Home for Horny Monsters

 “Actually, there is something.” Mike carefully walked around the furniture in the room, pulling the doll from the mantle of the fireplace. He came back, handing it to her. The docile porcelain features of the doll gazed imploringly into Beth’s eyes, as if it was sad to be leaving.

“I don’t care how, just get rid of it.” Beth realized that even she thought the doll was spooky. Staring into its painted eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m on it. Have a good night, Mike.” She left him, a stranger in a strange place, her heels clicking softly on the pavement of the sidewalk until she got to her car. Looking back, she saw Mike waving at her and gave him a wave in return. Entering her car, she contemplated the doll briefly before sitting it in the passenger seat.

“I don’t think a seat belt is going to work for you,” she informed the doll, starting up the car and pulling away. The house shrank away in her rearview mirror, a many layered mystery she was hoping to explore a bit more sometime. The drive to the office was fast-the home was in the older part of the city, meaning it was closer to the new business district that was built ten years ago. Stopping inside, she dropped off some of the paperwork Mike had already filled out for her, and then made a couple notes on her work computer. Getting back in her car, she smiled at the doll.

“You’re much too special to just be tossed,” she said. She had been obsessed with the house since she was little, and she wasn’t yet ready to part with such an unexpected treasure, no matter how creepy it was. The doll had a porcelain face with a cloth body, and it wore a pale red dress. It stared out the car window as they drove, and Beth contemplated how ethical it would be to keep or sell it. Technically, Mike had given it to her for disposal, but now she worried what sort of implications it may have if it turned out the doll was somehow worth a lot of money.

She pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex. Beth lived by herself, and found that the Highrise was the perfect place to live. It had a gym that she frequented on a regular basis, a pool that was open during the summer, and she was only minutes from the big shopping center that had the best clothing stores for forty miles in any direction. She picked up her files and the doll, carrying them into the elevator and pushing the button for the top floor.

On the ride up, she held the doll gently, inspecting its face. The dark eyes looked sad, as if it somehow knew it had been given away. She wondered what little child had purchased the doll, once upon a time, and if it had been loved.

She also wondered if it was wearing underwear. Tilting the doll over, she lifted the skirt to reveal a carefully knit pair of white panties under the dress. Feeling weird for even thinking such a thing, she tucked it under her arm when the door opened, walking down the long hallway to her apartment. It was small, but it was hers. Only six hundred square feet, it had a small kitchen which turned into her bedroom. She never bothered having company over-there were plenty of more interesting places to meet friends in town. She set the doll on the counter next to her files and walked into the bathroom.

Finishing her business, she came back out to see that the doll was facing toward the bathroom. Had she set it down that way? Shivering, she walked into her kitchen to prepare herself some tea, pulling the loose leaf mint from its tin and stuffing it in her tea ball. She added a liberal amount of honey, stirring it with a silver spoon gently as it steeped.

“What am I going to do with you?” she asked the doll. The doll answered her with a blank stare. She picked up the doll and walked over to her bed. Above her bed she had installed cute little box shelves to place books and other collectibles in. Tilting a signed copy of The Hobbit to one side, she made a space for the doll. Fiddling with the doll, she realized that something was written on the bottom of its left foot.

“Jenny,” she said aloud. The y had been written backwards, a testament to that long ago child that had loved such a thing. “Ok Jenny. I guess you’re my new roommate for the time being.” 

Picking up her tea, she walked over to the large bay window that overlooked the city. She opened the curtains, letting in the waning light of evening, and turned the crank on the window, letting in some fresh air. The evenings were hard on the buildings aging HVAC system. 

Beth sipped her tea, staring out the window of her apartment. The park across from her building was hosting multiple soccer games, kids of all ages storming the field, swarms of flesh and colors running back and forth on a green canvas.  Beth’s email was open on her MacBook, and she saw that the Historical Society had sent her an email already.

Beth sighed. Elizabeth was super persistent. She opened it to discover that Elizabeth had left some paperwork at the office for Mike to look over. In an odd way, she hoped that Mike would keep the house. There was something cute about his awkwardness, and maybe even a little sweet. He had been nice enough, and he at least looked in her eyes when she spoke to him.

Not that she would have minded if he had looked. Maybe just a little. She let her left hand run gently across the exposed skin of her breast, felt the lace of her bra through the thin fabric of her blouse. She shivered, picturing Mike’s eyes on her body, imagining that monster in his pants swelling up. She had noticed that the bulge in his jeans was clearly tucked down one leg of his pants. It had been easiest to see when he had laid in the tub, his arms spread wide as he remarked on the largeness of the tub.

“Hop in. Plenty of room,” he had said, that vulnerability about him momentarily gone. He had blushed, suddenly shy once more. It was everything Beth could do not to crawl in with him and pounce.

She shivered, the gnawing sensation in her gut growing larger. How long had it been? So many long hours lately, not enough time to enjoy the simpler things. Suddenly, her tea was too warm for her, the flavor too bland. She needed something stronger, something to help her loosen up. She meticulously washed the teacup out by hand in her kitchenette, staring at the foot of her bed, across from her mirror.

Not yet. She opened her fridge, pulling out the bottle of merlot. She smiled as she poured it, feeling her pussy getting moist already. It was a ritual, a familiar one, her Pavlovian response kicking in. Merlot was her weakness, a single glass shattering her inhibitions, the drink responsible for most of her sexual conquests. Drinking merlot almost always meant getting fucked, taken roughly, trying something new.

She put on some music, the Bluetooth speaker above her bed singing to her from her playlist. She sipped her wine, swaying her hips to the music, delighting in the sensation of her thighs squeezing together and catching just the tip of her lips through her panties, tugging gently down on her clitoral hood.

