The Walking Mystery

Chapter 1:

He's everywhere, walking amongst the people on the street. He watches everything that goes on around Him. No one knows that He's there, waiting. He's waiting for the perfect opportunity. He's hungry, hungry for the flesh of those idiots called humans. They don't notice Him. If they ever saw Him, they'd never know. Everyone just passes by Him, never looking toward Him. At least during the day. Tonight was the night that He would feed. Every week, He has a giant feast on flesh. The humans die quickly that night. He smiled to Himself. The feast would be a success He thought, and He ran into the dark mountain range.

Chapter 2:

He came out of the range into a small town. This town was His feeding ground at night. Verona was a pretty small town, but there were enough people to keep His "cravings" at bay. He blends in well with all of the people. They won't even know that they're going to be eaten. He stood on top of a mountain top, looking down. He jumped off of the mountain into an alley, and walked toward civilization. As soon as He walked into town His nose became filled with the smell of human flesh. He smelled every single human at once. After a few minutes His nose finally locked onto the scent of Charlie Stevens, a beautiful, young girl with dark brown hair. She smelled of a sweet perfume. For some reason, Charlie's scent made Him walk up to her. As He approached her, she felt His gaze, and turned around. Her beautiful, dark brown eyes shined with happiness in the sunlight. Her tanned face created a smile toward Him. At this moment, He knew He would keep her alive instead of eating her.

Chapter 3:

He stared at her wildly, her face beaming at Him. He couldn't decide what it was about her, but He knew He was going to keep her alive. She held her hand out to Him.

"Hello."

He looked at her hand as if it were a foreign object. She let her hand drop as she continued to look at Him.

"So... Why were you looking at me? Did I do something? Well, don't just stare, say something!"

He looked at her while opening and closing His mouth.

"Well," He started, "I couldn't help noticing your dark hair; it's absolutely beautiful."

He smiled at her, and started to walk away.

"Hey! Wanna grab some coffee?"

He turned around and looked her up and down. He walked toward her and said "Yes, why not?"

Chapter 4:

Charlie can't stop looking at Him; studying Him as if she's seen Him before. She recognized Him.

"Hey, don't I know you?"

"No. No one does, I'm new here."

"That's a lie, I've seen you."

He stops in His tracks to look at her. There was fear and a bit of anger in His eyes.

"What? You're acting like I accused you of murder. Are you okay?"

At that moment, His original thought to keep her alive changed. He can't have humans walking around knowing who He is; that's just unacceptable. He would rather eat a human in vein than to risk keeping a human alive and full of knowledge of His existence. He paused for a bit, then He decided to change the plans.

"I don't think we should have coffee anymore. What about dinner?"

"Oh, sure. I don't mind dinner."

He smiled at her.

"Good, because I'm sure we'll both be hungry."

He turned away from her and ran off into the distance.

Chapter 5:

Charlie stood outside of a coffee shop. She sipped her cappuccino as she thought about Him. She didn't understand why He was on her mind so much. It didn't matter much to her if and where she'd seen Him. Why should He be on her mind then? She sighed aloud as she slouched in her chair.

"Just stop thinking about him. He's not important. God, why am I even here?"

She didn't even live in this quiet town of Verona. She just couldn't deal with home. She just had to get on a plane and leave "him"; well, at least the new "him." The old version was the one she desperately loved; what a hopless romantic she was back then.

"Stop. Don't think about that. It's over."

Finally, after an hour, He showed up to the coffee shop. She smiled up at Him, forgetting all of her old troubles.

"Hey, you ready to eat?"

She studied Him for a little bit. He smiled at her, as if He knew something that she didn't.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Are you okay, because you seemed weird earlier."

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

He kept His "I-know-something-and-you-don't" look, and walked away from her. She looked at Him for a second, then jogged to catch up with Him. He grabbed her hand, and led her along the street.

"Where are you taking me?"

"On an adventure. Don't worry about it."

"I'm curious, I want to know now."

"Look, it's the best restaurant in Verona."

