I screamed again and scrambled off my bed. I thudded to the floor, limbs all in a tangle. The sour odour of the rug met my nose and I gagged. Old, rotting meat wafted across the room towards me and I was nearly sick. One hand over my mouth I stumbled from the room, shouldering the door open and just praying that there were no lights.
To my misfortune it seemed that the sun was trapped in the narrow hallway that was the landing. A twisting, winding staircase spiralled off to my right but I had bigger concerns.
I lurched along, not stopping, shielding my eyes from the glare with one hand. Only then did I notice that I was wearing only pyjama trousers - red and blue with black vertical lines. I tripped over my own feet and slid a few feet, the carpet scrunching up beneath me. I pushed myself upright and kept on running, feet skidding and slipping, arms flailing madly. I didn't know where to go - every door looked the same, unfamiliar plank of wood.
I kept on sprinting, glancing back every three seconds. The corpse was following me, a figure of death, still making that horrible, throaty growl. Tears formed in my eyes as I ran, sobs bursting out when I least expected it. The body was getting closer, speeding up as I slowed down.
There was one door left at the very end of the corridor. Every safehouse I had passed was a simple blur, shapes and colour flashing past my considerably damaged vision. Somehow I could still see despite the bright light. What had happened I did not know.
The door was coming up and so I stopped running, hammering on the wood. It swung open and I barely registered the person stood there. I darted past, slamming the door shut and locking it. I left the key in the keyhole to stop anything else going in the space.
"What the actual heck?" a grumpy voice cried. I turned my head and smiled weakly. Shaade was stood a foot or so away, arms folded over a bare chest. He only had a pair of rainbow shorts on. Small scars littered his torso and his hair was still in the perfect style.
"Sorry," I apologised. "There was a, um, a..." I paused and my eyes widened. The door handle was turning despite there being a key in the lock. I hoped and prayed with all my might that the door would hold and-
The door slowly creaked open. Shadows covered the crack of light and I whimpered, head snapping back and forth as I looked for somewhere to hide. Shaade's hand gripped mine and I was pulled under the blue duvet on the bed, the only visible hiding place in the room.
Shaade placed a finger on my lips and shook his head, sheets rustling. I got the message and blinked twice to show I understood. Shaade's mouth twitched up into a smile and then we both tensed.
Harsh snarling was clearly audible above our heads. Shaade raised a hand and reluctantly flattened his quiff, stopping any stray hairs from poking out of the sheets. He grimaced and twitched his nose in irritation. Leaning forwards he whispered in my ear.
"You're going to pay for this," he said. "You really owe me."
"I know," I hissed back. "But right now let's concentrate on not dying, yeah?"
"Good idea, my boy."
We lapsed into silence, listening intently for the creature to return. Every so often Shaade would send out shadows to check if it were still there. It stayed in the room for as long as I were awake and most of when I were asleep.
*
I woke up to the sound of music. Someone was softly singing, stroking my hair, tiredness in their voice. At that point in time I didn't know anything of any sense so I was content just to lie there in my half doze state.
"They say if you don't let it out, you're gonna let it eat you away," the voice sang gently, changing song. Fingers teased knots and tangles out of my hair.
"I'd rather be a cannibal, baby, animals like me don't talk anyway,
Feel like an ambulance chaser of faith,
Pray I could replace her,
Forget the way her tears taste,
Put another ex on the calendar,
Summer's on its deathbed,
There is simply nothing worse than knowing how it ends,
And I meant everything I said that night,
I will come back to life,
But only for you, only for you..." The tone changed for the end, crooning, tugging at my heartstrings. The lyrics suggested something sadder than the melody and chorus said.
I recognised the song and followed the next lyrics in my head. Calendar by Panic At The Disco, if I remembered rightly. The one song to ever move me to tears, played at my sister's funeral. She was a great girl; Jess, her name was. So kind, so sweet, so hyper yet so very intelligent. She taught me everything there was to know about time travel and got me my job in the Time Police despite me being only thirteen. She would sing all the time, distracting herself from her work. Eventually she was caught out by a stray piece of time debris hitting her on the back of the head.
"Put another ex on the calendar..." I zoned back in two choruses (ish) and a verse later, a single tear tracing down my cheek.
"Summer's on its deathbed,
'There is simply nothing worse than knowing how it ends!
'And I meant everything I said that night,
'I will come back to life!
'But only for you, only for you, only for you, only for you..." And so it went on, the singer's voice cracking with emotion. The person twisted a strand of my hair around their finger, still gently stroking it.
The person sniffed and shifted their weight, adjusting the duvet. My brain finally kicked in and I remembered everything. The sudden rush of fright I felt was insane and I jumped backwards, my skull connecting with someone's ear. They yelped and jerked their head away. That person flicked my arm and I realised that there was an arm around my shoulders, hugging me to this mystery person's side. I looked up and smiled. A rather irritated Shaade was staring at me, not impressed.
"You nearly ripped my ear off," he scolded, moving it back and forth. I watched it, checking for any damage. There was none and I deemed him okay.
"Your ear is obviously acrylonitrile butadienestyrene," I muttered. Shaade's eyes widened and he slid down, off the pillow and further under the sheets so that he could look me in the eye.
"What the heck does that mean?" he asked in amazement. I grinned.
