Chapter Text
Miami, Florida
"I swear, kid, you get seized more and more every day..." Officer Samson sighed as he bit down on the donut in his hand.
The rain pattered onto the window, and clouds blanketed the usually bright sun, creating humid air that made my hair cling to my forehead.
I should have been more cautious, really. It was a sloppy job, I know! But I wasn't in the mood today...my mind had been playing mind tricks with me the whole week!
"You doing okay back there?" Samson asked, but I didn't pay him any mind.
I observed as the palm trees passed us, or as we passed the palm trees...I couldn't think straight.
Stealing from a 7-11 was quite literally the most effortless grab of anyone's life! The chips weren't exactly maintained under close eye either. Neither was the back alley of Big John's Pizzaeria, which was where I did most of my tagging work.
Yet, I still got caught. I almost wanted to punch myself!
But, I couldn't blame myself for it...It'd be easier to blame the blue-skinned mermaid girl in the corner of my eye.
It was like she came out of a fairytale book...like the ones my little cousins would read when I visited.
Perhaps I should cut back on those visits...it was obvious being in the same room as them was no good for my mental stability.
Or maybe it was the fact that I've been getting a lazy amount of sleep lately...but that wasn't my fault either! My dreams are out to get me, I swear...none of them are ever normal.
Just last night I had a dream about some kid in a goat mask..and despite the fact I couldn't see his eyes, I could feel him staring straight at me.
I shivered at the thought of it.
"You know what you're gonna say to your mom yet?"
Crap. Somehow, that had slipped my mind.
Officer Samson had been the main officer who would catch me when I did these...activities.
He was there so much that he eventually got acquainted with my mother.
"One day...I hope you will be able to make better choices, Jamie." My mother would tell me. Just thinking about it almost made my heart sink.
What's another offense anyway? I did it enough...and surely she knew I couldn't help myself.
In all reality, my mother was quite a welcoming person. She did all those typical motherly things like baking, sewing, and bringing birthday decorations to school on my birthday.
It was only when we passed by Big John's Pizzaeria that I recalled a certain memory of her...it was a pretty great day for me, September 22, my birthday.
My mother had ordered a whole 4 boxes of cheese and pepperoni pizza for my class. She even bought party favors and hats from this niche store, and sang to me in front of all my classmates.
Maybe that should have caused me a bit of anxiety...though, to 7-year-old me, being in the center of it all was pretty great.
I never did get to ask where she got those supplies from...I had never seen the bags or receipts for any of it. Maybe she was like me...but that was a stretch.
I sighed dramatically and turned to look at Officer Samson, who was biting into his donut. A bit stereotypical if you asked me, but I couldn't be the one to say anything.
I felt my body move around as we turned the corner, signaling to me that we were about 4 blocks away from my house.
"Okay, we are almost there-"
A loud screech pierced through the air, making me flinch and look out the window.
People on the streets screamed, running away in fear and panic, dropping their umbrellas and bags so they could save themselves.
In the very center was a big figure. One that I couldn't describe...but to me, it kinda looked like a bear.
"A bear?" Samson gawked. The sight of a bear in the middle of Miami...it was almost impossible to think of.
But as I got a clearer look at the being...I soon realized that the truth was even more outlandish than a bear.
The bear slowly started to look like a beast. A sort of beast that would appear in an action movie.
It had black fur and two big horns on the sides of its head. Its eyes were beady and its snout was long. It almost looked like a boar, but if it had escaped an animal testing site created by mad scientists.
With an agitated shake, the beast roared, its saliva spraying onto the nearby street lamps and benches.
"Holy hell..." Samson gasped, desperately fumbling for his walkie-talkie, "This is Officer Samson, we have a...unidentified beast on 56th street...backup needed."
The walkie-talkie crackled, "Roger that." A voice said.
Suddenly, I could hear police sirens coming from all directions. A whole unit had been dispatched.
"I need you to stay here, kay?" Samson sputtered out. He rushed out of the car with his gun and shut the door closed before I could protest.
Not like I could have done anything.
Through the front window, I could see Samson inch toward the beast, his gun in his hand.
"This is the MPD!!!" He yelled, "Hands where I can see them!!!"
The beast didn't like that. It screeched and bellowed, the concrete quivering beneath it.
Soon enough, five police cars raced down the street before breaking. Police officers got out, using the car door as a shield. Their guns were trained on the thing like it was target practice.
The officers would occasionally talk into the mics before focusing back on the agitated monster in front of them, I could almost see the sweat trickling down their faces.
I shakily breathed, the soundproof glass making it close to impossible to hear what was going on.
I wasn't sure if I was relieved that everyone else could see it or not.
Because everyone seeing it meant it wasn't in my head...but it also meant that it was real.
It all felt a little too real.
The sky thundered, adding to the ambience of the situation. Almost as if the universe itself was telling us we were screwed.
My fingers fumbled with my handcuffs, my throat felt dry as hell, but I knew that if I stayed here a second longer, I would either pass out from shock or pass out due to a beating from a certain monster.
My fingernails dug into the keyhole, turning it to a degree that made my wrists sore. I hoped this would work, or all those nights sharpening my nails into shape would be for nothing.
With a click, I could feel the handcuffs slide off, and a sense of relief hit me.
Still panicked, I swerved my head to look at the fight.
What I was looking at, however...was even more confusing than the beast itself.
The boarish monster roared as it dissipated into the air...its body turning to a mist-like substance. After all the stress and fear it had caused us, it just floated away into the air.
The officers stood dumbfounded, Samson staring at the sky with confusion and shock.
"Um..." He muttered.
"What the..." I mumbled, pressing my face against the glass to get a better look.
The beast had vanished into thin air...as if every last molecule turned to gas. I would have compared it to that cycle thingy we learned in class if I wasn't pissing my pants.
Shakily, Samson spoke into his walkie-talkie. It was muffled to me, but he seemed caught up in it. After a few seconds, he walked back over and got into the driver's seat.
The drive to my house was silent. Samson didn't even take a bite out of his pink donut; he just drove in silence, his eyes wide.
I couldn't think after that either...my mind went blank. Every time I tried to think of something else, it always spun back to one thing.
That beast.
Soon, I found myself in front of my front door. Almost like teleportation, but for mental people.
My house was just on the outskirts of the city, a small, rural-style house that overlooked the tall buildings of downtown.
Samson knocked on the door, standing next to me with a clouded look in his eye. It had been the most distracted I'd ever seen him.
After a few moments, the door swung open to reveal a tall, messy, brown-haired woman with an apron on.
"Ms Calla..." Samson greeted shakily, before looking at me. "..Um...the MPD still has a lot of work to do...don't go telling anyone just yet."
My mother started at him, looking between me and the officer, until eventually resting them on me.
"Get in." My mother finally said, not even bothering with her usual conversation with Mr Samson, not even letting him get a chance to explain what had just happened to her son.
But not even my mother's scolding would be able to get my mind off that terrible sight back on 56th Street.