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The hideous creature frightened me. I took several quick breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. He had clothes on like a human, but clearly he wasn’t.

“What do you want?” I squeaked, my terror fighting to resurface.

The creature cocked his head, looking at me with filmy, glazed eyes. I wanted to look away, but he held my gaze, locked to his.

“Darrios,” was all he said.

His voice sounded loud and threatening. He smiled, making me cringe. I glanced at my bound wrists.

“Why are you doing this? Please...let me go.”

“Your boy Darrios and me? We have a score to settle. I can’t let you go until he gets here,” he bellowed.

“How did I get here?”

The creature laughed heartily, but the tinny sound only frightened me more. The memory floated hazily around my brain, just out of my reach.

“I brought you here,” he answered. “It’s a little place that belonged to a friend of mine. It’s vacant now, though, courtesy of Darrios.”

He laughed again, a sinister, threatening laugh. The image of Darrios wearing a blanket instead of his fur wrap popped into my head. A coherent thought finally formed in my mind. Anger coupled with my fear. “It was you. How did you...you pretended to be Darrios. You tricked me!”

He laughed again. “It’s a gift, really. I can change into anyone or anything as long as I’ve seen it before.”

I wrinkled my brow, disbelievingly, but my eyes soon grew wide when suddenly he became a considerably heavier version of me. My breath caught in my throat. I was afraid I was going to come completely unraveled. I willed myself to breathe.

He changed back into himself, and as unsettling as that was, I definitely preferred it. He bowed slightly, holding out his stump. I recoiled.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” he said. “Podredo, at your service. Now that you are awake, can I offer you some water?”

I nodded, warily. He walked away and I took several more deep breaths. I needed to pretend I was comfortable with him so I could reason with him. I didn’t know what his beef was with Darrios, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with me.

He returned with a glass of water and held it out to me. I glanced hopefully at my wrist again. He nodded, but instead of releasing me, he held the glass of water up to my lips.

I gulped greedily, unable to ignore the fact that Podredo smelled like a cross between wet, musty carpet and rotting carrion. I pulled my face away from the glass, holding my breath until he stepped back.

“So, what do you want with Darrios?” I asked innocently.

“As I said, we have a score to settle and we’ll finally get that chance, as soon as he comes swooping in to save you.”

“What makes you think he’ll come for me? We barely know each other.”

“He’ll come. I’ve been watching him for awhile. He really wanted you to live. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him work so hard to save someone.”

“It’s his job,” I shot back.

He gave me that wheezy chuckle again. “True, but he knows me...and my...particular tastes. He’ll come.”

“What does that even mean?” I asked, dreading the answer.

He snorted and licked his lips. I shuddered. Using his left hand, he ran his pudgy fingers along the inside of my arm. Then he traced one finger over my chin. I cringed, trying to pull away.

“I know he’s saved a lot of people, but he bent over backward trying to keep you alive. He took some big risks. Like the one that gave me the opportunity to snatch you right out from under his nose. You’re awfully pretty.”

He let his eyes roam over my body. “And you’ve got a luscious little body too. There’s a whole lot of things I can think of that I’d like to do to that body.”

I glowered at him. Laughing, he leaned in toward me.

He stood up and stepped back, glancing out the window like he’d heard something. He looked back at me and smiled. “Maybe that’s our boy now,” he said.

I yelled as loudly as I could, “Darrios, stay away! It’s a trap!”

Podredo turned on me, furious. He backhanded me with his burned-up arm, nearly knocking me unconscious. “Shut up, bitch. You’ll ruin everything,” he snarled.

He approached the door, warily, like he expected something or someone to come crashing through it. Nothing happened. He stepped closer to the door and listened. Still nothing. He turned to me.

“Well, it looks like you scared him off. Now what ever will we do? I guess this is as good a time as any for me to have a little fun, especially with you tied up and soon to be naked.” He rubbed his crotch suggestively. Bile rose in my throat. “Oooh, I’m getting stiff just thinking about it.”

At that moment, the door burst open, slamming Podredo against the wall. He fell, stunned. Darrios came running in, looking around. When he saw me, he narrowed his eyes, turning to Podredo.