One hand held the glass, the other squeezed her breast. She was her own lover for tonight, the one that would pay attention to all her needs, the one who would help her toward that sweet release. The wine was half gone, and she set it down on the kitchen counter, approaching the door to her closet. She opened the closet door, kneeling gently to put her heels in the empty spot of her shoe rack where they belonged. Tucked to the side of the rack was a hard shelled briefcase that had once belonged to her father. It was black, with a pair of combination locks on the latches. Carrying it to her bed, she laid the suitcase on its side, putting in both combinations. While she wasn’t worried about somebody stumbling on the case, she always took it with her when traveling, and she couldn’t afford to have it accidentally open.

She opened the case, the afternoon light from her window illuminating the contents within. She sipped once more at her wine, contemplating the collection of erotic dildos inside. They weren’t just ordinary dildos-each one was drastically different, meticulously crafted into odd cocks that could only be found in the kinds of fantasy novels hidden away from the public. There were six of them, organized left to right by width, and top to bottom by length.

She trailed her fingers across each one, shivering in anticipation. She needed something special tonight, needed to be paralyzed with pleasure, to shake until she collapsed. She pulled out the Delightful Dragon, nine inches of solid rubber, its head half the size of her fist with large bumps all the way down. 

“You’ve come to take me away to your lair, haven’t you?” she whispered to it, her voice tinted with the odor of wine. Holding it in her arms, she traced all along the head of the cock with her fingers, making circles around the nubs. “But I’m afraid my kingdom doesn’t have any gold with which to repay you. Maybe we can come to an arrangement?”

She kissed the dragon dildo on its narrow tip. “Perhaps a mutually beneficial arrangement.” Her tongue licked at the thick, wide ridge designed to hold the head inside of her. She paused to sip some more at her wine-she hadn’t eaten in hours, and it was going straight to her head. She let the dildo rest between her breasts, savoring the shear heft of its weight against her bosom. It was by far her heaviest.

The playlist had shifted, her music suddenly deeper, more rhythmic. She knelt at the foot of her bed, pushing the giant cock against the hard, wooden frame. She had spent hours sanding this particular spot, making it as smooth as possible for just this very purpose. The large bulge at the base flexed, the suction cup holding tightly against it. Reaching beneath the bed, she slid out her yoga mat, folding it in half.

“Oh, you are a dirty dragon, aren’t you?” she whispered, the wine drawing out her inner self, the Beth who wasn’t afraid. She pulled the clip out of her hair, allowing it to fall free of its imprisonment. The bun vanished, her hair toppling down her back. She turned her back to the dildo, staring in the mirror across from it. Swaying her hips from side to side, she unbuttoned the top of her blouse, revealing the black lace bra underneath. She untucked her shirt, pushing her breasts forward. “Do you like what you see?”

Beth let the beat take her, swaying her hips in time with the music, running her hands across her breasts and down to her hips. She paused long enough to finish her glass, her whole body floating. She opened the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out the bottle of lube.

“You’re so big, Mr. Dragon.” She knelt in front of the rubber cock, spreading her legs wide enough that her pencil skirt ran all the way up her thighs, revealing the creamy skin that separated her black stockings from her panties. Using the lube, she gently stroked along the hard rubber with one hand, her other hand rubbing her labia through the soft, already wet fabric of her underwear. She took just the tip of the dildo in her mouth-she had learned the hard way long ago that the ridges were just a little too big for her, and she had spent several seconds gagging on it as she tried to pull it out. “You’re so thick too. I’m afraid you might split me open.”

Beth stood, facing the mirror as she undid her blouse some more, leaving just the bottom few buttons attached. The woman in the mirror looked like she was caught off guard, her messy hair coupled with her untucked shirt, which she hiked up. Kneeling on the mat, she slid her panties down, pulling only one foot out and leaving them hanging off her left ankle. The mirror was angled just right that she could see her entire body, how her ass became one giant curve when she was bent all the way over. People often made the mistake that she wore the clothes she did to attract the lustful eyes of men and women alike, people who often nodded their approval, or even voiced their disapproval, but there was a fundamental truth underlying her wardrobe selection, one not readily guessed.

She wore these clothes for herself. They made her look and feel sexy, and she loved how slutty they made her look in the mirror.

“Oh god, Mr. Dragon, be gentle.” Beth lowered her torso, her breasts pushing into the ground as she wiggled her ass backward, feeling the tip of the dildo bounce against her juicy ass. She reached back with one hand, expertly aiming just the tip of the cock into her hungry snatch, maneuvering back just a little bit further to keep it from accidentally falling out. She moved her hips in a circle, shivering as the wide edges of the dildo rubbed against her labia. She stared into her own eyes in the mirror, savoring the desperate edge they had taken on. Watching that horny woman swivel her hips made the hunger greater, and she pushed back on the dildo.

“Oh!” The first time the head slid in was her favorite part. It spread her wide, the slight pain quickly dissolving in the warm pleasure to follow. Shuddering, she used one hand to rub her clit, her long fingers exploring the edges of her pussy, feeling how tight the skin was, how far apart she had been spread. The light, fluffy down of her pubes had been trimmed short, the hairs rubbing gently against her skin. “Oh god, Mr. Dragon, please go slow!” She grabbed her own ass, pulling her cheeks apart and pushing herself even farther onto the dildo, crying out as it filled her up, stretching her inner walls to their limit. “Oh, please, not so fast!”

Grunting, Beth forced herself the rest of the way, the dildo too big to be taken all the way. It bent slightly, her ass slamming into the edge of the bed. The woman in the mirror was going feral, her hair tangling in itself as Beth rode the cock in mini thrusts, the large head pushing up against her cervix, making her whole stomach shift.

“OH GOD! FUCK ME MR. DRAGON!” She arched her back, slamming her cunt onto the rubber dick now, her whole world narrowing down until it was just her and the woman in the mirror, the one whose eyes were beginning to roll upward, her breath coming in hot bursts through her open mouth. She collapsed forward, frantically rubbing her pussy with one hand and squeezing her breasts with the other, dragging her nails over the soft fabric, pretending they were barely restrained talons. She could feel his hot breath on her back, the room smelling of smoke and stone, trapped in the dragon’s cave, forced to fuck him to save her people.

