Every Friday night she awoke to the putrid odor of rotten garbage. The smell torched her nostrils as her eyes shot open with a stinging sensation at the back of her eyelids. Tears streaked in her eyes as they began to pry themselves awake in response to the odor filling the room. Upon first glance around the room, it was almost too quiet for comfort. Of course the house was quiet but she could at least hear the pitter patter of her hamster drinking from its water bottle in the cage on her dresser or the soft breathing of her cat Eowynn. Tonight, there was no sound at all. The smell stung her senses as she pinched her nose closed to try and block out the rotten odor.She reached over to her nightstand and felt for the metal string of the bedside lamp, giving it a tug to brighten the room with the glow of the LED bulb. Her blood froze in her veins when no light came on despite giving the string three more tugs. Braving the darkness of the room engulfing her, she pulled off her blanket and planted her feet on the floor next to her bed, pulling herself to a stand. The emergency kit she kept in her closet had flashlight in it, the only issue was making it to the closet to retrieve said flashlight. Glancing around for any other source of light, the only thing offering its assistance was the blue light of the moon casting shadows dancing against the wall with the sway of her window curtains.

Drawing in a sharp breath she bolted her way to the closet and dragged down the emergency kit, popping the plastic lock clean off the container as adrenaline worked through her veins and filled her muscles with newfound panicked strength. Frantically feeling for the button, she switched it on and swung the light beam around the room as her blood ran cold when the light found the cause of the stench. Staring back at her from the shadowy corner of her bedroom was the most horrendous face she had ever seen. Jagged teeth decorated a crooked grin laced with a primal sense of evil. Its chest heaved in anticipation as the black scales decorating its feral limbs cast a dull shine from the beam of light coming from the flashlight. The beast took one step toward her, the deep thump of its birdlike foot startled her as the click of its raptor like claws ticked in rhythm against the wood floor of her bedroom.

“What the hell are you?!” She yelled as the creature made another advancing step towards her, swinging its body to the other side and flicking around a long, slender tail with a spade point at the tip. The creature merely grinned as she demanded a response. Taking one more step closer to her, the creature kicked off on its arched hind legs and barrelled into her, sending her flying against the wall where her head collided with a bang and sent her sulking to the floor. The world went white as the pain of her head pounded in her skull. She couldn’t see anything, nothing more than a blinding whiteness and the sensation of being dragged across the floor. A soft moan of pain from her head escaped her lips which was greeted by a sharp growl from somewhere she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Everything felt so far away that it was hard to tell where anything was. She couldn’t see nor could she really feel anything except her head. One moment she had vague comprehension of her surroundings and the next moment, all went black.

When she awoke, she found she was in a place she didn’t recognize. The walls were dark bricks and stone stained by black streaks of stuff she didn’t have a name for. Accompanying the stain on the walls were puddles of ooze on the ground that seemed to ripple with their own life. A deep chuckle caught her off guard as she looked up to see the same black scaled creature leaning against a wall opposite from her. “Morning sunshine,” the wicked monster spoke with a voice that sounded jumbled with liquid in its throat.

“Where am I? Who are you? Are you the devil?” She begged as she tugged at the chains around her ankles and wrists pinning her to the wall.  “Oh darling, I’m not the devil. I just work for him. I was sent to collect you. It’s your time anyways. Rejoice, you don’t have to deal with that rotten smell in your apartment anymore.” The creature clicked a long talon on its foot against the ground. “What was that smell anyways?” She asked the creature out of alerted curiosity. “Did your gran never tell you? Man she was dumber than I thought. That was a warning sign my love. It meant your time was coming to an end. But I guess your gran didn’t care enough to tell you the warnings. Instead she made you an easy job.” She growled and tugged hard against the chains around her wrists. “Don’t talk about her that way! You damn animal! She was a good woman and you don’t have the right to belittle her!”

The creature rolled its eyes in response to her shouts. “Oh shut it already. You’re making my ears bleed with your yelling.” She growled again. “I’m not afraid of you!” The creature chuckled and shook its head. “I’m not the one you should be afraid of dear. He is.” The creature gestured to the tall red figure taking up the doorway to the cellar she was trapped in. her heart sank into her stomach as the creature chucked. “Say hello to your new god darling.”

Fin