Before Darrios could reach him, Podredo changed into a snake-like creature. He coiled up, baring an enormous set of fangs. Darrios pulled out his gigantic knife, swinging it around like it was a baton. The snake became a flying insect and flew out the door. Darrios slammed the door shut and hurried over to me.

He began untying me, but I was trembling so much, he had a difficult time loosening the ropes. He started apologizing. “I’m so sorry, Maggie,” he said. “I had no idea he was around. I haven’t seen him in at least a year.”

My tears began flowing freely. I could barely breathe. “We have to go. We have to get out of here before he comes back!” My voice became shrill with hysteria. “Darrios, please! He wants to kill you and he wants to...do terrible things to me.”

“Ssshhh, Maggie. Listen to me. He isn’t coming back anytime soon. All that changing forms wears him out. He’ll go into a cave or something somewhere and rest. He’ll dig a hole, climb into it, and stay there for weeks. It’s kind of like hibernating. By the time he comes out, we’ll be in Inland and he can’t get there...ever!”

He untied the last knot, setting me free. I leaped up and threw my arms around him, sobbing openly. “I was so scared. I thought he was you. He changed into you.”

“Maggie, I know. It’s okay. Did he hurt you? Did he lay a hand on you?”

Still crying, I answered, “No, no...Well, he hit me when I yelled to you. But he didn’t...
touch
me.”

Darrios let out a relieved breath. He continued to hold me until I was breathing normally. I pulled away, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m sorry. I was...I...he...”

“It’s all right, Maggie. You really are safe, now. I’m so sorry you had to go through that because of me. Let me see your neck.”

I pulled my hair back. “It wasn’t your fault, Darrios. He’s crazy. Why does he hate you so much? What did you do to him?”

He shook his head muttering he didn’t like the way my neck looked. “His mate...I killed her.”

I sucked in a breath.

“She was like him, a changer. They were changing forms, conning people, kidnapping them, and keeping them captive for their own twisted sexual pleasure, and trust me, they had some bizarre habits.”

I shuddered, remembering Podredo’s revolting touch and his sexual innuendos. Darrios continued.

“My partner, Evan, and I, we warned them to stop, but they refused. We hunted them and eventually found them. The plan was to run them off, but they wanted a fight. They tried to ambush us at our campsite, but we were ready.”

“What did you do?”

“During the scuffle, I knocked Podredo down. He tried to roll away from me, but he ended up rolling too close to our campfire. His sleeve went up in flames. He panicked and began waving his arm around. I’m sure you saw the result of that. They fled, then, but his mate doubled back, changing into a viocomen.”

“Oh my God.”

“I killed her thinking that’s what she was. Podredo vowed revenge then disappeared. He pops up every now and then, but always manages to escape before I can kill him. The last time our paths crossed was a little over a year ago. I really am sorry, Maggie.”

Calmer now, I said, “Really, Darrios, please stop. Just get me the hell out of here. Where are we, anyway?”

“A long way from where we need to be. We have to get back to the entrance to Inland. It’s too late to try to make it tonight. We’ll have to go in the morning.”

“I am not spending the night here.”

“Of course not. There’s another safe house. It’s about an hour’s walk, but we have to hurry, so we can make it before dark. You up for it?”

Nodding, I headed toward the door, not wanting to spend another second in that house. “Why is his arm still all black if he burned it over a year ago?” I asked.

“I don’t know. He’s not like us, Maggie. Who knows how his body works? Even when he changes, he still has it. When he turned into a bug, if you could’ve looked closer, you’d have seen a tinier version of that charred stump.”

“What’s to stop him from changing into one of you and just walking right into Inland?”

“We have a code we have to give the gatekeeper. If he didn’t have the code, the gatekeeper would know he was an imposter and he’d probably kill him on the spot. It doesn’t matter, though, because the next time I see him, I
am
going to kill him.”

I said nothing. Part of me wanted Darrios to kill him. It occurred to me that I was becoming quite the vengeful little bitch.