She looked up, gazing into the desperate eyes of her innermost self, stars twinkling in her vision as the pressure built, her hungry body begging for more. Her stomach muscles clenched first, tightening down through her ass and then her legs. She wrapped her feet around the leg of her bed, gaining just enough leverage to shove herself onto the Delightful Dragon, cramming every inch she could into herself.

Her fingers squeezed against her labia, feeling the tight rubber as it penetrated her. She let out a long, loud moan as it filled her up, the pressure building to a crescendo. She pushed back with her other hand, desperate to fit as much of it in as she could. 

The fingers on her pussy became pinched between her and the wood on her bed, the Delightful Dragon flexing dangerously inside, pushing out on her lower belly. Beth clamped a hand over her mouth, capturing a scream as she sprayed the floor with cum of her own, two milky bursts of fluid that coated the yoga mat. Beth collapsed, still impaled on the rubber dick, gasping for air.

She lay this way for several minutes, her pussy throbbing with both pleasure and pain. She leaned forward, grunting as she squeezed the cock, delighting in the chills it sent down her spine. When she got to the end, the wide ridges of the head held the dildo in place.

She could have just pulled it out, but she wasn’t finished just yet. Using both hands, she ran her fingers over her pussy, stroking her inner thighs, teasing her clit as a second orgasm built. She craned her neck, watching the desperate woman once more, how her hips shook as the second orgasm built.

“Please, please, please,” she begged, her eyes watering as the large cock head was gripped by her tightening pelvic floor. Warmth flooded her belly once more, and she opened her eyes wide to watch the slut in the mirror as her body lost control.

Just as her orgasm hit, she let out a yelp, pushing back on the cock. Her body filled with fire once more, her orgasm stretching out in duration as her whole lower body lit up in pleasure. Mouth open, gasping for air, she waited until the moment her orgasm was about to end, pulling herself off the Delightful Dragon, the head stretching her lips impossibly wide.

Like lightning, her third orgasm struck, and she collapsed on the floor, running her hands along her hips as she ejaculated again on the yoga mat. It was a trick she had discovered on accident over a year ago, one that didn’t always work. Tonight, however, the need had been great enough that Beth cried softly to herself, running her hands up and down her thighs as the fire left her, the room suddenly growing cold. She stared at the wall, letting her whole body relax, her mind going blank.

Through her window, distant cheers drifted in, the soccer game coming to a close.

-

Beth ate her dinner in silence, sitting at the counter of her kitchen with her Kindle, reading the latest thriller from Dan Brown. She now wore a t-shirt and fleece pajama pants, her hard nipples pushing against the fabric of her shirt. Her apartment was colder than usual, even though she had turned the heat up. Her kitchen sink was full of soapy water-she was soaking her stockings to try and get her cum off of them. On a couple of occasions, she had gotten to wild in her masturbatory escapades and ripped holes in them. There was also the time she had spilled her bottle of lube everywhere-that had taken over an hour to clean off her hardwood floors.

Sighing, she rubbed her lower belly, still a little sore from earlier. It had been her best orgasm in recent memory. Her strange infatuation with monster fantasies had begun as a teen, when she had seen Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The young girl Lucy had been lured to the garden, where a beast-like Dracula fucked her while sucking her blood. It had sparked something in Beth she could never speak of to her friends, or even future lovers. It was something so primal, yet forbidden.

What would people think if they could see her, desperately fucking dildos stuck to her own bed, her clothing in disarray and her hair a tangled mess?

Beth shivered. The thought both terrified and excited her.

Finishing her meal, she checked on her stockings, squeezing the soap out of them. Satisfied that they had survived, she hung them up to dry in her bathroom. The bathroom was still warm from her post-masturbatory shower-she had been in there almost half an hour, the warm water from her shower head soothing against her sore cunt. Fucking the Dragon always left her sore, but the payoff was worth it.

Setting the alarm, she crawled into bed, intending to read for another hour. Lifting the blankets away from the sheets, she caught it out of the corner of her eye, the gap in her bookshelves. The Hobbit lay at an angle, the space Jenny had occupied now empty.

“Oh shit.” Beth checked the gap between her mattress and the headboard. It wouldn’t be the first time she had knocked something loose by banging her bed against the wall. In her mind, she now pictured the doll, its porcelain features shattered. Pulling the mattress away from the headboard revealed the floor underneath, but no sign of the doll. Lying on her stomach, she crawled partway beneath the bed.

Jenny sat patiently on the floor, hidden just behind the yoga mat Beth had rolled up after rinsing it off. Her head slightly tilted, Jenny was facing the mirror.

“What the fuck?” Beth rescued Jenny. How had the doll gotten down there? Staring at the spot on the shelves, her mind turned over the idea that Jenny had fallen under the bed, rolled forward, then had been pushed upright when Beth had stowed away the yoga mat. While not impossible, it was highly implausible.

But it sure beat the hell out of the idea that the doll had moved itself. Beth put Jenny back on the shelf, casting a wary eye upward as she stacked the pillows behind her back. She tapped her way through several chapters before letting out a huge yawn. Sliding beneath her sheets, she rubbed her belly gently with one hand as she dozed off.

-

“You can have an attorney read these over first. I prefer that you would, actually. There isn’t any hurry-now that we have an heir, the clock sort of resets for a bit.” She set the pen on the table. “However, I am just on delivery duty today. I need to get into the office to begin processing some additional documents. Today is Tuesday. I would be happy to drop by on Friday to pick these up, if you have them done. Otherwise, I can just drop by to make certain you are getting settled. That is part of the provisions as well.”

