Kale nuzzled his face into his pillow as he finally let the frayed bedsheets lull he to sleep. Between the unnatural lumps in the mattress and nerves buzzing in his veins, it took some time for Kale to relax. The aches in his body grew numb and sighed at the rare gap of peace sleep granted him.

Until five minutes later when something brushed against his nose. Kale swatted the protruding object away. He rolled to the other side of the bed with the object fluttering after him.

“Daddy,” Colby said, swatting his paper on Kale’s face with more force. “Daddy!”

Kale tugged his pillow over his head, curling into a ball. “Daddy’s not here,” Kale said, voice gravelly from sleep.

Colby paused in his tapping and ogled him. “You just talked.”

“This is the bed monster. Come back again when I’ve spat your daddy out.” Kale tugged the heavy quilt over his head.

Colby rolled his eyes. He hauled himself up onto the bed, wondering why his father set the bed posts so high, and straddled the side of Kale’s hip. He yanked at the covers Kale hid under only to yelp when they were tugged back into place.

“Up,” Colby said. “Now.”

Kale answered with another firm tug of the blankets over his head and wiggled deeper into his blanket cocoon. Colby huffed, falling back onto the bed. The sliver of light that came from the night light in the hall crept up onto the bed to join the two. As Colby rolled over, the soft golden glow dusted his cheeks when his eyes widened. He sat up straight with a smirk.

“I'm telling Mrs. Farlior about the crab biscuit incident,” Colby said.

Kale sprang upwards, making the nest of blankets fall apart around him. He narrowed his eyes on the boy.

“You wouldn’t,” Kale said.

Colby blinked at him innocently, a sly smirk teasing the corners of his lips, before handing him his paper. Kale glared at the paper as if it had cursed him then at Colby. He reluctantly grasped the paper, grumbling under his breath, while Colby slid off the bed and padded out into the hall.

Kale scratched the back of his head. He stifled a yawn and held the paper under the light coming in from the hall. As he squinted, he saw that bizarre shaped tiles were flooded with colors coming together in the shape of a chameleon stretched across the sand.

“Daddy!” Colby called, “Where’s the shovel?”

Kale set the completed page on the nightstand and followed Colby down the hall.

“Col, I don’t care what those cards say.” Kale said. “We are not doing any burial rituals!”

“But it involves honey.”

“No.”

***

Officer Klein sighed as the old man shook him by the shoulders for the umpteenth time that morning. Klein knew the older man was always paranoid, but when he began crying over how the inside of the shop was barely standing with chocolate and blood smeared over the walls, he couldn’t ignore his call. So when Klein and his cadets arrived to investigate, they weren’t surprised to find Ellis dragging them towards the store’s broken door to only find a lone candy bar on the floor.

Ellis grew hysteric after that night, calling the police station almost every half an hour until Klein finally drove up. He searched up and down every aisle of the shop--including the freezer in the backroom--and found nothing. When he told the man as such again, Ellis gripped his shoulders with a strength Klein didn’t think men at his age would still have.

“You didn’t look hard enough!” Ellis spat. “You didn’t think hard enough. There was something there!”

Klein rolled his eyes, peeling Ellis’ hands off him.

“Ellis, I’ve gone through your shop more times than I can count,” Klein said. “There were no signs of intruders, shoplifting, or vandalism.”

Ellis’ lips twisted into a scowl and slammed his fist against the counter.

“I know what I saw!” Ellis said. “And if the captain of police can’t figure that much out, then maybe you should quit now while you’re ahead.”

Klein pinched the bridge of his nose. You won’t become captain if you strangle the victim, he reminded himself. He took a deep breath before looking at Ellis again.

“Alright. How about I station a patrol around your shop then?” Klein asked. “Fair?”

Before Ellis could speak the doorbell rattled behind them. Klein turned to find a young woman ogling him and Ellis.

“Patrol?” She said. She arched a brow at Ellis. “Pa, what do you need a patrol for?”

Ellis’ brows furrowed, his lips tightening into a thin line while Klein eyed her quizzically.

“I’m sorry ma’am, who are you?” Klein asked.

“Alice.” She nodded towards Ellis. “I’m his granddaughter.”

“Oh,” Klein said. “Ellis didn’t tell me about having any kids.”

Ellis opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Alice waving her hand at him.

“Oh hush Pa.” She said as he snapped his mouth shut. She turned her attention to Klein. “So what’s this about a patrol?”

Klein cleared his throat, standing a little straighter. “Your grandfather reported a vandalism incident the other night and wanted a follow up search. I’m guessing he’s informed your family of course.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Who hasn’t he told?” She brushed a few strands of pale blonde hair, similar to Ellis’, from her face. “I’m sorry to waste your time officer. Pa’s been unwell lately. You know how it is.”

“Of course. But, if it will give him some peace of mind--”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll be staying with him for a few days. He’ll be fine.”

“It’s really no trouble--”

Alice touched his shoulder gently, giving him a sheepish grin. “We’ll be fine officer. I’ll be sure to call you if anything happens”

Klein relaxed under her touch and soft gaze, nodding as he headed towards the door. After wishing the two of them a goodnight and the police car disappeared down the road, Alice let out a sigh. In between her fingers from where she touched Klein was a tiny piece of paper. She flicked it towards Ellis with a glare.

“What,” she said, voice edged with ice, “have I told you about getting mortals involved?”

Ellis winced as if the question had whipped him and backed away from her. He cast his gaze down on the tiled floor, wishing it would swallow him whole.

“I’m done playing your games,” he said. “I want out.”

Alice snorted, turning on her heel towards the wall. She trailed her fingers down the smooth surface, feeling the broken plaster beneath the illusion, and pulled her hand back to find it covered in dried brown and red crust.

“You just better hope he didn’t walk out covered in any evidence,” she said. She glanced back to find him huddled against the counter, trembling harder than a leaf in the wind. She narrowed her gaze from dried remnants of her hand to the sniveling man.

“Quit your grovelling," she snapped. “We have work to do.”