Outcasts vs Monsters

Chapter two~ Monster Catchers

When Wendy opened her eyes she was understandably surprised. The last memory she had was collapsing onto the cold bricks and three strange people gawking at her as she slipped close to death. So even the fact that she could un-shut her eyelids was, in itself, a miracle.

Blinking dark spots from her vision, Wendy sat up, her muscles groaning in disagreement. She was pretty sure wherever she was wasn’t heaven. Whenever God’s kingdom was depicted she didn’t remember the sky being so dirty or the beds being so squeaky.  Or the walls being made of thin, cheap, build-it-yourself-walls.

Which brought the question to mind, where was she? Somewhere cement-y was the only answer that appeared in her groggy mind before a searing pain stabbed through her neck, like someone was applying molten lava to the skin there. As was the human way she immeadiantly cupped her hand to the site of the pain, as if the touch of her hand could soothe the pain brewing there.

 Instinct was wrong. The only new thing she could discover was that she now bore a bandage as a new accessory to her blood stained Blackmore High uniform.

With the pain still conglomerating in her shoulder, Wendy eased herself out of the bed, her legs shaking under the weight. Once she felt that she wouldn’t collapse as soon as she moved she shakily made her way to the door. She couldn’t just sit in this cramped room, where there was hardly any room for the bed and at the moment she needed wide open spaces.

Briefly, as she clamped her hand on the steel industrial door knob she wondered where she was. The place had a distinct cobwebs-and-dust smell too it, not an appealing combination, so she could either be in an old tomb or a giant spider web. Wendy rolled her eyes. Her options were so vast. 

Taking a breath, Wendy opened the door, desperately hoping she hadn’t been kidnapped by the mafia, and stepped out into just what the doctor ordered.

It looked like an old warehouse but it was re-invented into something more domestic, a bad imitation of a house. The cement floors were stained with strange grey spots, tokens from the industrial past, and boxes, empty or not she couldn’t be sure. Off to her left was an old faded banner with a few short words written in bold hand writing but with the glance she gave it, the words remained a mystery. Directly in front of her were three red leather couches, each one looking like cast offs from some 70s sit com.

However the main piece of attraction were the three late teens/young adults lounging in the fire engine red sofa’s, having an animated discussion about something, she couldn’t hear them from her spot near the door, only a series of ‘mumble ish syoo brum’s’. The thought to just stay there, paralysed near the door flickered across her hazy mind but her curiosity got the better of her and before she knew it, she had crept up to around half a metre behind the love seat. The three undetermined-age people were all standing, poses of deep thought, as they watched an ad for purple tissues on the small wall TV.

“If I could change the colour of a tissue” said one of the two boys. Wendy felt her heart stutter just looking at him. His shoulder length jet-black hair was carelessly maintained and strands brushed his high cheekbones in something that was completely masculine and somehow elegant at the same time. Although her angle wasn’t going to win her any awards she could just make out dark blue half-moons for his almond shaped eyes.  Was he really that pale or was it the light? “I wouldn’t colour it purple.” The only girl, a Spanish, speedy looking thing, shifted slightly and rolled her eyes.

“Do continue, we are hanging on your every word.” Despite her thickly lathered sarcasm the boy (or is it man?) continued, squinting up at something that Wendy couldn’t see. 

“Purple is such an…overused colour. I think I would colour it green, so people could disguise their snot.” The girl’s mouth fell open, complete with the free ‘widen your eye’s too anime proportions!’ package. “That’s disgusting.” She said faintly. The other boy, who was furthest away from Wendy, smiled, a flash of white in the yellowed light the worse-for-wear fan was throwing. “I think it’s ingenious. Hall of fame, here we come!” Wendy edged closer, still sticking to the shadows.