“Um, yeah. Sure. Thank you.” Beth walked toward the front of the house, Mike following behind. She had dropped by with additional paperwork, and had been stunned just how different Mike had seemed. He was still very awkward to be around, and had pretty much rushed her out of the house. Something had happened in the last eighteen hours, she was sure of it. Not only was Mike all gung-ho to keep the place, but there was a strange aura about him, almost like he now had super powers or something. She did find him cute, but not so cute that his scent alone had caused her to soak her panties. Last night had been about defraying that particular issue, but she had caught herself staring at the bulge in his jeans multiple times during their conversation, when she knew he wasn’t looking.

Driving back across town, she walked into the office, greeting Ed at the reception desk. She spent the rest of the day filing papers, getting everything in the estate ready for transfer. However, her mind kept drifting back to Mike, wondering just what had changed. 

It wouldn’t be the first time something weird had happened in the house. Over the last couple of years, she had had to hire many different maids to keep the place clean, several of them getting spooked by random noises and movement in the house. When she was little, she had heard that the place was haunted, but she knew for a fact that somebody had once lived there, someone who had no desire to leave. What happened inside the walls of the old house that could change a man overnight, make him seem taller, stronger, more chiseled?

Beth was embarrassed to realize that her left hand was pushing against the top of her crotch, just under her desk. Taking a deep breath, she tried to finish her work, sending an email to the Society rejecting their offer, and then digging through a couple of extra papers she had received regarding the estate. Frowning, she saw that one of the letters she had received was a Past Due notice that she guessed had bounced from place to place before finally ending up here. Opening it up, she frowned.

“Fuck!” Apparently Emily had rented a storage property, paying on a yearly basis. Six months ago, the rent had come due, and they were threatening to sell the contents. She punched in the number only to get a message from the answering service. Business hours had ended over thirty minutes ago. Hanging up the phone, she made a note to herself and then emailed her boss. She wasn’t sure who had fucked this one up, but she wasn’t going to go down for it if it turned out that the storage unit had been full of valuable items. Distracted, she looked at the clock. She still had almost an hour of work left, but she just couldn’t deal anymore. Between thinking of Mike and this new fuck up, she felt like going home and drinking some wine in the bath. Her mind touched briefly on an image of the Dragon, but she shoved it out of her head. She knew better than to fuck that monster more than once a week.

She put the paperwork in her desk drawer and locked up, trying her best to look nonchalant as she walked out of the office. For all anybody knew, she was headed out to deal with a client. Not that she had many, currently-she had been the object of jealousy in the office when she had taken on Emily’s estate. Due to the sheer enormity of money involved, her boss had wanted it to be made a priority. Beth had always been a top performer, and other than the news of this random storage unit, she had kept everything well taken care of.

“Fuck!” She screamed, pulling onto the highway, the wind blowing through her hair. If she hadn’t been distracted all day, she would have seen the letter sooner, called the owners and figured out how to get them their money. She said a little prayer that everything was still in the storage unit, that there would be no need to track everything down, no need to report that she had messed up. Slamming her palms against the steering wheel in frustration, Beth turned into her parking garage.

Riding the elevator to the top floor in silence, she stormed into her apartment, tossing her bag on the floor and her keys on the counter. Stripping her clothes off, she walked through the apartment naked, turning on the faucet of the tub. As it filled up with hot water, she threw in a bath bomb and poured herself a glass of wine. Stepping into the main room, she stopped when she saw the blank space on the shelf.

A chill ran up her spine. Walking to her bed, she pulled back the covers to reveal that Jenny was somehow buried halfway down in bed.

“I’m not dealing with this today,” she muttered, sticking Jenny back on the shelf. She must have fallen while Beth was making her bed in the morning. She twisted the doll sideways, figuring that if she was tipping forward, that would fix the issue. She plugged in her phone, starting a playlist with soft, relaxing music. Grabbing the whole bottle of wine, she took it with her to the bath. The tub was full now, a pretty pink color due to the oils and color released by the bath bomb. She climbed in, pouring herself a glass of wine and letting out a sigh as the warmth seeped into her skin.

“Fuck,” she muttered to herself, sipping last night’s merlot. The wine warmed her from the inside, and she slid farther into the water, using a rolled towel for her pillow. Warmed inside and out, that familiar light-headedness took over, creeping across her hips and into her groin, her labia swelling larger than normal as a result of the warm bath. Still upset, she crossed her legs slightly, pressing the swollen flesh together. She shifted in the tub, her legs squeezing the skin of her pussy and sending even more blood to the region.

Shifting her thighs across each other, the wine started to take over. The unknown storage unit faded from the front of her mind, but Mike stayed. Sipping some more wine, she pictured Mike just below her, his hands running softly up her legs, squeezing her just above the knees, forcing her legs to rub together even harder.

Beth let her hand run across the skin of her belly, finding the soft folds between her legs. There was no preamble, no desire for prolonged pleasure. She wanted to get off, to feel her body tense up and then release, let her emotions flow away from her like water. She used two fingers, tugging at the skin just above her clit, the sensation of her labia pulled tight sending sparks to her spinal cord. Letting out tiny grunts, she closed her eyes, circling her fingers at an increasing pace, her cheeks and chest flushed with heat. She set down the wine, using her other hand to squeeze her breasts, imagining Mike’s hand in place of hers.

What about him had changed? He looked no different, yet was somehow affixed to her consciousness. In her fantasy, he knelt between her legs, his tongue tickling her inner folds, teasing out another gasp. Her fingers pressed harder, occasionally pinching the skin and letting her clit pop in and out of its hood.  Fantasy Mike traced her vaginal opening with his fingers, always pushing inward just enough that she could feel it, but never enough to penetrate her.

