I focus on Nate and just hope this is all a horrible nightmare. I mean, it’s possible. Maybe I’m still sleeping, and in a moment he’ll wake me, and the sun will be shining. But I always believed the truth would set a person free. Sadly it all makes sense. The weird bleeding. His night vision and the hearing. I could have sworn strength was a werewolf thing, but that must have been my wishful thinking coming out.

Not unlike that of a raging fire. It’s like a living fire is staring back at me. Then I notice the veins darkening more and more as the seconds pass. The veins aren’t enlarged or anything of the sort; they just lie there like normal veins. I look for the monster that I'm supposed to be observing, and yet Nate is all I see.

“You know,” he pauses to lick his lips, “don’t cha.”

“Well, I’d hope so, or I might be a little dimwitted.” He doesn’t laugh but instead leans down until our noses are nearly touching. I’m suddenly aware that four creatures are standing behind us, waiting for him to devour me. Yet I’m not afraid of this man who has gone out of his way to make me as comfortable as one can be in our situation and survive. Even when the easy option would be to leave me, and I refuse to doubt him now.

He looks at me, and his mouth gapes open and closes as if he can’t find the words. He moves even closer and rests his forehead against mine and lets out a heave of relief, and if not for his hands resting by my head, I have no doubt he’d rest his whole weight against me. As though he doesn’t weigh a ton of bricks. This man is completely out of his mind. Eventually, he moves his head to my shoulder, and I peak at the other Bobbies and see them twitching and fidgeting.

“Hey, Witchy, did you know?” His voice is right by my ear but any softer, and I would have missed his words. “Bobbies are easily killed with fire.” I tightly fist my hand and think of all the trouble they’ve made for us. Attacking Nate. Laughing as though the whole thing was a joke to them. That cut I had seen was deep, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say it was bone-deep.

I look at them and feel a heat spreading from my chest to my fingertips. Without lifting a finger, the girl who once held me back is enlightened in flames. She screams high pitched and tries in vain to pat herself down.

She starts to roll on the ground as chunks of flesh begin to melt off and sags to the ground. After some time, she quiets, and there are no more movements. Their spokesperson looks up, and his face is scrunched up and the same eyes that Nate sports look back at me. But these are cold as glaciers. I see death staring me in the face.

His mouth drops, and sharp fangs are seen as his mouth extends far past humanly possible. He runs at us-me-but Nate swiftly meets him, and they go rolling. They each get several hits, and cracks feel the air. For a moment, I fear for Nate when the Bobby sinks his fangs on his shoulder and refuses to let go. Nate brings his elbow up and keeps jabbing him in the face until he releases his hold.

“Hey Witchy,” Nate stands and puts his foot to the other’s throat and leans down. “The next best method to killing a Bobby is chopping their head off. Honesty is my preferred method. Nothin’ else gets the job done right.” With a quick jerk of his muscles, Nate slams his foot onto his throat over and over again. I crave to look away from the violence and the blood slowly pouring out onto the wood.

Something in me keeps my eyes held onto his figure. There’s a large deep imprint of Nate’s shoe hacked into the man’s throat. He could have done this to me, easily ten times over, but he didn’t. Perhaps Bobbies get lonely too. I should be worried about the fact that this man eats the flesh of the living, but for now, I’ll put that into a pile of things to panic over once we’re no longer in danger.

With one more slam of his foot, the man’s throat completely detaches from his abdomen. The cut isn’t clean by any means. There are blood splatters everywhere, and I can see little pieces of what looks to be bones, but I cannot be positive. Not only are there broken into tiny small pieces, but they are black.

“Woulda mind doin’ the honors doll?” Nate rolls his shoulders as his head lulls in my direction.

“Yeah, that one’s not going to stick.”

“Aww, but that one hit a special spot in my heart.”

“Sure, it did.” I deadpan and roll my eyes but slightly raise my hands as I set the Bobby’s body on fire. I nearly shriek as I jump at the piercing screams that leave his lips. “What the fuck Nate, I thought he was dead.”

