Chapter Five
A heavy thud in front of him had Perry’s head snapping up. He stared at what had landed, not understanding what he was seeing. A creature? A monster? A something? Tall, broad, with long, flowing thick black hair, red irises, bat-like wings and skin that appeared dusky in the moonlight. Perry whined, scrambled back, then pushed up to his feet and ran in the opposite direction from whatever it was that had landed in front of him.
When would this nightmare end?
“Human.” The raspy low voice grated over Perry’s skin, and he shuddered in response. The mud sucked at his feet with every step he took, and he whimpered, his heart racing in a chest that Perry struggled to inflate. His lungs didn’t work anymore, and his head spun, causing Perry to drop to his knees. He pushed up again, trudged back to the trees. He had to get away from that thing.
That thing had wings, so maybe it couldn’t enter the trees with their branches that could rip the wings open. A hand clasped his shoulder and Perry screamed. The hand let go and Perry cried out, falling to the ground, tears streaming down his face as he crawled forward. He shuddered, his chest heaving, struggling to breathe, black dots appearing.
“Stop.”
“Leave me alone!” he screamed.
“He’s mine!”
Something hit Perry in the side, and he flew through the air, landing in a heap on the ground. The grass and mud absorbed some of the compact but not nearly enough, and he lay panting, moaning as pain radiated along his left side. The sounds of a fight reached him, and he slid along the ground, moving away, heading toward the trees.
“I’m gonna die out here,” he whimpered. “I swear to God, please save me. I’ll go to church again. I promise. I’ll be good. I’ll do everything I should to keep you happy.”
He moved onto his knees, glanced behind and saw Grailaine fighting the winged man thing. “Now,” he mumbled. He pushed to his feet, swayed, then stumbled forward. Forcing one foot in front of the other, Perry moved closer to the trees. Once under cover, he could find a fallen log to hide under, safe from the monsters that wanted him.
His legs gave out, and Perry slumped to the ground. He closed his eyes, his body wanting to stop and stay still, but he had to keep moving. He had no choice if he wanted to survive. Forcing himself back up, he staggered over to the trees, making it inside. He collapsed against one, his eyelids fluttering down, his body heavy. Waves of pain had him gritting his teeth, and the thought of climbing up to relative safety made him feel nauseous. He had to, though.
A scream echoed, and Perry froze. When there was no other sound, he knew he had no choice but to find somewhere to hide. Searching the surrounding area, Perry pushed away from the tree, then immediately leaned back against it when his legs trembled. “Fuck.” Trying again, he swayed but managed to move toward another tree and began to haul his body up. His arms shook, his legs trembled, and he’d only climbed up one branch. If he didn’t get moving, he’d be found and then he would be well and truly fucked.
Forcing his arms to straighten, Perry lifted a leg onto the next branch and pushed up, groaning when his stomach rolled, and black dots appeared in his vision. He couldn’t pass out. Not now. He needed to keep his wits about him. He was in enemy territory and said enemy wanted to eat him. Probably. More than likely. Or do other things to him, then eat him. He kept moving up, one branch at a time until he found a branch he knew would take his weight. Getting his ass on it, then moving so he could lean back against the trunk, had Perry trying to hold on to consciousness, the edges of his vision fading to black.
“I won’t pass out,” he muttered. “Not now.”
He sat and breathed, waiting for his vision to clear, then catalogued all his injuries, which at that point were numerous. He touched his side, his ribs protesting, and he figured they were either bruised or fractured. That would be why he struggled to take a full breath, or it could be the stress of the situation. His knee felt like it had swelled up, his jeans tight around it. Looking at his hands and arms, Perry could just make out the numerous cuts and scrapes that littered his skin.
“Please let this be a bad dream.” He closed his eyes, then forced them back open again when he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He had to stay awake. He couldn’t risk falling asleep. If they found him, he’d be in serious trouble.
All he wanted was to get home with all his limbs still attached to his body and his body still alive and breathing. Get home and put all of this behind him. In a few weeks, he could try to push it to the back of his mind, convince himself it had been a nightmare. Try to forget it had ever happened. That it had been some horror show he’d watched on TV.
Shivering, Perry’s head nodded as his body slumped, exhaustion making itself known. His body wanted to sleep, but he knew he couldn’t. Not yet and not while he was so cold. Could he be hypothermic? He wouldn’t be surprised at this point. His body had gone through so much and he was cold, so cold. His skin was clammy and cold when he touched it.
When he’d made it back home, he could rest. And have lots and lots of therapy because he was going to need it. No wonder they told all humans to stay within the safe zones. Yet, he’d met Grailaine on the monster match app so…
“Human.” Perry slammed back against the trunk, holding his breath. How the fuck had the man-thing found him? “I know you are here. I can scent you.”
Perry shuddered, tears spilling free. He was fucked and when he looked down, he saw those eery red eyes staring up at him. Screaming, he hauled himself up, trying to reach a higher branch, but slipped. He scrambled, trying to grab something, anything, but it was fruitless. As he fell, Perry hit a branch and grunted in pain, then everything became distorted. He viewed everything in snapshots. The man-thing rolling him onto his back, its hands skimming over his skin, soft touches as it moved Perry’s limbs.