She giggled loudly, as if she were a small child on a kiddie ride. He thought she was kind of immature. It didn't matter anyway, He had plans for her. They finally reached their destination. He dropped her hand to her side and hid behind an old shack.

"Okay, you can look now."

She excitedly opened her eyes and saw that there wasn't a restaurant, just a desolated shack. She couldn't find Him.

"Hey, where are you Kid?"

"I'm right here."

She turned around, and He slugged her with a bat. She became dizzy, and fell to the ground. He licked His lips as He looked her over.

"Finally, I can eat real food. No more human food!"

He shook His head and gagged as He thought about how He had to eat pizza and spaghetti to survive. That is, until He could find a nice human to feed on.

"God, how do humans eat that crap? It's absolutely repulsive."

He dragged Charlie's body into His shack, where no one could hear her screams as He ripped her apart.

Chapter 6:

Charlie woke up to find herself nailed to a wooden post. She looked around for Him, but she couldn't see in the darkness. She tried to lift her arms, but all she felt was pain in her wrists. She looked around for Him once more.

"I swear, once I get off of this wooden post by God I'll end your existence! Do you hear me Kid?!"

"I can hear you loud and clear. Too bad you'll be dead before you get off of that post."

He emerged from the darkness with a knife in His hand. He slowly walked toward her, smiling at her.

"What do you plan to do to me huh? You're not going to hurt me!"

"Oh, it's so simple. I'm going to eat you, you didn't know?"

She looked at Him, completely bewildered.

"You're going to do WHAT?! You're a human, you can't eat me. That's cannibalism!"

"Who said I'm human? God, your kind is SO oblivious to the truth! I mean, how could you NOT know? You said you recognized me, how?"

"I recognize you because I've seen you somewhere before. Actually, I've been here before! This is where I've seen you! You're a murderer!"

He chuckled to Himself, and got close to her ear.

"That's right Charlie. Congrats, we've got a winner!"

He whispered in her ear "Now it's dinner time!"

Chapter 7:

Charlie realized that she was going to die, and no one would know. He had so much power and strength over her, how could she escape Him? He finally took His knife and started to cut her arm. She couldn’t even feel the blade against her. Her entire body had already numbed. He dragged the knife against her flesh slowly, loving the sound of her soft skin ripping apart. Though He found this amusing, He realized that it did nothing to hurt her. He threw His knife to the floor in frustration.

“God. You’re truly horrible, you know that? And there I was, sitting at that café, thinking you were different. You’re not at all though. You’re just like the rest of those horrible, awful beasts called men! You’re just like all of the others Kid! I can’t believe you.”

“Quiet! I’m thinking.”

“I hate you! I hate your guts!”

He ran toward her, and sunk His teeth into her skin. She could feel His sharpened teeth tearing at her flesh, and she felt her skin coming off of her shoulder. She screamed out in agony. “Why did I have to leave home?” she thought to herself, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought about "him" again; she wished in this moment that she had stayed and worked it out. She regretted ever whimsically jumping on a plane and leaving. What was she thinking? You can't run from your problems, for if you do, you'll just run into more and possibly bigger problems. These thoughts ran through her mind at full speed as she watched Him chew on her skin.

“You’re sickening!”

He tasted her blood, and made a face as if He never ate a human before. He started to gag on her blood.

“God, you taste terrible! I mean seriously, spaghetti tastes better than you. And I despise human food! God you’re disgusting!”

“I’m disgusting?! You’re the one eating humans! If anything, you’re the disgusting one!”

He threw her a dirty look, and she returned the favor. He stood up and ripped her wrist from the post she was nailed to. She let out a high-pitched scream, and she felt her blood running down her arm. She looked at her limp arm with fear in her eyes. She couldn’t even lift her arm, nor could she feel it. He smiled a crooked smile, as if to say “I got you back”.

“Well, it looks like you’re hurt now Miss “You Can’t Hurt Me”. It looks like I just did. You’re welcome.”

He turned and walked away from her.

“Hey! Hey Kid! You can’t leave me here, where are you going?”

“I’m doing exactly that, you deserve it. You’re sassy, and your blood is absolutely disgusting. I’m out of here, and I hope you die. Right here in this shack. With no one to save you.”

