Page 16 of Creep
“It’s not like that!” Creep snarls from the side where I see him slouch. He won’t even look at me.
Prophet is tall. Several amulets glimmer on his naked chest as he’s only wearing jeans. He’s covered in a mix of occult tattoos and I swear I recognize several protection sigils. His dark beard and long braid make him look like a Viking about to grab an axe.
But his place appears deceptively normal. Maybe even cozy, flooded with light coming from many large windows, and all I see outside is forest.
The walls, the floor, and all the furniture are made of pale wood. The building seems small, with a living room big enough to house a leather sofa, a wall-mounted TV, and a narrow bookcase. The kitchen starts behind a spiral staircase wrapped around a thick tree trunk, but I only see one of its walls from where we’re standing.
He just shows Creep his palm, all attention on me. “How long has he kept you?”
I whip my head to glance at Creep. “Has he done that before?” I ask in a small voice. The question immediately makes me feel less special. And I hate the fact that it bothers me. “I don’t know how much time passed. It was dark.”
Prophet’s features get more serious when he stares at Creep. “How long? Did you…hurthim? You know we don’t tolerate that shit.”
“I didn’t. Two days,” Creep says through his teeth.
To make matters worse, there’s a knock on the door, and another man comes in. He looks about fifty, he’s ginger, and while his legs are kinda skinny, his chest and arms look massive. The guy can probably lift his motorcycle. When he frowns, all the freckles on his face seem to shift. “Hey prez, I… Fuck. Bad time?”
Prophet shakes his head and spreads his arms. “Hi Harvey. Nah, we’re just trying to work out why Creep abducted this guy and didn’t tell me about it.”
The middle-aged biker frowns, curling his lips until they resemble the pinched skin under his nose. “You did what? I told you this was coming,” he adds, raising his voice as he glances at Prophet.
“Nothing happened,” I mumble, but both men ignore me.
Prophet starts pacing around the room, his bare feet setting a rhythm to this intensifying clusterfuck. “No, you said he’ll bring over someone weird. This guy looks perfectly normal, even if zip-tied.”
Harvey shakes his head at Creep who retreats into the darkest corner like a kicked dog. “This is not normal.”
“He’s a witness,” Creep repeats.
Prophet takes a breath so deep his whole chest seems to expand. “What’s your name?” he asks me, and continues when I introduce myself. “So,Angel, there’s two paths for you right now. You either learn how to keep your mouth shut for life about whatever you saw him do, or—”
Creep jumps to his feet and pushes Prophet. “Don’t fucking threaten him!”
Harvey whistles and meets Prophet’s gaze with a smile. “Young love. Ain’t that cute.”
If this were directed at me, I’d probably joke around, but Creep’s getting redder, and his eyes dim as he focuses on the floor as if he wishes to memorize the exact pattern of the wood. I step closer, still zip-tied, still with a damp stain at the front of my shirt.
“I didn’t do it against you. I’m sorry I lied,” I try, feeling like a complete and utter idiot. Because why would I apologize to the man who abducted me, just because I’m feeling sorry for him? Stockholm syndrome has arrived early at Station Angel.
Creep ignores me, but Prophet addresses him regardless. “Did you clean up?”
Creep nods.
“We will talk more about this. It’s not ‘love’, Creep, if he doesn’t want to be here, understood?”
“I… hoped he’d want to stay,” Creep mumbles, breaking my heart.
I really shouldn’t care that much.
Harvey rolls his eyes. “So you zip-tied him? Get a grip, man…”
“He just needed time to think,” I say, stepping closer to Creep. “It’s fine. We all make mistakes, right? Like I gave a copy of my keys to the wrong person, and that’s why we’re all here.”
Harvey whistles. “You gave him your keys? Why did he—”
Prophet nips this mess in the bud. “Someone else, Harvey. Keep up. You know we vet people, Creep. Living in Vulture Hollow is a privilege, and definitely not for people who come herereluctantly.” He grabs a hunting knife from a display on the wall and while my heart stops for half a second, he cuts my ties.
I can’t listen to this anymore.
