Page 11 of Waste
He appeared in Shelley’s back garden, arriving through a mirror on a wall. The area was nicely done, highlighting water features and masses of flowers. There were several decorative mirrors he could escape through should it be necessary.
Ghoul knocked on the rear door and waited in the shadows. They wouldn’t do much to hide his white skin, but he wouldn’t frighten her either.
Shelley peered through the blinds, and he watched as her eyes searched the garden before they latched onto him. Ghoul expected fear to flood them, but they widened in excitement instead, and her mouth opened in an ‘O’. Shelley fumbled with the locks and unlocked the door, stepping out towards him.
“It’s you,” she whispered.
“Quit looking for me,” Ghoul hissed.
“I wanted to thank you,” Shelley replied.
“You’ve done so. Now stop searching; you’re bringing unwanted attention to yourself and are putting yourself in danger,” Ghoul asserted. He didn’t see the point in beating around the bush.
“From Mary Worth?” Shelley challenged, and Ghoul shook his head. Damn, Mary had been right. Shelley was in deeper than she needed to be.
“No. There are monster hunters; they will take you and torture you to find out what you know about me. Quit searching. I’m a monster, human, not a friend,” Ghoul said.
His exasperation deepened as Shelley held his gaze. “Well, that’s a load of bunkum, isn’t it?”
“What?” Ghoul was confused.
“You saved my life and now have come to warn me to stop looking for you. Those aren’t the actions of a terrible creature!”
“Why aren’t you frightened of me?” Ghoul burst out. This human female was annoying.
“Because no monster would save me and then harm me. That’s not who you are,” Shelley remarked and stepped closer.
Ghoul’s eyes narrowed. She was disregarding everything he said, yet he couldn’t hurt her.
“Make no mistake, I’ve had countless deaths on my hands. Yours would just be one of many,” Ghoul retorted.
Shelley reached out to touch his arm. Stunned at her audacity and bravery, Ghoul looked down at the contrast between their skin colours. He snatched his arm away and gashed his teeth at Shelley’s face. She fell backwards with a muted cry and gazed at him, betrayed.
“Make no mistake, I’m a monster,” Ghoul said. “Now forget about me or die.”
Shelley stared, shocked, for a few moments and then fled back inside her house. Ghoul watched as she locked up, and then he requested that Mary teleport him home.
Shelley
She’d been right. The ghoul called on Mary Worth three times. He’d thought he’d frightened her away, and he’d succeeded in one aspect. He had scared her, but not to the point that she’d lost her capacity for thinking. She’d watched safely as the ghoul summoned Mary and then disappeared.
Pursing her lips, she checked the house was secure and headed up for a bath. This wasn’t over. A part of Shelley asked what she wanted from this. Because there didn’t appear to be an end result, and that made Shelley reconsider her actions.
What did she want? That was a very good question. Honestly, Shelley should be content. Her life had been saved, and she knew the paranormal existed. She realised the ghoul had seemed lonely, and that had touched her soft heart.
But furthermore, she was curious and wanted to understand what else was out there. Did vampires and werewolves exist? What about the Dullahan and Nessie?
Shelley believed the ghoul had answers she wanted, but she also wished to be his… what? Friend? Could that be possible? And who were these Hunters? If the ghoul were a real monster, he’d have killed her tonight to keep her silent. He hadn’t. Instead, the ghoul had seemed worried about her and brought her a warning. Those actions were at war with his appearance, and Shelley had learned a long time ago that you couldn’t judge people by how they looked.
No, this wasn’t over. She just had to be sneakier.
Drew/Ghoul
He shifted back to human as soon as he exited the mirror. Mary sat in her chair and smiled at him. It was a ghastly image.
“That should stop her nonsense,” Drew said.
“If you say so,” Mary chirped, looking amused.