As He turned to leave, she began to panic. Next thing she knew, she lifted her half-torn arm, and she ripped her other wrist from the nail.

Chapter 8:

Her blood was all over everything now. She ripped her other wrist from the nail, and splattered her blood everywhere, even on Him. He turned around to find that she wasn’t nailed to the post anymore. She quickly crawled toward Him, and grasped onto His leg tightly. He felt her and started to shake His leg frantically. He fell through the door, and landed outside of the shack.

“You. Can’t. Leave.”

She struggled to hold onto Him, and keep her breathing steady.

“Get off of me!”

Finally, He kicked her in the face. She let go of His leg, and started for Him again. He ran from her as she crawled along the ground. She grabbed His leg again, and He fell to the ground. She grabbed a rock, sat on Him and hit His head. He growled in pain from the blow, and Charlie got up and started to run. She reached the shack, and pulled out her phone. A few seconds later, she tried to dial 9-1-1 on the keypad. She was shaking, and she couldn't use her thumbs. No matter how hard she tried, her thumbs wouldn't move. As she tried to get her thumbs to work, He busted through the door. She dropped her phone, and He followed the sound. He found her behind the post and dragged her out of the shack by her hair. He pushed her to the ground and sat on her legs. He pulled out His knife and started to cut her legs off. She fought through the excruciating pain she felt, wanting to scream so badly. She didn't let Him get the victory; she wriggled from under Him, and crawled away. He followed her across the ground. She started to slow to a stop, and she passed out. He laughed at her, then shook His head.

"Wow Charlie, you're so pitiful. You think you're so tough, well look at you now."

He took her phone out of His pocket.

"Here, I'll call them for you. You'll be dead by the time they get here anyway."