“Well, sometimes it just takes a little extra time. Specially if the Rot hasn’t set in yet.” I quirk an eyebrow, but he quickly waves a hand. “I’ll explain later.” One of the others decides to leap at Nate while his back is to them. I move and thrust my hand up, bypassing Nate entirely and meet the Bobby’s head. The second I touch his skin, charred bits fill the air as he becomes ash bit by bit.

“Coward.” I spit on his corpse and eyeball the only one left, but they seem to have some brains and cower away in a corner.

“Hmm, that was new.”

“For you.”

“Huh, you’re not gonna pass out or nothin, right?”

“Not at the moment, but once the adrenaline wears off, I make no such promises.”

“Such a troublesome Witchy.” He sighs and kicks the head still under his feet away as he walks my way.

“Well, you’re bloodthirsty.”

“I’m a Bobby. What’s your excuse?”

“So you admit it?” I meet him halfway and tilt my head up to meet his eyes. He couldn’t have been a little shorter?

“If I am?”

“Are you gonna take a bite out of me?”

“Nah.”

“Kill me in my sleep?”

“No.” He narrows his eyes at me

“Hmm, safe me for rations?”

“Witchy,” he growls.

“So is that a you thing or a Bobby thing?”

“What?”

“That growling nonsense.”

“I don’t growl.” His mouth quirks slightly before being pressed into a straight line. Ha, he is so aware of it. I lean my head on his chest and feel as he moves with each breath. His hand comes up and rests on my head before he runs his fingers down and twirls his finger around a strand. “We should really do somethin’ bout your hair.”

“We could cut it.”

“Nah, besides, doesn’t that mean somethin’ to y’all.”

“Yeah, it does.” My voice is soft as I pick my head off his chest and look around us.

“We’ll figure somethin’ out then.” Nate sounds confident as though nothing else will go wrong.

“That’s all good, but do we just leave this mess here?”

“We could. Not like someone’s gonna come lookin’ for them.” He smirks and gets a glint in his eyes. Oh, Spirits, this cannot be good. But I narrow eyes as I fold my arms and rock my hips to the right.

“Don’t worry too much, Nessa, it’ll be fun.” He pulls me by the wrist and throws his arm over my shoulder as we walk out the front door

“Nessa?”

“Keep tryin’?”

“No, I think I like it.” I glance up and see his face, still splattered with blood, looking down at me.

“Nessa, it is then.”

I’m pulling on Nate’s shirt as he drags his feet. The duffle hangs across his back, and I thank all the High Spirits that everything was left intact.

“Shit. Well, that thing was totally wrecked.”

“Told you.”

“Don’t need to rub salt in my wound Nessa.”

“But if I don’t, whoever will.” I throw him an innocent look, and he lets out a bark of laughter. We stop as the house comes back into view.

“You ready for this?”

“Yeah, I think I got the hang of it now. Are you sure there is a point in doing this?” I look at my palm as a small ball of fire comes to life.

“It’s worth a shot.” He gives me a side look, “But if you think you can’t do it, that’s fine.” He starts to back up a little before I’m upon him.

“Look here, mister, I’ve had a rough morning. You do not get to drag me all the way back if only to walk away again.” I poke at his chest with each word. I stalk towards the house and hear another bark of laughter. I hold my hands together and then, with all my strength, throw the ball of fire straight into a window. The flames quickly spread, and the house becomes engulfed.

“Come on, we should get goin’,” I start to walk away as he tugs on my hand and pulls me away from the destruction I’ve caused, “Specially if we don’t wanna get caught.”

“Yeah, yeah, well lead the way mister I-know-where-I’m-going.”

“Hey, don’t go puttin’ words in my mouth.” Ahead I see the sun starting to peek over the horizon. I’ve never had the opportunity to just enjoy the sight. I tip my head back and soak up some of the golden rays. Perhaps life with Nate will start to get better. “Nessa, are you listenin’?” He squeezes my hand and draws me closer to him. But I’m probably just wishing for a miracle.