nostrils, almost as if laughing.

"This is gonna sting a little bit, but don't freak out, okay? Hold still!" She said as if he could understand.

She pressed the bandage against the wound and Walker violently jerked his leg away, almost kicking her but missing.

"Hey!" Garofița scolded.

Walker looked at her with wet eyes.

She tried to remember through which alley they went down yesterday, when she saw Bea again.

"Heya!" She said.

"Can I come with you?" Garofița asked.

"Of course! No need to ask!"

On the path behind the buildings she could already smell the burning wood and grilling meat.

"Uhm... Bea?"

"What's up?"

"Did you... manage to fight whoever you were, uhm..."

"No, they bailed out on me!"

"Oh, damn."

Bea smacked her lips. "Pussy."

They arrived at the gate. The door opened very quickly when one of the men heard Bea's voice.

"I'm back!" She skipped her way through.

"Welcome back, Beatrice!" He smiled, his cheeks slightly pink.

"Hello!" Garofița said.

"Hello... sorry, I don't remember your name."

"It's okay. It's, uh,... Garofița."

"Welcome, Garofița!"

They quickly found Gliga, crouching in front of a grill that was sizzling. At his side was Vitalis, who waved at them to sit next to her.

"Hiii!" She heard Roxi's voice and turned to see her coming towards them with many plastic bags. There were some more in the back of her truck, where Mihai and Gabi were surrounded by people and talking to them. How did they get the truck inside the encampment?

Gliga had a perpetual cough, interrupting him every few seconds to turn his head away from the food. Bea leaned over to whisper and assure Garofița that it was nothing contagious, just nicotine. Hence why his voice also sounded like two cheese graters rubbed together. Despite this, he was all smiles as he cooked, chatting with everybody who passed by and explaining his process.

"You never cook cold meat, let alone straight out of the freezer. You have to let it sit out, some for at least an hour. And- Vitalis, gimme the butter - and here's my herb butter. Look, kid, it's my recipe. I put in here rosemary, thyme, basil, sage, nettle leaves, fuckin' peppermint, dandelion root, burdock root, oooooh boy."

"It smells very good!" Garofița said.

"You ain't smelled nothing yet."

Gliga grilled dozens of sausages, meat patties, mititei and mushroom caps. Bea explained they all scrounged up money to have a mini-feast. Onions wrapped in tinfoil were buried in the hot charcoal underneath.

"Come on and eat!!" Gliga announced, then coughed his lungs out.

"Told you to stop that." Vitalis scolded him.

"Let me have this..." He wheezed.

Bea and Garofița helped pass around old paper and plastic plates. Garofița got one with an old orange stain from another dish, but didn't mind it. The meat prepared by Mr Gliga was the best she had ever eaten (or maybe she was hungry again)(no, it was really really good).

Gliga looked around the encampment at everybody eating, old eyes beaming with pride.

"Sit down and eat too already." Vitalis tapped his back, her mouth full.

Gabi and Mihai finally arrived to let them know as well what happened in the cult town, having been pulled around the camp to answer questions. Poor Gabi had a huge lump in the middle of his forehead.

"He bopped me, man!" He lamented as he stuffed his mouth with a mititel.

"Who?"

"Dorel! He tricked us!"

"He didn't!" Roxi said. "It's hard to deprogram from cults and stuff. And it didn't seem planned out."

"What happened?" Bea asked.

"I was up on the stage, when one of the guys we baptised lunged at me like a freaking Five Nights at Freddy animatronic!" Gabi said.

"Huh?" Vitalis blinked.

"Everybody started screaming and panicking, and then hitting each-other, then the police got involved, and before we knew it 5 guys, including Dorel, were gone, sopping wet and all. The police said they're gonna search the towns and the woods for them."

Garofița stopped with her plastic fork half-way to her mouth. "What?"

"They won't search here too, right?!" Bea asked.

"No, no, I told them y'all wouldn't welcome Dorel back. Just the general area and the forests. They shouldn't have been able to get too far."

"Gosh, what a mess it was..." Roxi said.

"I hope I'll still get my credits..." Gabi said.

"You will!" Mihai patted his back. "There's video evidence."

"Garo, it was a good idea not to come." Roxi ate a glazed onion.

"Are you alright?" Vitalis asked.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Garofița said, forcing herself to swallow food.

"Mr Gliga, it's amazing, as always!" Roxi gestured with her fork.

"Aw, shucks!"

"I'm gonna go home now." Garofița got up and put her plate away. "I-It's getting dark. It was really good, Mr Gliga."