He started to run away, as the phone rang for the police. A few minutes later, the police found Charlie on the ground unconscious.

~~~~~

Charlie saw white all around her. She couldn't tell where she was, or if anyone was around. She screamed for help, but no one could hear her. She ran around, trying to find a way out of this blank nightmare. She needed to wake up. She had to realize that she might die.

"Come on Charlie! Pull it together. You're not dead. You're not dead. You're not dead!"

"Not yet at least. You will be soon."

He appeared out of nowhere. He slowly walked up to her. She looked at Him wildly.

"You knew that I was here, didn't you? You could hear me yelling out. Why didn't you come earlier?! Like, what the hell? Do you even care?"

He smiled at her and pushed her down.

"No, I don't. I hope you die. I want you to suffer."

She lied on the floor in a fetal position, not being able to get up.

"You're not dying. You won't die. You can't, come on stay alive. Charlie, you can do this."

"Charlie. Charlie, can you hear me? Charlie! Charlie, wake up!"

She heard her name and focused on the sound. She tried so hard and finally...

Chapter 9:

Her eyes fluttered open, and she couldn't believe her eyes. There were doctors everywhere, rushing around her. She blinked to get used to the brightness of her room. She looked to her left, and she saw "him". She wasn't sure how he got there, but there he was. He felt her gaze, and turned around as he flashed his bright smile. He walked over to her, and he greeted her.

"Hey, it's been a while. What are you doing here?"

"In Italy or the hospital?"

"Well, both. I didn't get to read your file yet so..."

The smile that she had faltered. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him. Ryan Vega, he was a dear, old friend. He was a good man, and had her back when she had no one. He supported her when she went through her toughest times; he was even there to console her when her brother unexpectedly died; he helped her plan the funeral. Charlie took a breath, then began to tell her story.

"I'm not sure if my mom called and told you, but here's what happened. I loved someone once, a man. A man who was amazing to me. He treated me so well, and he respected me. But, I never would've guessed that we would end the way we did. He and I got into a huge argument. He got angry and started to throw things, glass things at me. But anyway, I left that day. I called my mom and told her everything. So, my mom and I picked somewhere for me to go. My mom picked Verona, because it's far away from our home and she knew that he wouldn't come here. So now, here I am. But that's not why I'm in the hospital though..."

Ryan looked at her, curious about her injuries.

"Okay, then how'd you get here?"

"I was attacked by this Guy. The Man nailed both of my wrists to a wooden post, bit the hell out of my shoulder and try to cut my legs to separate them from my body. This Kid's terrible!"

"Hm. I know who you're talking about. Actually, that's why I'm here. I'm taking care of any possible survivors of His attacks. That is, if they're lucky enough to survive Him."

"Well, it looks like I'm lucky then."

They smiled at each other again.

"Well, it's good to see you. Alive."

"It’s good to see you too."

Ryan turned away, but quickly turned back to her.

"Oh, by the way, I'll be taking care of you while you're here."

"I'm in good hands then."

They shared one last laugh together, and he walked out of the room.

Chapter 10:

"Okay Charlie, here's your lunch."

A nurse walked into the room with a tray of delicious food. The nurse places it onto Charlie's lap. Charlie smelled the food, and she instantly became nauseous. Her head started to spin, and she became dizzy.

"Um, Nurse?"

"Yes?"

"I'm feeling dizzy and nauseous at the smell of food. I don't think that's normal, is it?"

The nurse wrinkled her nose as thought about it.

“You know what, I’m not sure. Let me grab Doctor Vega for you."

The nurse exited the room. Charlie picked up the fork and tore a piece of steak. She thought that even though it made her sick, she should at least try to eat it. She took the steak into her mouth and chewed it. As soon as she swallowed the steak, she began to feel worse. Doctor Vega came in to check on Charlie.

“Hey Charlie, what’s…"

All of a sudden, he saw her vomiting into the urine bucket. She vomited blood all over the place. He was shocked by the color of the blood, and the fact that she was vomiting.

“Hon, what the hell happened in here?"

“I’m not sure. I tried to eat a piece of steak. Next thing I know, I’m vomiting. And God knows where the blood came from."

Charlie finally noticed how the scent of the room changed. She realized that there was something that smelled delicious in her room. She noticed that Ryan was the delicious thing she smelled. Her stomach started to growl and rumble from hunger.

“Ryan,” she started fearfully. “I think you should go. Now."

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, just go. Please, before I do something that I’ll regret.”

Confused, he did as she said and left the room. Charlie started to feel scared, but she laughed it off. She was being ridiculous.

“Come on Charlie. Do you seriously think that you’re a part of His kind? Girl, you’re so crazy. I’m sure this bug will pass in a few days."

She left it at that, and went to sleep.

~~~~~~

“The hunger, Charlie. Can’t you feel it? The hunger for human flesh? It’s calling out to you Charlie. Can’t you hear it?”

“No! I won’t eat another human! I AM human! Please, stop. I can’t…”

He smiled at her, mocking her in a way.

“Oh, yes you can. And you’re going to realize that you need to.”

Charlie started to scream as she tossed and turned in her sleep. She started to shake in fear. Or was it someone shaking her?

“Charlie!"

“What?!”

She bolted straight up in bed, her forehead covered in sweat. She looked around for Him, but couldn’t find Him.

“Where is He? Hey Kid! Are you in here? Can you hear me now? Answer me!”

“Charlie! Stop it; you’re making a fool of yourself!”

The nurse brought Charlie back to her bed, and sat down. It was then Charlie realized she was hungry. Her stomach began to rumble again, and she smelled the nurse; she smelled of something delicious. The nurse heard her stomach cry out, asking to be fed.

“I can grab your dinner from downstairs if you’re up for it.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Charlie stood tall above the nurse. Then, she pounced. Charlie sat on top of the nurse, and she started to tear into the flesh with her teeth. The nurse screamed, and Charlie hit her in the head with her elbow. The nurse passed out on the bed. Charlie never realized how strong she was, because she wasn’t strong before. She was quite weak. She continued to sink her teeth into the nurse’s soft flesh. She chewed the flesh with pleasure, and she drank the blood. Her lips were covered with blood, and she started to rip the guts and organs from the nurse. As Charlie started to eat the guts, He walked in. He saw what Charlie had done to the nurse, and He smiled. He walked over to her.

“Well, who’s the disgusting one now?”