Waking, Perry felt weightless, the wind flowing over his skin. He shivered, but he wasn’t cold. Blinking his eyes open, he realized he was up in the air. Screaming, Perry pushed at whatever held him, and then he was falling. A hand grabbed his, and he looked up into the red eyes on the man-thing and then his hand slipped, and he was falling again.
The air rushed past him, his body spiralling out of control, and he moved his arms and legs until he flipped over, and he saw the ground rushing up to meet him. He screamed again, then the something grabbed him, and he slowed, but the ground still kept growing as he neared it.
Suddenly he was covered in wings and then he grunted, screaming as they hit the ground. They bounced along, but Perry didn’t feel it, protected in the cocoon of the man-thing’s wings. They slid across the ground until they finally stopped, and the wings gently lifted. As soon as they did, Perry was up running, only he had no idea where he was. He slowed, then turned around, hands on his head as his mouth fell open.
Mountains were on one side, trees on the other, and what looked like a river that ran through the trees. The man-thing stood, wings spreading out wide, shaking them, then snapping them back behind its back. It stayed still, watching Perry.
“Where am I?”
“Near my home.” The gravelly voice made the hairs on Perry’s skin stand up, and when the man-thing pointed up, Perry looked, seeing what appeared to be an entrance in the cliff face.
“You live up there?” Perry looked at it, noticing that you had to be an experienced climber or someone with wings. Perry looked at the wings, which were neatly folded away, then at the red eyes tracking his every move. He stepped back and waited, but the man-thing stayed where it was. Another step back and the wings rustled, which was enough for Perry, and he turned, bolting across a field to who the fuck knew where, because he didn’t.
Perry felt a whoosh of air above him and he skidded to a stop and turned back the way he came. He heard a soft chuckle, then a flap of a wing, and then the man-thing dropped to the ground in front of him. Perry stopped and put his hands on his hips.
The wings flapped, then folded behind man-thing’s back. “What are you?”
The thing tilted its head, its long black hair sliding over its shoulder. Perry’s eyes looked over its, no, his body. It—he—wore no top, just what appeared to be jeans, and stood barefoot. Perry ran his hands over his arms, feeling the cold as the wind whipped around them. The man-thing didn’t appear to notice but then hummed softly. “Cold.”
“Yes.” It pointed to the entrance and Perry shook his head, backing away. “I want to go back to the safe zone.”
“Why?”
Perry shook his head, wrapping his arms around his waist, taking a couple of steps away. “I want to go home.”
The man-thing frowned, then snapped its wings and shot up into the air, then dropped down in front of Perry. Perry screamed and fell on his ass, staring up at the man-thing—he needed to come with something else—as it watched him. It stepped closer, then dropped over Perry. Perry screamed again, then shoved at the man-thing… “What are you?” he screamed.
“You call me Mothman.”
Perry’s eyes sprung open, and he screamed again. He’d heard about Mothmen and what they did. “Oh God, please don’t hurt me. I won’t tell anyone about this. I’ll say I got lost or something.” The Mothman merely watched him, and Perry’s breathing slowly eased as the seconds ticked by. Licking his lips, Perry asked, “Do you have a name?”
“Name?”
“What people call you?”
“I’m Mothman. You?”
“I’m human, but people call me Perry. That’s my name.” Perry licked dry cold lips, watching the Mothman as he loomed over him. “Can I go now?”
“I’m Menut.”
“Oh, hi Menut. Can I go home now, please?” He could be super nice when motivated, and he was really motivated to get off this world and back to his own.
“No.”
“Why? I promise I won’t tell anyone. I’ll keep it a secret so no one will have to know.”
Menut leaned down and placed his nose on Perry’s neck. Perry heard him inhale and gasped. “Mine.”
Perry froze, whimpered, then pushed at Menut, who lifted his head, his red eyes beginning to swirl. “Please.”
“Mine,” he whispered.
“I’m not yours. Please let me go. I’m not very tasty and I’m skinny. I need to eat more, so all you’ll get is bones.”
Menut closed the distance between them and Perry’s eyes locked onto his. The red swirled in Menut’s eyes, and Perry couldn’t look away. They held him captive, hypnotized, and he felt like he was falling into them. “Mine.” Perry nodded, then tilted his head up when Menut’s lips slid over his. “Say it.”
“Yours.” Perry sighed when their lips touched again. “Menut.”
More soft kisses, a couple of teasing licks to Perry’s lips, and he arched up when a hand slid over his bare chest. The thumb rubbed his nipple and Perry gasped, his eyes closing. Kisses across his lips, soft, barely there touches that had Perry lifting his head, wanting more. “Menut.”
Perry jumped when he heard the wings snap out and he watched them move to shield them from the night sky. He lifted a hand, his fingertips sliding over a wing, feeling the softness of it, which surprised him. He could feel the skin with an almost leathery feel as well, but it was supple, too.
“Perry.”
Perry looked back at Menut, lifted his head to accept Menut’s kiss. When Menut bit his lip, Perry gasped, his hand lowering to hold Menut’s bicep. Menut watched him, his lips moving over Perry’s until Perry kissed him back, his tongue coming out to lick Menut’s lips.
“Mine,” Menut murmured.
“Yes. Yours,” Perry whispered back, then sighed when Menut kissed him.