"Thank you very much!" Gliga stretched out his arm.

Garofița hesitated for a second, then accepted his hug. He smelled like smoke from the grill.

"Take care, darling!" Gliga said.

"Thank you!" She smiled.

"Tomorrow we have chicken soup again!" Roxi said.

"I met with Mrs Delia, she said the shop will be open next morning." Mihai added.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Take care, kid." Vitalis lit herself a new cigarette.

Garofița rushed back to her house, her heart pounding in her chest. Her mask was scuffed and wet on the inside, she snatched it off with a sob of frustration. There were few people on the street, getting home from work. She stepped out of the way of an elegant gentleman. He sniffed the air behind her and his eyes widened in shock. When he spun around to look, she was already away.

She didn't know what to do. If they searched the woods near the abandoned buildings, her house included, they'd surely find her. They'd make her go back. And even if they listened and didn't, they'd send her to some foster home God knows where. And as if her parents would listen to the police, they'd come after her themselves! It was bad, it was so bad, fuck Dorel!!!

Garofița hurriedly packed everything, kicking around the dust to make it look unlived again. Buddy followed her around, looking confused. Where should she go? Where should she go?

The encampment!

She looked down at Buddy. She'll take him too! He is kind and doesn't bite, he's a herbivore from what she observed. They'll let him stay if she explains everything, right?

"Come on, Buddy, let's go!" She called him into the street, heart beating like a rabbit's.

Buddy stayed by the hole in the fence, looking uneasy.

"Come on! While it's still light out!" She said, grabbing him by the front legs and pulling him after her.

Buddy realised she was taking him towards the town and fought out of her grip.

"What are you doing?"

Buddy shook free and backed away.

"Buddy, come on! Please!" She tried to pick him up.

Buddy whined and ran away from her, going behind the house. Garofița watched after him, air getting hard to breathe. What about Walker? She forgot about Walker. No way can she take him there. He wears the skin of a local man, they'll kill him for sure, the police too if they search her house. He can't run away by himself. Buddy won't leave either. Garofița felt tears well up in her eyes. What was she supposed to do? They couldn't stay in the house, they couldn't stay anywhere.

She could just leave.

Garofița gasped.

She could just leave, hide somewhere else until Dorel was found. If she's in trouble, leave. Boom. Done.

"Buddy! Buddy!" She ran to the back of the house. He met her half-way. Walker watched them from his tree, curious.

He saw Garofița search the ground and the bushes for a stick, finding a long and thick one. She opened her backpack, pulled out more bandage, and ripped it in several pieces, not bothering to dig for the scissors.

"Don't freak out!" She told Walker, crouching next to him. He didn't get a chance to protest. She tied the stick behind his bad leg, against his new bandage, setting it in place tightly with three pieces of cloth. Walker winced and tried to move away.

"Stand up!" Garofița reached beneath his armpits.

He trembled a lot, his bad leg was wobbly and unsure, but Walker could stand. He was a tall creature, Garofița's head just barely reached his chest.

"Can you walk?" She asked.

He tried a couple steps, mostly to get away from her, hesitating to put weight on the injured leg, but walk he could.

Garofița sighed shakily and grabbed her backpack off the ground. "Let's go..." She told Buddy. She tugged Walker by the arm to follow. The three of them went the opposite way from where Garofița knew the cult town was, and the wide field between the two towns.

Eduard unlocked the heavy latch and opened the back-door. Toad scurried outside, greedily sniffing the overgrown grass and wildflowers, stretching its long legs. Eduard enjoyed the late evening air too, listening to the rustle of the leaves.

Garofița walked slowly next to Walker, supporting from his bad side. He smelled awful, sort of sweet, but it was bearable. Buddy was a few steps ahead. Walker got a little more confident, limping but advancing. The crickets started to sing around them and, though still very worried, Garofița felt a little better.

Up ahead she saw a small house similar to her own, with a small yard surrounded by a metal fence. She heard and felt a rumble coming from Walker. When she looked at the yard again, she realised there was something in it.

It was a hairless being with long limbs and rubbery skin. It was the colour of those hairless dogs, a weird dark purple. Walker's exposed leg had the same shade. Its face was like a horse skull, sharp teeth jutting forward and hollowed cheeks on either side. There was a dog collar around its neck. Its eyes were huge, with dark irises and pink whites. Those eyes locked onto Walker and it started hissing aggressively.

Walker hissed back, bucking towards it, forgetting about his injury. The naked skin-walker charged towards the fence, slamming against it and growling. This incessed Walker further, snarling and spitting right back.

