Justin’s face had begun to melt. Starting with her bottom lip, then the top of her cheekbones, nose, and ears. They all slide down, revealing her blackened skin. Her two eyes split into four as her mouth folded in on itself until long fangs sprouted from her skull. The lining of her coat had changed too, thickening into bamboo stalks. Six long legs suddenly sprouted and lifted her up into the air until she was taller than me. Losing the coat revealed Justin's sluggish underbelly, covered in thick, wiry hair. The clicking sound from before became a lower rumble, banging against my gut like a nauseating drum. We locked eyes, theirs black, an abyss staring back, predator and prey. Only I knew who was who at the time. 

“Ah, I hate bugs,” I said just before releasing a slow stead breath. It was then the beads in my hand lit up so bright, you'd think I had the sun between my fingers. 

“AH.” The monster shouted, stepping back. I pressed my back against the fence just as a low humming growl came from all directions. The Bug woman's eyes darted around. Right on time. I thought. 

“Have you ever seen Hellhound Justine? Runners hate them; they’re like our mortal enemies. I mean, first they're everywhere, right? Plus, when you kill one, there's always another, I mean, just the worst. But I figured out a long time ago that we couldn't be the only ones who thought that. So one dayI built the pit.” I said, pulling my hood up over my ears.

A Hellhound ain't a pretty thing to look at. Sleek black skin wrapped tight against a skeleton. Their face was half-exposed, a skull with empty eye sockets, holding floating red orbs that shimmered when their head moved. Five of the things had descended from the rooftops. Their claws dug into the sides of the buildings with yellow saliva oozing from their lips, leaving streaming puffs when they hit the ground. They flashed their brown fangs with their collective growls that always sounded like a distorted subwoofer. The hounds pounced. 

One of the beasts dug its fangs into one of Justine's legs, tearing it from their body with a quick jerk of its head. Justine wailed as other hounds joined in, rending limbs in seconds. But the scene in front of me, while gruesome, had already lost my attention because my stomach started to burn. 

“Ugh, hell.” I spat. I lifted up my glowing hand to keep the beasts at bay as I turned my face away from whatever was happening. It felt like someone had rubbed onions in my face. That's when I heard the first cluster of pops. It sounded like someone had begun stomping on a sheet of bubble wrap. That was also when the howling cries from Justine and the hungry growls of the hounds stopped mid-feeding Frenzy. The devil dogs let out cries of pain. I opened my eyes and attempted to take a peek, but could barely make out what was happening through the wall of tears streaming down my face. The only thing I could notice was that beyond my eyes, there was a burning sensation on my left hand, where I’d punched the bug. 

Before I could put anything together, air popping sounds had doubled in speed. Then a sudden flash had engulfed my own. I went flying, along with the old fence, right into the middle of the sidewalk. If you’ve never been blown up, which I don’t recommend that you do, the best advice I’d give is to make sure you still have all ya parts before you attempt to move. I did a quick feel around to see if I still had all my bits. I was now blind, and I was deaf except for the loud gong going off in my head, and I was pretty sure the impact had knocked the wind out of me, so I could barely make any sound. I attempted to peek again, and even through the watery hue, I could tell the alleyway where I’d been standing was gone.  A steaming crater oozing purple smoke that smelled of rotten meat. 

“What the hell?”- I finally managed to say. It was at that point, through all the ringing in my ears, that a very high, very bossy voice came to my side that brought me back down to earth.

“CHRISTIAN!” I looked over.

“Ahh crap,” I said.