113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOXl4bl2tf
Henrietta rested her head on the heel of her hand where she sat at the bar. The band that Heather's new flame fronted was playing a mediocre cover of "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones. Heather was in raptures standing with her friend Allie and Allie's boyfriend, Eric. Henrietta had met Allie a couple of times before and had thought her pleasant if a little shallow.
As she stood, Henrietta tugged her skirt in place. She had made an effort with her appearance in a black A-line dress and nude pumps. She had even curled the ends of her hair and pulled them up in a high ponytail. However, her stomach was rolling.
Amidst the stale smell of spilt beer, cigarette smoke and the flashing stage lights, she was unbearably nauseous. The doctor had said that she would experience such symptoms. She was wondering if it had been unwise not to listen to her mother's advice and stay home.
Heather stumbled over in her wildly expensive, Christian Louboutin heels she had bought for an early birthday present to herself. Henrietta couldn't imagine spending that much money on a pair of shoes ever, no matter the label. Not that she’d ever be able to afford them.
Heather pulled her in for a hug, her drink sloshing in her hand.
"So what do you think?" She whispered, "Isn't he great?"
Henrietta studied the young guitarist up onstage, "Yeah he's…talented. How old is he?"
"That kind of thing doesn't matter nowadays." Heather pulled away.
"Really. How old?"
"Nineteen, I think."
Henrietta glanced back up at him, "Ok, I have no problem with dating younger guys, but don't you think you need to find someone a little more on your level? I mean, you have a very well paid, successful career considering you are barely out of college. Don't you want to find someone with your same goals and aspirations?"
"He has gooooaaals!" Heather slurred, her dark brown eyes widening, "He is sending their next demo to a producer in Nashville."
"Along with every other wannabe rock star in the country, I assume." Henrietta quipped. The defeated look on Heather's face made her regret the words.
"Henny, why can't you just be happy for me?" She gulped, "Anyway, where do you get off telling me to date someone on my level? Brax is probably banging some hot law student out of California and what are you doing? Rotting in a bank teller window?"
Henrietta stared blankly at her drunk friend. She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder. A wave of nausea washed over her as the speakers screeched with feedback. Heather's bleary eyed expression turned frantic at the realization that she had hit a nerve.
"Wait, Henny, I shouldn't-"
"Just make sure someone else drives you home tonight ok? Or wherever you go, I don't care." Henrietta brushed her sorority sister's hand away as she moved towards the exit.
"Wait a minute, gorgeous." A disheveled kid pushed in front of her blocking her path to the door, he held two cheap beers in his hands, "You can't leave this place till you sit and have a drink with me."
"How old are you?" Henrietta demanded with a glare.
"What?"
"What are you? Like seventeen? Did you use your big brother's ID to get in here or something?"
The guy straightened his posture self-consciously, his thick brows narrowing, "No, I'm 22."
"And I'm 43. Actually I'm on the high school PTA with your mother so you should really get home before I am legally bound to tell her and the police that you were drinking underage and your every dream of going to University is crushed in a single blow and you'll be working the drive thru at Chic-Fil-A for the rest of your life. Got it?"
Henrietta pushed past his stunned figure, beer spilling over the tops of the glasses. She had to get outside before she threw up. She could feel the bile crawling up the back of her throat. Bursting past the disinterested bouncers, she ran out into the alley where the entrance to Max and Riley's was located. The bass from inside throbbed out in dull coolness of the winter night. Henrietta stood in the middle of the alley breathing deeply. The nausea slowly subsided.
Henrietta opened her eyes and looked up into the clear sky. Pulling her phone out of her purse, she saw it wasn't even 10:00 PM. She brought the phone to her ear. It rang several times.
Hello this is Braxton Kohn, I'm sorry I missed your call but if you'll just leave a message, I will get back to-
She hung up, not feeling like talking to a machine. Thankfully she had not had a drop of alcohol. She made her way towards the parking lot. As she crossed the nearly empty street, she pulled her keys out of her purse and unhooked the small can of pepper spray attached to them.