"Walker, no! Stop it-" Garofița tried to pull him back by his shirt.

"Hey! Calm down-" Eduard pulled Toad back by the collar.

"Uhh- uh, err, uhm, uh, I- ah- uh-"

"Is that your friend?" He asked, pointing a finger at Walker.

"Huh?"

The two continued hissing at each-other.

"He, uh, well... yeah...." Garofița said.

"They're feisty, aren't they?" Eduard laughed softly. He was an enormous man, heavyset and taller than the door behind him. He was completely bald and seemed to have no eyebrows either. His face was serene and benevolent, with only some smile lines. He was not perturbed at all by the skin-walker thrashing in his grip. He could probably snap it in half.

"Haha, yeah..." Garofița forced herself to smile. Why did this man live so far in the woods? Why did he have a skin-walker? She knew why she had one, but-

"What are you doing out here?" He asked.

"I, uh, we are heading home!"

"It's getting dark, so it's best that you hurry." He smiled. "There's a lot of scary things in these woods."

Toad was hissing and snarling all the while. Eduard, expression unchanged, yanked it upwards, lifting it off the ground. Being choked made Toad quiet down.

Garofița smiled and nodded, feeling goosebumps everywhere.

"Go. Go. Go." She whispered and pulled at Walker, who stopped hissing as well, but still gave Toad a vicious glare. Buddy needn't be told twice.

They left, Garofița almost dragging Walker by the arm and feeling her stomach hollow. She looked back and saw the strange man still in the yard with his pet. He waved at Garofița. She waved back and kept walking.

As the sun set and the forest was blanketed in darkness, they came upon the edge of the treeline. A field stretched on all sides, dotted with thorn bushes. Crickets and insects filled the air with their songs, looking like specks of dust as they flew around.

Walker lowered himself to the ground, going on all fours instead. Rather than using his bad foot, he used his knee, making his gait very awkward. From behind and in the growing dark he really looked like a normal human. Garofița shivered.

She felt Buddy press his head under her palm. She smiled and pet him, brushing the tips of her fingers over Walker's head too.

To the right in the far distance she could see headlights from cars, smoothly rolling down the road like fireflies. The hum of engines echoed all the way to her, under the scratchy sound of bugs and their crinkling footsteps through the tall grass.

All at once the bugs suddenly stopped, the field dead silent. Garofița looked left and right, feeling faint, then turned around. She screamed when she saw a deer right behind them, only a meter or two away. It stood like a statue, looking at them, not even moving its nostrils.

Buddy was startled too, spinning to face it, legs sprawled out.

Walker, without making a sound through the grass, lunged forward. The deer scrambled away, dashing back to the woods, not catching Walker fall to the ground with a dull thud. Garofița watched its white butt disappear between the trees. The bugs' song returned.

"Fucking hell..." She muttered, helping Walker up.

The sky grew darker and darker, and her eyes grew accustomed to the dark. Garofița read in a manga once that in places without artificial lights, where the galaxies are still visible, the full moon can shine as brightly as the sun during the day. Her sky was cloudy at the moment.

An ocean of black ink stretched above her and along the horizon. The grass looked blue, as did they. Trees looked like spindly grey hands. She wondered if the people on the road could see them. Should she crawl like Walker? The image came to mind of the three of them being soldiers sneaking into enemy territory. Picturing Buddy with a camo helmet made her giggle.

The ground dipped and below was a rail yard, dozens of train cars parked along straight black lines, all connecting at one end. She thought it looked like a bouquet. On the other side was a large and imposing building, with yellow bulbs of light on either side.

Garofița and Buddy slowly made their way down the steep hill. She worried Walker would slip and roll down, but he thankfully didn't.

The town they entered had old houses and apartments much like the other one. They surrounded one side of the rail yard like a great wall. The streetlights dyed everything yellow. The gravel crunched under their feet as they sneaked between the rusty cars covered in colourful graffiti. It was kind of fun! Buddy stayed right by her side. Walker looked around by his own volition, but kept close, returning to Garofița and Buddy when they got too far from him. "Are we friends, Walker?" She whispered. He didn't answer.

There was a small concrete building with many windows inside the yard. The green windows were full of stains and cracks, and the entrance lost its door at some point. It was instead blocked off by a chain with a faded sign warning about falling debris.

"Wait here!" She told Buddy and Walker.

