Chapter Text
It was way to late for Estelle to stay out with her friends, but she didn't care. Her mother had asked her to write her a text once a while so she knew Estelle was OK, and as long as she did that, she knew Sally wouldn't be angry that she stayed late over at Jenny's.
They had stayed awake long after the movie was over, and Lenna didn't want them to leave Jenny's house until it was almost midnight. The real problem was going back home, because as much as Estelle loved New York, it wasn't a place for two fourteen years old girls in the middle of the night. And honestly, she wasn't going to ask from her mother to come and pick her up.
"Maybe your parents would let you stay over the night with me?" Jenny offered the girls. Lenna shock her head.
"My mom must be furious with me already. I should just go back home."
"Jesus, Leanna, you can't be serious! It's almost midnight!" Estelle told her friend.
"It's fine, Stella. My house is just a few blocks away. It's a ten minutes' walk. I'll stay with my phone open-"
"Your mom will understand if you tell her you stayed over because it was too late to come back. Better safe than sorry." Jenny encouraged. The three soon got into a heated fight, and in its end, Lenna walked out of Jenny's house in a storm. Estelle hated she did that. It was Lenna who didn't want to leave in a normal hour in the first place, and now she has a problem with staying? sometimes her friends made her so angry, but they were still friends.
"I'll go get her." Estelle sighed. She wasn't the strongest, but her older brother, Percy, had taught her some self-defense moves. So she left Jenny's apartment and ran after her friend.
"Lenna wait! Don't be stupid, it's New York in the middle of the night! Think it through for a moment," Estelle grabbed her.
"Leave me alone, Stella. I just want to go home." Estelle had to roll her eyes when she heard that.
"Lenna-" but it was already to late as Estelle's friend took off.
"Shit," Estelle murmured, and took off after her friend. But when she turned the street, it was empty. A bile rose in her throat. She knew for sure this was the street Lenna turned to, and there was no way she could cross the whole street and disappear before Estelle saw her.
"Lenna?" Estelle called her friend as she pulled out her phone and started dialing the number of Lenna's phone. It ringed from somewhere close by. "Lenna!" Estell yelled. She found her friend unconscious behind the garbage can and there…
She wasn't even sure what it was that she saw… was it a woman? A weird robot? Some kind of a goat? Dressed in red-white cheerleader clothes, it (she?) smiled at her.
"I thought I smelled a half-blood here around… poor little thing. Can't even protect herself. I bet she doesn’t even know. But you, you can see me?" she asked and stepped closer into the light for Estelle to see. One of her legs was pure machine-like robot, the other pure goat. And her fangs…
"What-what are you?"
"I am a monster!" she laughed so hard, so loud and creepy, Estelle couldn't understand how the couple that has walked close to the street didn't notice her or even looked at their direction. She wanted to ask for help, but they were gone faster than she ever had the chance to open her mouth and scream.
Estelle wished they'd come back so she could call for them to help her.
"What do you want?" Estelle asked the cheerleader.
"Well I was only going to kill and eat the half one, but since you want so badly to get eaten too, little human who sees through the mist, I'll gladly help you with that! And you smell, familiar…" she itched with nose, as if she was trying to understand why Estelle smelled familiar to her. Estelle thought she must be hallucinating.
A cheerleader monster who wants to eat Lenna and her?
And the girl flashed with her fangs and dived towards Estelle who was still crouching by Lenna's side.
Estelle pushed Lenna's body with all of her strength and dodge away from the cheerleader.
"Are you crazy??? Stop that!!" she yelled. The cheerleader laughed.
"I told you little human, I plan on eating you and your friend. Did you think I was playing? I know girls are not usually my thing, us, the Emphases, we prefer to eat men, it's known, but this day they are just so hard to get… better one half-blood girl and a little human than nothing at all." The cheerleader shrugged.
What the hell? Estelle thought to herself. she saw Lenna starting to wake up while the cheerleader talked. She had to something fast. They had to get away from there, from the monster.
As Estelle was thinking, the cheerleader dived again with fangs and claws. Estelle slipped away from her just barely. She thought about using the techniques her brother had taught her, but she didn't want to get close enough for her to even be able to fight the monster. When Lenna finally woke up completely, Estelle knew she wasn't hallucinating the whole thing. It was pretty obvious from Lenna's screaming that she saw the exact same thing as Estelle.
Luckily, Lenna's scram distracted the cheerleader enough for Estelle to grab her friend's hand and start running.
As they ran the street away from the cheerleader, Estelle pulled out her phone. But who would she call? 911? They'll think she's messing up with them and hang up. Her mother? Father? Will they even understand if they believe her? There was only one option left – not a kind one. She knew Percy is going to be pissed at her for being outside at such a late hour, but she was lucky he was around and stayed over this week.
He picked up the phone after the first ring. Percy rarely slept.
"Perc, I know it's going to sound super weird, but I really need your help!" she yelled-whispered into the phone. They kept running the blocks, but she had no idea anymore if she had gotten farther or closer to Jenny's home.
Oh, god. Jenny must be worrying sick for them.
"What the hell is going on?" Percy asked his younger sister over the phone.
"There this- I don't know what she is, OK? Some kind of a monster, I can't believe I'm actually saying it aloud-"
"Tell me where you are right now! I'm coming over!"
Estelle was surprised for a moment, but then quickly looked around her. "I'm next to Kenny's candy shop."
"Stay there, hide, I'll be there in ten minutes. Stay with me on the phone." Percy said with a frantic voice.
Estelle found a garbage can to hide behind and quickly dived, pulling shocked Lenna with her.
It took the cheerleader five or six minutes to find them. God, Estelle hoped Percy was close by. He said ten minutes, and it meant she had to find a way to survive alone the next four-five minutes.
"Oh, you little half-blood, I'm going to devour you!" the cheerleader laughed.
"What does it mean, a half-blood?" Estelle blurted. Anything to keep the monster occupied enough time for Percy to come.
"Well, it doesn’t really matter little human. You're going to die either way." She answered. Lenna made a soft sound of a cry.
"So, I'm human? Or a half-blood?" Estelle ignored everything, including the fear that was like a pit in her stomach, and kept talking.
"Of course you're human. A little human who can see through the mist. It's why you and your half-blood friend see me for my real look. And you smell, as if I've eaten you before." She smiled.
"What does that mean?" Estelle asked, even though she knew exactly what it meant. The cheerleader spoke for literally. If she said she was going to eat them, she meant exactly that. Estelle fought to keep her stomach from rolling.
"It means I'm going to eat like I've eaten you before! Stop talking!" If Percy had heard anything at all, he didn't comment, he was so quite on his other side of the phone, Estelle didn't even see him coming until he showed out of nowhere saying: "Hi Kelly. Remember me, you bitch?"
And that moment, Kelly had enough time for confusion and understanding cross through eyes. It was also enough time for Percy, Estelle's sweet older brother who ate blue pancakes on Sunday morning and picked her for ice cream after school to be gone.
And in a swift motion, Percy lifted a sword Estelle never saw before, and ripped Kelly's head from the rest of her body.