“Ah...ah…ah…” Beth pushed her breast up, closing her eyes and extending her tongue to lick at her nipple. In her mind, it was Mike, teasing her areola with his tongue. He was shirtless now, tight jeans highlighting the beast trapped within. Beth pressed her breast higher, upset that she couldn’t use her own teeth. Her pace increased, her frantic rubbing sending more sparks to her spine, a fire starting to ignite in between her hips.

Mike stood, unbuttoning his jeans. It took him both hands, but he pulled his cock free, an exact replica of the Delightful Dragon.

“I want to fuck you until you beg me to stop,” he told her, and she slid three fingers into herself as her orgasm hit, trying to spread them wide despite her pussy’s protest. Her ass tensed, raising her hips even farther, and she hooked her fingers, her fingertips pressing into her g-spot. Gritting her teeth, she let out a loud hiss, splashing tub water over the sides. Pulling her fingers free, she rubbed her clit again to prolong her orgasm, her body twitching with the waves of pleasure that permeated her body.

“Oh shit,” she muttered, lying back against the bath pillow. Her whole body tingled, the wine making her float across time and space. It wasn’t long before she floated away on clouds of sleep, her music playing softly in the background.

-

It was dark when she awoke. The light in the bathroom was off, the only light being the reflected blue glow of her alarm clock, casting just enough light that she could make out the edges of the doorway. She rubbed her eyes, realizing that she had fallen asleep. What time was it, she wondered, moving her legs back and forth. The water had gone cold, and she was tempted to run more water, warming herself up before she departed.

Footsteps, clear as a bell, echoed through her apartment and into the bathroom. She froze, afraid to look at the door, her heart suddenly loud in her chest. Surely she was dreaming, or hearing something else?

The steps approached the door to the bathroom, stopping just outside. There was no mistaking the sound-the board just outside the bathroom creaked slightly. Suddenly, the cold water of the tub no longer mattered, Beth’s entire world caving in as her mind turned over what was going to happen next. If someone was really just outside her bathroom, how could she get out of the tub without them knowing?

Oh god, she thought. Had her intruder been watching her, waiting for her to wake? What then was the plan for when Beth finally emerged? Was she going to die? Was she going to be raped?

Her eyes flitted around the room, her heart a tiny frightened bird, ready to escape its cage. She needed a weapon, something she could use. She was too vulnerable here, an easy target. She spotted the handle of her loofah, just over a foot long with the scrub-brush on the end. It was better than nothing.

If she could get to the kitchen, she could grab one of the knives. She slid out of the water carefully, moving slowly to avoid splashing. She picked up the loofah, her eyes on the doorway in case her intruder rushed in. Drying her feet on the bathmat, she stepped across the bathroom, looking in the mirror to see if she could spot movement in her bedroom. 

The pitter patter of tiny feet sent a chill up her back. She let out a laugh, holding her head in her hands. The quiet footsteps ran across her apartment again, and she tried to picture the tiny animal that had gotten into her apartment. She had never had a rat problem, but she imagined it would sound just like this. Putting on a towel, she stepped into the darkness.

Still, she was cautious. Moving through her apartment, she found her phone. Flipping through her menus, she activated the light and immediately dropped the loofah.

Her apartment had been ransacked. The blankets on her bed were all over the floor, her clothes had been tossed out of the closet. Every cabinet and drawer in her apartment was open, and somebody had pulled all of the food from her pantry, stacking it all the way to the ceiling. The entire world tilted beneath her feet, the tremors starting in her hands.

She wasn’t alone. Spinning, she held the loofah high, searching for the intruder. The only place he could be hiding was under the bed or in the closet-there wasn’t room anywhere else. Backing into the kitchen, she dropped the loofah and pulled a butcher knife from her block.

Scanning the room, she backed up to the front door of her apartment. She needed to get out, now. Her hand fumbling at the locks, she pushed the door open, backing out into the dark hallway and closing the door. She waited, knife pointed at the door, expecting her attacker to chase after her.

When nothing happened, she turned around to run for the elevator, freezing in place.

She was back in her apartment, facing into her darkened bedroom. Stunned, she looked back at the door, confirming that she was, in fact, still inside.

Heart pounding, she made a dash for the door, opening it and running through and to the other side. She nearly slipped on the cold tile of her kitchen as she ended up back in her apartment again.

“What the fuck?!?” Her words left her mouth in a fog, the air suddenly much colder than it had just been. This was a dream, it had to be. There was no way this could be happening.

As if the room read her thoughts, all of the books on her bookshelves threw themselves onto the floor, one at a time. Eyes wide, she fell against the front door, watching as the books formed a tiny pile around her bed. A small shadow crossed the floor, vanishing beneath the bed. 

“Hello?” She felt ridiculous, but she knew if she was dreaming, she had to confront it. It would either scare the shit out of her, or she would wake up in the tub. Crawling toward the bed, knife ready, she crouched down, ready to attack.

The tiny shadow launched from beneath the bed, shooting between her legs. Yelping in terror, Beth fell backwards, crashing into the chairs at the counter and dropping the knife. Scrambling to her feet, she stared in horror as the cabinets all opened and slammed shut, spilling their contents everywhere. She couldn’t leave through the front door, that much she knew. Running for the safety of the bathroom, she slammed the door shut behind her, gasping for breath.

The temperature dropped, her breath scattering in fog. She was freezing, with nowhere else to go. She messed with her phone, trying to call the cops, but there was no signal. She turned the tub on, letting the hot water warm the freezing air. Sitting on her toilet, the knife pointed at the door, she heard a squeaking sound over her shoulder.

The mirror had fogged over, and the letters appeared as if being written by an unseen hand.

TAKE ME HOME

Beth screamed, opening up the door of the bathroom to run away. Standing just outside the door was Jenny, hands on her hips. Backpedaling, Beth slipped on the moist floor of her bathroom, her head smacking into the edge of the tub. Everything from her shoulders up cried out in agony as she tried to rise, but the last thing she saw was the tiny figure of Jenny standing on her stomach.