She had driven Heather and they had left the Toyota under a street light at the back of the lot. The chain link fence was half broken down, separating the asphalt from an old motel that had been out of use for some years. It’s stained and cracked swimming pool was still half full of greenish water, it’s surface icy around the edges.
As she approached, Henrietta realized one of the lights in the street lamp had blown. Even though it was just one bulb, it was enough to steep a good deal of the rear of the lot in darkness. Her car beeped as she unlocked it with her remote key. The fence rattled with a light breeze that died, scattering dry dust at her feet.
A shadow moved against the fence behind her Toyota. Henrietta froze.
Fingering her pepper spray, she edged forward. Grasping her phone in her other hand, adrenaline pumped through her limbs. The shadow shifted, large and inhuman.
"I'm calling the police!" She cried, her voice cracking in fear, "And I have a Taser."
She knew it was better to lie than say she merely had pepper spray.
Henrietta stopped, staring down the black form. Whatever it was turned, two evil red orbs shone out in the darkness. Henrietta's breath came fast. It was an animal. It stepped forward into the weak light, saliva dripping from what looked like fangs. It first registered in Henrietta's mind as a large dog, the size of a pony. Its jet black fur was jagged and stuck out from its back like a hyena. It looked like a genetically altered monster; a Frankenstein dog.
Holding her breath, she took a short step backwards. It snapped its razor teeth at her. She closed her eyes.
"It's not real." She breathed, "It's not real. I've been roofied or something."
Trembling, she opened her eyes to find another black dog standing next to the original one. They both began to edge more boldly towards her. Henrietta held up her pepper spray with shaking hands.
"Help please-"
The largest of the dogs leaped forward, its lethal jaws distended. It’s massive paws pounded the pavement but skidded to a halt. Henrietta glanced breathlessly over her shoulder where the animal stared. A gurgle sound bubbled from the abandoned pool.
Up from the slimy water clambered a horse. Scrambled up the cracked tiles, it shook a seaweed mane. Powerful body rolling like the breakers with muscle, legs like tree trunks, neck like a dragon’s. The creature shook its body, razor edged hooves cracking the iced ground as it galloped towards them. Henrietta blinked, her face dusted with mist and air as it passed her.
The monstrous dog yelped. Falling backwards, it struggled to gain footing and race away. The horse reached it first and stomped down on its back foot. The dog screeched in pain but managed to wiggle away and run into the night.
The horse snorted, breaths turning to short bursts of cloud. Henrietta stood motionless, her hand still clutching the pepper spray. Tossing it’s huge head in her direction, the horse peered at her with black eyes from across the parking lot.
“Who’s that out there!”
Henrietta jumped at the shout. A light shone out from one of the old rooms in the motel.
“Hello? I said who’s there!” A shot gun was cocked.
“Hello, I’m ok, I just-“ she lifted her hands and squinted towards the man approaching her.
The middle aged man lowered the weapon. He sniffed, “I’m sorry, Miss. I hope I didn’t scare you. Just had some nasty looking strays running around this area. Strange things been happening. They almost look like timber wolves.”
“I know, I just-“ Henrietta looked out into the darkness. No sign of the beasts who had just materialized from nightmares into the real world. She was alone except for the owner of the motel.
The man shifted his weight awkward, tucking the gun under his arm, “Well, if you are alright then…”
She knew he probably thought she was drunk or high, yelling by herself out in the middle of an empty parking lot. Henrietta rubbed her hands over her face, “Yes, I’ll just be getting home now.”
She numbly thought once more that her mother had been right. It was stupid of her to push herself after her accident. Now it was more than likely she was hallucinating, whatever that meant in conjunction with a concussion.
As she peeked through her fingers at the pavement, her heart sped up. Along the asphalt were crescent rings of horseshoe prints, black with wet and quickly icing up in the unseasonable cold snap.
“Strange things been happening, Miss. You should be getting home now and stay there. I wouldn’t be venturing out at night much nowadays, if I was you.”
Henrietta nodded, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t have been more right.
ns 172.69.7.173da2
and then Add to home screen.