****

We arrived at the other safe house just before sunset. It wasn’t much different from the first one we’d stayed in. I went straight into the bathroom and did my best to freshen up. I tried to see the wound on my neck, but I couldn’t. I started reflecting on the day. Bad plan.

I thought about the viocomen’s breath on my neck and I shivered. The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor hugging my legs, my forehead resting on my knees, trying to calm my breathing.

Darrios knocked on the door, but the gigantic lump in my throat prevented me from answering quickly enough.

“Maggie, are you all right?”

I knew if I opened my mouth, I’d start crying. I shook my head, trying to compose myself. Jesus, the day was over and we were alive. What was my problem? I told myself to get over it. Trouble was, myself wasn’t listening.

Darrios knocked again, a little louder. “Maggie, I’m coming in.”

He peeked around the door before I could get up. Great. Now we both knew what a giant wuss I was. Darrios flung the door open further and hurried in. He kneeled down next to me, gently placing his hand on my shoulder. “Maggie, what is it? Is it your neck?”

I shook my head, still not trusting myself not to cry. Smiling weakly, I took a deep breath. “It’s just...everything. This place, this day...it’s all been a bit much, you know? I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and actually think about it until now. I guess I’m a bit overwhelmed. I’m sorry.”

Darrios patted my knee and chuckled. He sat down next to me and crossed his legs. “Why in the world are you sorry?”

“For being such a wimp. I’m usually thicker-skinned than this.”

“Maggie, you have nothing to apologize for. We’ve been walking all day with the exception of when you were kidnapped by a nutcase mutant. Realistically, you could’ve been killed on several occasions, all in one day. I think you’ve showed incredible courage and strength.”

“Thanks. I only wish I wasn’t so emotional. I feel like such a girl.”

Darrios laughed. “Well, that would make sense, considering.”

I laughed too, then.

“C’mon, I found some dried meat and a pretty decent variety of canned vegetables. Allow me to prepare you a feast.”

I rubbed my hands together. “Oh boy, I can hardly wait.”

Darrios stood up, extending his hand to me. I took it and he pulled me up. We returned to the kitchen. I watched as he put together our dinner. I never would have believed dried meat and mystery veggies could taste so good.

By the time we’d finished eating I could barely keep my eyes open. Exhaustion had crept up on me and tackled me. I didn’t remember ever being that tired. My eyelids fluttered.

“Maggie, why don’t you go and lie down? I’ll clean up,” Darrios offered.

I forced my eyes open. “No, no. You fixed dinner. I’ll clean up.”

I stood and gathered our plates. I placed them in the sink and rinsed them off. Darrios came up behind me, grabbing a towel. He began drying the dishes after I washed them. I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye thinking what an incredibly handsome man he’d be if he’d just shave and do something with his hair.

Despite all the craziness of the day, I found myself enjoying those few moments standing there in the kitchen doing dishes with Darrios.

We finished up and turned in for the night. I climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over me. I wanted to ask Darrios if he’d keep me warm again, but I didn’t have the nerve. Luckily, he did.

“I’m not getting frisky or anything, but I think we’ll both be warmer if we sleep close.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He climbed into bed and pulled me to him in the spoons position. I closed my eyes feeling warm and safe and protected.

****

We left for the entrance to Inland early the next morning, making it back without any problems or drama, thankfully. Just before arriving at our destination, a thought occurred to me.
“Darrios, after that...thing, Podredo, took me, how did you find me?”

“The plickens helped me. They know everything that happens around here. You just don’t see them very often because they keep themselves scarce for safety reasons.”

“What’s a plicken?”

“They’re smaller creatures; they look kind of like a cross between a rabbit and a monkey, but closer in size to a monkey. They are the eyes and ears around here. I knew they would have seen what happened to you. As soon as I noticed the entrance door open, I knew something was wrong. I yelled for you, but got no answer. I found Burgess and he told me you never came through, so I went looking for a couple of plickens.”

“They...told you?”

“They can’t really talk, but they can communicate, mostly with gestures. It took a few minutes, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what happened. They led me to the house where that animal was keeping you.”