-

Mike ran down the stairs, pulling his shirt over his head.

“Tink!” He hollered. The goblin poked her head out of the kitchen, a screwdriver in her hand. She wore a cute yellow shirt that she had modified into a tiny dress that came down to mid-thigh.  

“No yell. Tink listen.” She stepped into the room with him.

“You didn’t order pizza again, did you?” The bell rang again, somehow sounding impatient.

“No magic screen without permission,” she repeated, rolling her eyes dramatically.

“Then who could it be?” Mike pushed the curtain aside. “Oh. It’s Beth.” He moved to open the front door, pausing when he realized that Tink was still watching him. “Scram.”

Tink rolled her eyes again, wandering back into the kitchen. Shaking his head, Mike opened the door. Beth stood on the front porch, wearing a red dress with a thick, black belt in the middle. She cocked her head and smiled, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

“Hi Mike.” Mike stepped back to allow her entry when he was struck by a sudden cold sensation in the middle of his gut. Peering out into the yard, he didn’t see either of the Society bitches lurking around. What was this strange sensation?

“Hey Beth, what brings you by?” He asked.

“I’m just checking on the place. Taking a peek. Just a looky-loo.” Beth walked past him, peering into the living room. She moved to the mantle, pulling something out of her purse. “I did some soul searching since last we spoke. I believe that a mistake was made.”

Mike gulped when he saw the creepy doll emerge from her purse. She pushed it onto the mantle, positioning its legs so that it sat up correctly.

“Um, well, okay.” What the fuck could he even say? “Is everything all right?”

Beth ignored him, her attention solely on the doll.

“Um, Beth? Hello?” He approached her from behind, the feeling in his gut growing greater. “Are you okay?” He noticed a large bump on the back of her head.

“I’ve never been better,” Beth informed him, her voice suddenly overlaid with another. “I had to wait many months to escape, to come to this place of rest. I watched the door every day, hoping to finally make your acquaintance. I wanted to start fresh, to be a part of you. And the first thing you did was give me away.”

An invisible force threw Mike across the room, where he crashed into the shelves. Scrambling to his feet, he dove out of the way as the cloth covered couch attempted to crash into him.

“Wait. Wait!” Mike stood up, his back aching. “Nobody told me about the monsters, I didn’t know!”

“It doesn’t matter now. Or maybe it never did. Because I found something better to inhabit.” Beth turned to face him, pulling the glasses away to reveal pitch black eyes. “Much better than a stuffy, old doll.”

“Oh shit,” Mike swore. “Beth, are you in there?”

“It’s not Beth anymore. Beth has left town, flown the coop, alley-oop!” Beth did a little dance with her arms, pointing to the doll on the mantle. “But I have given her back to you, for there she sleeps. No eeps, no peeps!”

“Who are you?” Mike asked, but Tink, hearing the commotion, stepped into the living room.

“You.” Beth said upon seeing Tink, her eyes narrowing.  She let out a cry, the furniture between her and Tink throwing itself aside.

“Run!” Tink yelled, grabbing Mike by the hand. A coffee table lifted itself into the air, just narrowly missing Mike, crashing into the floor where he had been standing. Tink led him out the front door, where Cecilia now stood.

“What is happening?” Cecilia asked, her face a mask of concern.

“Jenny,” Tink informed her, as if that explanation sufficed.

Cecilia uttered a string of words in another language, harsh words that still sounded beautiful. “Is she still in the doll?”

Tink shook her head. “She has body now.”

“Fuck.” Cecilia started to say something to Mike, but the front door opened, Beth standing in the entryway. Her tightly kempt hair drifted as if caught in a breeze. Mike froze in place, unsure where to go. The evil grin on Beth’s face sent a chill down his spine, her fingers hooked like claws, moving toward Mike.

Cecilia let out a shriek. Mike and Tink covered their ears, but Beth fled back into the house, crying out in pain with her hands on the side of her head.

“What the actual fuck is going on?” Mike asked.

“This place isn’t built only to keep the outside world out,” Cecilia told him. “It’s also built to keep some of us in.”

“Wait, there are bad monsters here?”

“It would seem. Jenny’s presence is most disturbing, but she always had an aptitude for escaping. It has been decades since she last inhabited a human body, so she is very sensitive to the five senses.” Cecilia frowned. “And now she’s loose inside.”

“Wait, if she wanted to escape, why come back at all?” Mike asked.

“Because she is tied to this place. She will always come back.” Mike heard a heavy thud behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see that Abella had arrived.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Jenny,” Tink and Cecilia said at the same time.

“Fuck.” Abella replied. “Is she wearing a skin suit?”

Tink and Cecilia nodded.

“Okay, well first things first. Get her outside, and I can take care of her body.”

“Wait, please, stop!” Mike put up his hands. “What is Jenny, exactly? What kind of monster?”

The others looked at each other, than at him.

“She’s a ghost,” Abella replied. “A very angry, nasty ghost. She was put in the doll a long time ago by…” Abella blanked, staring into the distance for several seconds. “Anyway, the hope was that someday she would fit in, but it never happened. As time marched on, she got meaner and meaner. One of the previous caretakers locked her in the Vault, after she escaped last time.”

“The Vault? What the fuck is the Vault?” Mike asked.

“Vault for bad things. No go in Vault,” Tink informed him.

“That… fine, we’ll discuss later. She’s inside of Beth right now, and she said something about Beth being inside the doll instead.”

“That’s the gist of it,” Abella informed him. “It isn’t easy, but if the conditions are right, Jenny can possess a body. The only way to get her to go back is to kill the host. She doesn’t want to move on, so she will swap back at the last second.”

“Absolutely not!” Mike yelled, horrified. “We don’t just kill people! Especially not people we know!”

Abella shrugged. “It’s what we did last time.”

Mike looked at Cecilia. “You can’t just pull her out?”