She ducked under the chain and carefully made her way inside. It was a former office space, with small doorless rooms, furniture gone and the ceiling broken. A spiral staircase led the way up. A poster survived the disperair, advertising a theater show from 1998. Garofița's footsteps echoed despite her attempts to walk softly.

She was about to think this place might be a good option, until she turned her head slightly more to the left. There was a woman in one of the small offices. She was walking in circles, from one wall to the other, her feet making no sound on the rotting floorboards. Garofița only saw her as she passed in front of the door, going left, then right, then left, then right. She was shambling in a perfect loop, the same uneasy swaying as she went to the right, hunching slightly forward as she went to the left. Dishevelled hair covered her face, eyes unreadable but intense.

Garofița turned around and left as silently as she could. She cursed herself when she touched the chain as she moved under it, then called Buddy and Walker who were sitting on the gravel nearby.

On a wall a couple meters away was a graffiti pointing in the direction of the offices, with a doodle warning of a "spooky ghost".

"Thanks a lot..." Garofița grumbled out loud and glanced back at the building.

Garofița booked it. Buddy did the same and, left behind, Walker cried out like a hurt dog.

The train station was old and chic, with white concrete pillars holding up the glass roof above the main railways and waiting areas. Garofița hid behind one of them. The office building was a tiny box in the dark, and the ghost woman didn't seem to follow.

The only figure chasing after her was her skin-walker, which she feared less and less.

Walker huffed and panted, holding his bad leg up rather than use it at all, and he hissed pointedly at Garofița.

"I'm sorry! I got spooked!" She told him.

The stick fell off, but the main bandage was still holding on. He spat like a cat when Garofița tried to approach him to fix it.

There was a wide alley between the train station and a red brick building. The street was silent, everybody asleep save for a couple yellow windows. The red building had a metal door with a rusty lock. Garofița tried to pull it and, unsurprisingly, it didn't move.

"Where now...?" She thought out loud, a current of wind messing with her hair.

She peeked outside of the alley and scanned the new town. Across the street, to the side of some apartment buildings, was a construction site. A car drove by and she ducked back in the darkness. She waited and waited for what felt like a long time, looking left and right. Buddy stayed put, cowering with his head low by Garofița's legs. Walker wandered around the alley. Garofița gestured to him to come closer, and he hissed. She thought she should count the time in her head, and counted to 60 five times before another car drove by. She counted to 60 five more times, and not a car passed, not even two more 60s later.

"Come!" She told Buddy and Walker.

Buddy hesitantly followed, but Walker remained behind.

"I said come!" She pulled him by the arm, ignoring his bared teeth.

They ran across the street under the yellowed lights, Garofița looking at their elongated shadows with bated breath.

The headlights of a car could be seen coming closer. She cursed again, yanking Walker harder. He was up on his hind legs, limping after her. The late night driver saw, far ahead, a short girl and a tall man jaywalking, followed by what looked like a light-coloured dog. Only after moving on would the driver think the man and the dog looked kind of strange.

The construction site was surrounded by a fence with a ripped blue plastic fabric over it. The sign announcing it would be another apartment complex was faded by the sun and the rain, and the concrete structures inside were surrounded by weeds. They hopefully won't pick work back up the very next day.

Garofița, skinny as she was, slipped between the metal bars of the gates, as did Buddy and Walker. He rumbled again when Garofița helped him. "Please forgive me." She frowned.

The building was four floors tall, bare grey concrete, square holes for windows and doors, rudimentary staircases and exposed pipes. There was graffiti and cigarette butts littered on the ground floor. Walker climbed the stairs on all fours. Garofița wanted to do it as well, but it looked too dirty.

Upstairs she could see the plan for the hallways and apartments, dark grey all around. Without any decor or doors or life, it looked more like a labyrinth. At one end of the main corridor, before the next set of stairs, there were stacks of glass panels, caked in dust. She chose the apartment at the farthest end.

Through the unfinished window she felt the cool wind, and saw the dark town dotted with white and yellow lights. Towards the center they were newer blue bulbs.

Garofița inhaled deeply, feeling the smell of cement and paint, wishing the tension in her body would stop. She started to think it would never fully go away.

She turned back to Buddy and Walker, who sat themselves down. She too put her backpack down and took out her blankets. "We will stay for a day or two, then go back." She told them.

She pulled out the peanut butter jar and Buddy hopped back to his feet, tail wagging. Walker didn't react, but was very much looking at it.

Garofița held out a spoon. "I brought you food!" She said and giggled at herself. "Hello! Hello!"

"Hello" He repeated and crawled closer.

Garofița smiled relieved.

Bonus Illustration: