Page 59 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Underworld

“Oh man,” I said aloud as I looked up at the monster. “It was Jax… he did something to me, didn’t he?”

The monster’s lip curled as I said his name, and he flexed the tendons in his hands, extending his claws.

“These low lives always have names like that,” he said with a shake of his head. “Does it add to the appeal?”

He looked disappointed in me, and I found myself blushing, embarrassed.

“It must have,” I shrugged, a new pinch of cold working its way through my broken body. I shivered, and my teeth began to chatter as the darkness behind the monster seemed to grow thicker as if it was coming closer, creeping like a threat.

Jax had driven us out the other side of town, in the opposite direction where I'd thought we would go, taking me up into the hills and coming to an abrupt stop at the old lookout.

I tried to swallow, but it wasn’t a function I had anymore. My mouth was dry and empty, not feeling like anything.

The monster took another step closer to me and reached out, his claws stroking my arm, and it felt warm. I leaned into it, enjoying the sensation.

“Jax stabbed me,” I said, looking at the monster with wide eyes.

He looked down at me with pity and nodded slowly.

“I’m afraid so,” he said. “You’re another statistic. A homicide victim.”

It felt as if I’d had the wind knocked out of me all over again.

“But like I said before, it doesn’t have to end that way, not if you don’t want it to.”

I pushed the memory of the blade out of my mind, refusing to focus on it all over again and re-feel the pain. Jax had pulled me from the bike and driven the knife into my side before I even had a chance to realize what was happening. He'd taken his anger out on me because I was an easy target.

The fucking coward.

“How?” I asked, looking at the monster whose eyes were so black and engulfing I found myself getting lost in them like I was being put under some kind of spell.

“You've been murdered and you’re in limbo,” he said. “It’s a strange predicament to find yourself in. I know you must be feeling confused.”

“Just a bit,” I half-laughed, looking around at my surroundings.

I was in some sort of cave. The darkness was so enveloping that it should have been terrifying, but the presence of the monster made it feel somewhat manageable, even considering his appearance. He touched my arm again, and I felt a pulse of warmth. When I cast my gaze down to where his fingers connected with me, I could see that the translucency there was fading, my skin coming back slowly to its full thickness.

“Woah,” I gasped as his touch moved further up my arm.

“In real-time, back in the land of the living, you’ve only been unconscious for a split second,” he said. “I can help you go back…”

His fingertips trailed higher, and I felt my pulse thump, blood moving.

“I can help you survive,” he said with a wry smile.

The sensation of blood beginning to move through my veins was delicious. A warm flood of life that made me hungry for more.

“What do you mean?” I asked him as I stared at my veins, the skin slowly becoming opaque on my arms.

“I mean, I can get you back to your life so you can go seek your revenge,” he smirked. “You don't have to stay dead.”

I blinked, my eyes suddenly dry and scratchy.

“You’ve heard about near-death experiences?” He cocked his head to the side. “Well, this is yours.”

My brow crunched into an intense frown, the feeling that this had to be a crazy dream rushing over me again.

“When people have those near-death experiences, doesn’t it mean they see light at the end of the tunnel? Here, there’s only darkness…” I trailed off, waiting for his reaction.

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