Cecilia shook her head. “No more than I could pull you out of your body. Once Jenny is knocked loose from her host body, she will go back into the doll. I can’t remove her from there either, I’ve tried. Our best option is to trap her back in the doll and then put her in back in the Vault.”

Furniture crashed inside, and all four of them turned to look.

“If we can get her out back in the garden, Naia may be able to help,” Abella offered. “She has magic, right?”

“Sounds like we have a job to do,” Mike muttered. “How do we get her outside?”

“She’s overtly sensitive. She isn’t used to a human body anymore. You saw what happened when she heard me scream. Bright lights, loud noises, anything that can get her out.” Cecilia looked at Abella. “If you watch from up above, you can tackle her when she comes out.”

“I’m on it.” Wings spread wide, Abella leapt upward, disappearing onto the roof.

“I can help with sound, but you’re going to need to find some way to make noise on your own, or blind her with a light.”

“Ok, let’s do this.” Mike opened the door again, stepping into the front room.  Tink and Cecilia followed behind him. Already, they could see that the furniture in the front and side rooms had been toppled everywhere.

“Do you think we should split up?” Mike asked.

“Absolutely not,” Cecilia declared. “Unless you want to end up dead.”

“Why would she want to kill me?” Mike asked.

“You obviously did something to hurt her feelings. Emily tried to let her out of the Vault once, but she trashed the room she was in because the curtains got left closed.” Cecilia said. “She also likes to try and possess you if you sleep. If she can knock you out, she may take off in your body.”

“Too bad I left my helmet in my other house with my other monsters,” Mike muttered. The front room had been torn apart, all except for the doll on the shelf. Its sad eyes looked into Mike’s when he picked it up. Staring at the creepy little doll in its dress, Mike wondered if it was wearing any underwear.

“Bring that with us,” Cecilia said, her body hovering over the mess. “The last thing we want is for her to hide it away in case she does go back.”

“So where exactly is this Vault?” Mike asked. He moved carefully into the kitchen. Seeing that it was empty, he grabbed his cellphone and pulled a flashlight out of the junk drawer.

“Basement,” Tink said, taking the flashlight. “Tink go there all time. Make sure stay locked.”

“What else-never mind. I’ll ask later.” Mike wondered what else would be stored away in the Vault. Was Jenny just one of many dolls? Were there giant cages, lining the walls of the Vault, filled with every manner of bad monster?

A loud bang from upstairs pulled their attention. Tink ran ahead of Mike, hopping up the stairs as best she could. Mike actually picked her up for the last few steps-she was short enough that it was faster for them both if he did. Cecilia hovered up the main entryway, her feet not quite touching the ground. All of the bedroom doors were still closed, but an icy draft made Mike turn his head.

“This one,” he said, grabbing the doorknob. It was icy to the touch. Pushing gently inward, he found himself looking at the blue room, the one that Beth had said his dad probably stayed in. It was an odd thought, so suddenly, but had his dad stayed here? If so, had the monsters remained hidden, or did he simply forget?

The room looked untouched, but the closet door was open, an icy wind emanating from it. Moving close, he opened up a strobe light app on his phone. Stepping wide to avoid a sudden assault, his jaw dropped.

“What the fuck is this?!?” Instead of an empty shelf with a bar for clothing, Mike was staring into a cave. “There is no fucking way that there’s a cave here! This is an outside wall!”

“It make head hurt,” Tink agreed. “But hurt head change nothing. We go. Me see just fine.”

“I’ll wait out here,” Cecilia told him. “In case she tries to come back out. Be careful.”

“But…I…” Tink grabbed a handful of Mike’s pants and pulled him into the closet. He ducked his head to avoid the hard rock up above, marveling at how cold the cave was. “Did you know about this Tink?”

“Tink know. House have secrets. Make no sense, but Tink accept.” She slid her goggles over her eyes. “Tink see prints.”

“I’m glad one of use sees something.” Mike was busy looking at the random doodles on the cave walls. Some of them looked ancient, animals being hunted by men with spears, drawn with charcoal. Others were the doodle of children, done in crayon and chalk. “Where the fuck are we?”

Tink shook her head. “Less think, more walk. Secret tunnels, go through house. This one go…” Tink’s eyes went wide. “Hurry, quick!”

“Wait, why?” Mike ran after the goblin, his head bent at an angle. It was hard seeing up ahead, Tink now using her goggles to see, her flashlight waving everywhere. He chased her down the tunnel, the dark shadows dancing away from them as they stepped out into an opening.

Mike stared in awe. The ceiling was now hundreds of feet high, giant, glowing crystals embedded in its surface. In the distance, a large water fall fed into a river that disappeared into a large stone structure composed of tall, stony walls and large hedges. They stood on a ledge, the trail winding back and forth beneath them. Several levels down, Beth was stumbling across the rocks, struggling to keep her balance.

“Is that…” Mike was afraid to say it.

“Yes,” Tink said, adjusting her goggles. “That’s the Labyrinth.” Mike’s eyes traced the bottom of the trail. Beth was most of the way down, the loose gravel becoming a paved path that lead toward a large pair of iron gates. Between the rocky trail and the Labyrinth was a giant viewing pool. Tink pointed at the pool. “Shortcut for get out. We stop Jenny before Labyrinth, or lost forever.”

“Where does the pool go?” Mike said, looking over the ledge. How could a pool be a shortcut? How could a cave be in his house? 

Tink was right. Thinking about it hurt his head.

“Outside,” Tink replied, already running down the slope. “But not sure where!” She was picking up speed, her tail swishing behind her as she ran. Mike was close behind, then passing the goblin. The ledges were steep, and it took Mike quite a bit of effort to keep from slipping and falling. Looking down the slope, he saw that Beth was still much too far ahead to catch up to.