Chapter 11:

“Seriously?! What the hell is with you popping up everywhere?”

He walked up to her, and dipped His fingers in the nurse’s blood. He tasted the iron content in the blood, and He smiled.

“Wow, she tastes ten times better than you. Also, you left the best parts behind.”

“Screw you. I can’t even look at you. How could you let me turn into a man-eating monster like you?!”

She curled herself up, and started to cry. He tried to hold her, but she shook Him off.

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you? You didn’t even try to stop me!”

“I did, actually! Why do you think I was trying to kill you after I took a few bites?! Yeah, I knew this would happen unless I killed you. I didn’t want you to become this, if that’s what you’re thinking. I have feelings too!”

She slapped Him across the face. He looked at her, and His eyes turned red.

“Fine then, if that’s how you feel. I was merciful towards you that night, but now it’s on!”

He punched her in the nose and ran from her. Her nose began to drip blood.

“Really, a hit and run? Wow."

She ran out of the room after Him. She couldn’t figure out where the coward ran off to. She looked around, and couldn’t see or hear Him.

“Hey Coward! Where the hell did you…”

She heard an ear-splitting scream, and she ran toward the sound. She reached the end of the hallway, and found Him crouching. As she got closer to Him, she heard chewing.

“What are you doing?”

She pulled Him away from His “food”, and found Ryan. He was covered in blood, and all of his flesh was gone. She was horrified, her only friend had died. She turned around and found Him eating a giant chunk of Ryan’s shoulder. He smiled at her slyly.

“So let me get this straight. Eating humans is okay, until it’s a human you love right?”

She ran towards Him, and she kicked His face. He fell to the ground as blood ran from His nose to His mouth. He got up and tried to hit her back, but she dodged the hit. Just as she dodged the first hit, He swung at her. She caught Him by the wrist, and flipped Him over. She started to run up the stairs, and she left Him lying on the ground.

“Hey Charlie, who’s hitting and running now?”

He ran up the stairs to find her. He wanted her dead for good.

Chapter 12:

After a few minutes of searching, He finally found her on the roof.

“Well, this is how you want to die? Being thrown from a rooftop? That’s okay with me, as long as you end up dead."

“Actually, you’ll be the dead one.”

He turned towards the sound of her voice, and she jumped on Him. He struggled with her as they fell to the ground. She had Him firmly under her, He wasn’t able to move. He couldn’t even wiggle around.

“I’m going to give you a taste of your own medicine, you Bastard!”

She finally bit into His cheek. He screamed in pain as her teeth sunk into His flesh. She tasted His blood, and bit into His flesh more. He bled so much, He passed out and His head hit the cement. She ate more of His delicious flesh. Next thing she knew, He wasn’t there anymore. She ate everything and left His bones. She realized what she did, and screamed from the rooftop.

She crawled away from His pile of bones, and looked over the edge of the roof. She realized how she could right her wrong. She stood on the edge of the roof and looked down. She saw cop cars, someone must have found the Nurse. Soon, they’ll find Ryan. Oh Ryan, that poor man; he died for nothing, and it was all her fault, or so she thought. A police officer saw Charlie standing on the edge of the roof.

“Hey! Freeze!”

She looked down at all of them, and she shook her head. She walked off of the edge, and she slowly fell through the air. As she floated, she thought of what her life in Verona could’ve been before He ate Ryan. She would recover in the hospital with Ryan’s help, then she’d tell him how much she loved him. Then, they’d finally marry like her mother always wanted. “Oh well, maybe it’s better this way.” Charlie thought as she landed on top of a cop car. Her body rolled off of it onto the ground. Her head landed really hard on the concrete. Everyone surrounded her, and someone checked for her pulse. They all held their breath in suspense. The pulse-checker stood up and shook his head. All of the officers removed their hats for her.

“She looks pretty young, we should take her DNA and find her parents. Who is she anyway?”

“I’m not sure. I’m sorry.”

They called for an ambulance, and the nurse, Charlie and Ryan were taken to the morgue. No one ever found Him, The Walking Mystery. The man who was everywhere and who saw everything.