13 Tales To Give You Night Terrors by Elliot Arthur Cross Page B

said.
What else was there to say? Sorry the random cousin of some
acquaintance died. If the city wasn’t so massive you would never
have even crossed paths.
    I noticed a young preacher holding a
sign proclaiming it the end of days. Would the city swallow him up
whole like it had me?
    “ Declan said his cousin saw
the killer leaving. Dude was dressed up like one of those street
performers. The costumed ones that kids take pictures with. They’re
always out there bothering people. Homeless weirdoes.”
    Never would have happened
in Idaho.
    “ Who was he dressed up as?
SpongeBob? Spider-Man?” I tried to lighten the mood, but it was
impossible.
    “ A wolf in a ratty ‘I Heart
NY’ shirt.”
    “ Weird. But who doesn’t
heart New York? Still no reason why we aren’t getting shitfaced
playing poker tonight.”
    The train came to a halt and the doors
whooshed open. I hurried through the crowd of strangers. As I
emerged on the street above, I found myself looking out for any
costumed wolves. I never looked over my shoulder before moving
here. What is it about the city that changes you so quickly? The
smog? The abundance of people stacked upon each other?
    “ I left the bar with
Declan. We went down to the subway together. It wasn’t that
crowded, you know, a Tuesday night at eleven. We were waiting for
the train, just talking or whatever, and suddenly his mouth drops
and he stumbles back. I tried to catch him, but he fell right in
front of the train. It made the most sickening sound.”
    “ Damn.” I shuddered at the
thought of Jay’s friend actually dying in front of him, glad I
heard about it as I approached my apartment building and not while
I was still underground. “What did you do?”
    “ I turned away. People were
screaming. The Wolf was standing there, twenty feet away. I swear
its big plastic eyes were staring straight at me. He held one
finger up to his lips.”
    “ Shit. What
happened?”
    “ People were running around
and I lost track of him. As soon as the cops heard we came from the
bar they didn’t seem that interested. Anyway, I’ve been holed up
here the last couple days.”
    “ That’s no good. Look, I’ll
bring over a six-pack and keep you company for a while. Not like I
had any other plans for the night.”
    He was quiet for several seconds. I
thought we got disconnected and checked my phone. The seconds on
the call log ticked up. “Jay?”
    “ Yeah, sure. See you in a
few.”
    I stuffed the phone back in my pants
and hurried upstairs. I tossed some beer in a brown bag and left
for Jay’s place.
    The streets were still alive with
hipsters and partiers. A scruffy kid played some song by This Is My
Roommate as passers-by tossed spare change in his guitar case. I
nodded to a neighbor, a woman whose face I knew but name I didn’t.
It wasn’t a long walk to Jay’s apartment. I hoped he had some soda
and liquor so I could mix something stronger. Somehow I didn’t
think three beers apiece would do the trick.
    As I reached Jay’s building, I glanced
up at his third story window out of habit. The lights were on. As I
neared the side of the building, something made a crashing sound
high above. I looked up just as Jay sailed through the air,
plummeting toward the concrete.
    A woman screamed. Others pointed. Jay
hit the ground with a sickening splat and crunch. I backed away and
looked toward the window again. Those looming wolf eyes stared at
the carnage below.
    Jay must have opened the door for the
Wolf, thinking it was me. He can’t pull the same trick on me. I’ll
sit right here until he tries, and then I’ll show him. One quick
stab to the stomach ought to do it. And then twenty more to be
sure.
    I crack open my second beer with my
left hand and sip the foamy drink. Nothing will take the knife out
of my dominant hand. I picture the freak inside the mask. Homeless
maniac? A hipster artist hearing voices? A vet with
PTSD?
    There’s a knock on the door. I tense
up. The light above the