“Fuck it,” he swore, stepping off the beaten path onto a worn patch of stone. The switchbacks were close enough together that the fall was just over five feet, but he was able to land safely, his knees creaking in protest. He ran to the next spot where he could drop down safely, cutting the distance between them dramatically.

Beth never bothered looking back. She appeared disoriented, stumbling constantly. Mike was close enough now that she could hear him. She scowled, and broke into a limping run down the final ramp and toward the path that led into the Labyrinth.

Mike howled, his adrenaline peaking, throwing himself off the next ledge. The fall was farther this time, but he landed and rolled forward, quickly finding his feet. The idea of Beth dying was simply too much for him. It was his fault if it happened, his fault…

It was all your fault! His mother’s voice screamed in his ear. Sprinting now, Mike closed the distance between them, the large iron gates of the Labyrinth opening with a loud creak, an ominous figure standing just inside, holding a large axe. His outstretched fingers closed on the hem of Beth’s dress, and he pulled her backward, tightly against him, pulling her into the pool of water.

“No!” Beth screamed, her voice harmonizing with Jenny’s. The cool water embraced them, the world spinning as gravity changed directions. Mike felt his ears pop, his body filling with unexpected pressure. Beth fought him, trying to shove him off, and they burst out of the downstairs closet, water spilling across the wooden floor. Mike stumbled to his feet, his inner ear throwing a tantrum. Beth was sprawled out, barely able to get on her hands and knees.

“Look, I’m sorry I gave you away. If I had known I would have-“

“What, let me stay? Let me sit on the shelf? Talked to me when I’m lonely, played with me when I’m bored, made me feel like I matter?” Beth dry-heaved, slipping and falling. Mike shook his head.

“It could still happen that way.” He pulled the doll out of his pocket. “But I’m going to need you to leave Beth alone.”

“Fat fucking chance,” she hissed, dark eyes squinting. The coat rack by the door flung itself at his legs, tripping Mike up and knocking him to the ground. Beth crawled on top of him, wrapping her fingers tightly around his neck. “I’ll make you pay. I’ll make everybody pay.”

Gurgling water noises filled the room, like a washer machine draining. Beth and Mike looked over at the closet, which opened up, dumping a hundred gallons of water in the front room. Spilling through the doorway, green limbs flying everywhere, Tink collided with Beth, knocking her off of Mike. Fighting to rise, Beth clawed at Tink’s face, but Tink was having none of it. She lifted Beth’s head off the ground and head-butted her, knocking her out.

“Fucking ghost girl ruins everything,” she snarled, climbing off of Beth. Her hair was a wet mess, her dress torn in several places. Mike realized that her goggles were missing.

“Tink, what happened to your goggles?”

“STUPID COW FUCK TOOK TINK’S GOGGLES!” Roaring at the top of her lungs, green skin flush with anger, Tink stormed to the closet door, slamming it shut. “When Mike done with Jenny, we go get goggles back!”

Mike shook his head, rubbing his eyes. The shadowy figure just beyond the gates sprang into his mind, weapon drawn, a shadow that had filled him with dread. In his mind’s eye, he could see the dangerous horns tucked just to the side of the browline, see the tail, the thickset legs…

“Wait, a fucking minotaur took your goggles?” Mike cried. Tink nodded, large tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “Tink, a fucking minotaur lives in the walls?”

“Cow fuck live in Labyrinth with other fucks!” Tink sniffed once, twice, then let out a wail. “Tink wants goggles back!”

“Tink, I…” Mike didn’t know what to say. She was melting down, her rough exterior suddenly cracked. How could he tell her that he didn’t think messing with a minotaur was worth it? What did that even entail?  Beth groaned, putting a hand to her head. “We need to take care of this situation first. We will figure out the goggles later.” Kneeling, he pulled Tink toward him, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Goblin husband promise?” she asked, sniffling. When Mike nodded, Tink wiped the tears from her eyes, her composure back again. “Then Tink help.”

Between the two of them, it was easy to drag Beth out back to Naia’s fountain. Cecilia, having heard the noise downstairs, floated through the ceiling to open the back door. Abella picked up Beth, holding her like a child until she began to stir. Standing next to the fountain, Abella wrapped her arms tightly around Beth’s waist, ensuring that she couldn’t escape. Naia sat on the fountain’s edge, her chin on her hand in contemplation.

“Abella explained everything to me,” she informed Mike. “And we need to come up with a plan before she wakes up. From what I remember, last time Jenny took a human host, the host was killed to keep her from causing more problems. The time before that, it took an exorcism with a priest, who then came back later to try and wipe us out.”

“Shit,” Mike muttered. Jenny really had caused problems. “Who is she?”

“A ghost. An old ghost.” Naia stood on the water’s surface. “Once upon a time, she was a young woman who caught the eye of a widower in town who was quite wealthy and handsome. Jealous of the attention she received from him, some of the women accused her of witchcraft, of killing the man’s wife and seducing him with the dark arts. They burned her at the stake, and her soul got caught in the doll that a little girl was holding. Her vessel has changed a few times since then, but she refuses to move on.” Naia shook her head. “And all she ever does is cause us trouble.”

“So we can’t get a priest,” Mike said. “And we are not going to kill her. So what can we do?”

“Hmm.” Cecilia stared at Beth’s body. “Upon termination, her soul should immediately flee her body, yet it ended up in the doll and the host died. Yet I get the impression that Beth’s soul sleeps in the doll.”

“And?” Naia asked.

“It’s on the tip of my tongue.” Cecilia shrugged.

“Wait!” Mike held out his hands. “Jenny died in a fire, but her soul jumped out of her body before it died, right?”

“Probably,” Cecilia told him.

“Which means she jumps out before death. So we just need Jenny to think that her body is going to die.”

“And how do we do that?” Abella asked.

“Strangle her.” Tink’s hands clenched. “Squeeze for almost too long.”

“No, not that either.” Mike grinned, staring at Naia. “I think I have an idea.”