"You may look smart and act clever and high class but I'm the one with real intelligence," I said happily. Shaade looked at me with a deadpan, 'just no' look. I smiled sheepishly and decided to explain.
"It means that your ear has high impact strength," I murmured. Shaade laughed suddenly, startling me, and pulled me into a tighter hug. He sighed contentedly and rested his head on top of mine giving me a minor static shock. He rubbed one hand up and down my arm and sighed again.
"You and your long words," he said. "Ah, it cracks me up."
"You frighten me," I said timidly, faking wriggling away. Shaade laughed and turned it into a mock roar, grabbing me with his other arm and tugging me towards him, head higher than mine once more. He regarded me for a second, looking deep into my eyes.
"I didn't realise how bright your eyes are," he said softly. "Electric blue with little yellow dashes. It's like you're made of electricity, power running through you, spiking in the oddest of ways. It would explain your hair." He moved his hand up my neck and curled my hair with his fingers. I shivered, being an incredibly ticklish person.
"What colour are your eyes meant to be?" I asked. "I know they're black but they can't have always been like that. So, what were they before?"
"Blue," Shaade replied. "Really pale blue, almost green in colour. They looked like... like..." His voice tailed off and he stared off into the distance. "I wish I had them back."
"Really? Black eyes are cool," I said. "I like them."
Shaade smiled slightly. "Then I'll keep them, for you."
Silence reigned and I listened to the birdsong, head resting on Shaade's chest. Shaade whistled along to the birds under his breath, repeating every melody and tune, much to my amusement. An hour or so later and we were still wide awake, Shaade was still whistling and only then did I think to mention the corpse.
"So did that evil demon maid thing actually happen or not?" I said suddenly, breaking the dawn chorus.
"Yes."
"Did you check to see if it had gone before waking up?"
"Um... no." Shaade looked at me guiltily as I shrank against him in fear. I flicked my ankle and threw the sheet further up so that I was better covered lest the thing came back. I was shaking and trembling, mouth opening and shutting, forming words but no sound coming out.
"Aw, I'm joking, sweetie," Shaade said at last, laughing quietly. My head wouldn't have turned quicker if it had been oiled. I glared at him, fury in my eyes. I was still quivering with fear and I dug my nails into Shaade's back. He flinched and bent his arm almost backwards trying to remove my cat-like grip.
"Calm down," he said at last, giving up with a wince. "And please, let go of my back."
I reluctantly released my grip and stared at him icily. "Don't do that again," I growled, turning away. I shuffled to the edge of the bed and folded my arms, blanking the god completely.
"Don't give me the cold shoulder," Shaade warned. I didn't reply.
"I said don't. Don't. Please? Talk to me... Come on, my dear boy, turn around. Please? Pleeeeeeease? Josh? Joshie? Roll over, look at me, please. Come on... Just, just move a little..." He sighed and I heard him move closer. His breath was hot on the back of my neck and I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Please stop blanking me," he said softly, resting his head on my arm and looking at me with pleading eyes. I could just about see him out of the corner of my eye and I felt my heart soften.
"Alright," I said, rolling and finding that Shaade and I were nose to nose. He smiled and I saw him start to count the golden flecks in my eyes. Three seconds later I'd gotten bored of his eyes being unfocused and me not being able to move my sight. So I shut my eyes and silenced Shaade's outraged mutter with simple means.
*
Sophie walked along the corridor, tracing her fingers over the dull wallpaper. She counted the doors until she reached her destination; the very end one, the room at the end of the corridor.
Sophie scanned her brain and then looked at the scrap of paper she held. "Wake Shaade up, ask him if he's seen Josh and then tell him that breakfast is ready and the General wants to see him," she said aloud without looking at the paper. She glanced down and grinned. "Hey, I got it right!"
Sophie knocked on the door and listened. Silence came from within so she knocked again.
"Is he asleep?" she murmured. Sophie rapped the door again. Sighing impatiently she pushed it open.
That was when (to her) the world exploded.
"Shosh Shosh Shosh Shosh Shosh!" Sophie squealed, jumping up and down, clapping her hands. Shaade and Josh broke apart, both with completely different reactions. Shaade looked slightly embarrassed but winked at Sophie, hugging Josh. The latter went red from the roots of his hair down to his neck, all that Sophie could see. He buried his head against Shaade and groaned loudly.
"Oh yeah," Sophie said, calming down for about three seconds, "the General wants to see you and breakfast is ready." She stood in the doorway staring for a relatively long time, watching hopefully to see if anything else would happen.
"Erm... Are you waiting for something?" Josh asked eventually. Sophie nodded but didn't say anything, still reeling in shock and fangirly joy.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Shaade teased. Josh looked up at him and shook his head, spiky hair flicking in every direction.
"No," he replied. "No, it isn't obvious."
"To me it is," Shaade replied. Sophie held her breath as Shaade looked deep into Josh's eyes and raised his boyfriend's head, two fingers under his chin. Josh raised his eyebrows marginally but was smiling, eyes closing slowly. Shaade mirrored the expression but leaned forwards, holding Josh's face with his other hand.
Sophie screamed and jumped into the air, bouncing back along the corridor, chanting at the top of her lungs.
"Shosh!" she yelled in glee. "Shosh is happening!"
"Shut the bloody door!" Josh hollered after her.