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It was pitch black inside and ht flickered off and on as if I earing defective night vision goggles I caught gli drop to broken concrete Apparently e and went out, plunging me back into darkness

I stood up, a bit woozy fro below in the darkness So hissed--or did it scrape? I couldn’t be sure There was a loud thuroaned as so yellow orbs appeared ten feet away My breathing faltered I felt a serious need to soilwas sniffed the air hat sounded like a huge snout

I decided not to wait to find out what it was I dove out the , sheer panic giving rabbed onto the roof of the opposite warehouse and pulled ure appeared in the here I’d been It sniffed the air I stood still, hardly daring to breathe Could it see me? What was it? Was : Stacey lived nearby, possibly in one of these abandoned buildings I no longer had the desire to stick around and find out But I wasn’t exactly sure which as ho noise and a loud thud as the creature landed on the roof next to igantic house cat Bony ars protruded from its muzzle Thick sinewy muscle coiled beneath short bristly fur

Any other tiht it looked pretty badass This ti up until a brick chiood

The cat hissed and pawed at ed left just in ti sliced into salami The chirabbed an old two-by-four from the roof and held it like a sword in front of ulped It lunged I juht the board down hard on the cat’s head The board splintered and the cat howled in pain It surged for ht on an exhaust vent and ainst the roof The creature pinned e padded foot Its claws extended just enough to prick my skin If it extended them any further, they would skewer my heart Of course it could always choer-sized paw It didn’t budge The cat sniffed ainst the cat’s stomach Before I could heave, it battedjagged rows of ivory stilettos set against its fangs This was it The bite that would end it all

A shadowy figure blurred past Silver flashed The cat’s eyes widened It le Then its large head dangled to the side, hanging by a sinewy vine ofs went li the wind fros Gouts of blood poured onto led desperately Finally I e to push the carcass off my chest I scooped blood off my face and out of my eyes I pulled off my shirt The front was sodden with scarlet blood, but the back was relatively untouched, so I used it to wipe off my face I tossed the shirt aside and looked for my savior

Nobody was there

I sniffed the air, trying to useAll I smelled was the coppery odor of fresh blood Then I threw up After I threw up, I laughed and sobbed It seeht, but happiness at hter

"Thanks!" I yelled into the night air I hoped for sos, I set off for hoer because I stuck to the roads I’d had enough of leaping over fences for the night I trashed ot in the shower Rivulets of hot water relaxedscarlet with cat blood by the time the streams reached the drain As I dried off after the shower, I studied iness on htly s looked the iven all the football practice Unfortunately most of o any tighter--they had run out of notches I was growing up rather than out, as er, however, troubled me I had no coe feline? Had they been in the neighborhood already or were they following th had been no match for that oversized alley cat Surely, whoever it antedwith the creature, otherwise I had toofor space in row s

I tossed another pair of jeans I’d outgrown into a pile on the floor It looked like Elyssa, Renaldo, and I would need to make another trip to the ony of loss stabbed my heart I bit back a sob as I lay down in bed I wanted to forget her To forget this pain I didn’t want to be in love with her My heart didn’t care It still beat for her It still longed for her embrace and for the feel of her soft curves pressed to my body I saw Elyssa’s s with desire for me

That was the past and the future looked bleak A line of girls, coer But they would never, could never, be who I needed Who I wanted The girl who filled the Elyssa-sized hole in my heart

I miss you, Elyssa

People I had never spoken to in my short life caave

"Good luck at the garoup of nerdlings caymnasiuths and weaknesses according to your practice sessions," he said, handing h"

"Why do you care about football?" I asked hi olive-shaped head balanced atop it and glasses that made my old bottle-bottom ones look small in comparison Fat or thin, ain, I would have fit right in not too long ago

"Gerald Ledbetter, h He won the state science fair last year, narrowly defeating enetically modified potato battery It’s a matter of pride"

"But this is football, not science"

He shrugged "It would make me feel better His older brother, Marty, is their quarterback and Gerald won’t shut up about him"