Chasing the Moon by A. Lee Martinez Read Free Book Online Page A

spend some time with a regular, non-world-devouring person, and Wendall was as ordinary as reality could get.
    The “great little bagel place just around the corner” was actually the “adequate little bagel place just around the corner where she ate lunch two or three times a week,” but she found the familiarity comforting. Something like a half-cat, halfrabbit hopped around, unobserved by everyone else, under one of the tables, but she resolutely ignored it.
    Wendall carried the bulk of most conversations. He wasn’t a blabbermouth, but if you weren’t feeling up to talking he didn’t mind filling the silence himself. He talked about nothing important. She didn’t hold it against him since most talk was about nothing important. She didn’t have anything worthwhile to discuss either, aside from herent induction into the world of the supernatural, and this was the last thing she wanted to talk about. But there were only so many variations of “Crazy weather we’ve been having lately,” so much shop talk, before she found herself zoning out.
    “Anyway,” said Wendall, “how about it?”
    “Hmmm.”
    “About the movie?” he asked.
    It took her a moment to realize that he’d asked her out at some point in the conversation. She was having trouble focusing. The air crackled with a weird electricity.
    She forced herself to look into his eyes. Bright, eager eyes above a hopeful smile.
    “Uh, Wendall,” she started, “I’m kind of in a bad place.”
    All the hope vanished from his face, though he was quick to recover.
    “I’m not trying to blow you off,” she said. “I’m not. It’s… just… I’m going through something kind of… complicated right now.”
    She wanted to explain it to him, but it was too unbelievable.
    A round purple monster waddled into view in the window. It stopped, pressed its face against the glass, and with its three eyes scanned the interior of the bagel place. In a world full of monsters, there was something different about this one. This one put her on edge. More on edge, anyway. And when its gaze settled on her, she was not surprised.
    The creature jumped through the window, sending glass shattering in all directions. The other customers screamed. Some froze. Others jumped up in panic. But the monster lumbered with single-minded determination toward Diana. Lunging, the giant hedgehog-like beast prepared to pounce.
    Suddenly Vom was there. He hoisted the purple creature into the air and threw it across the room.
    “Are you okay?” asked Vom.
    “I thought you said you weren’t a puppy.”
    “Aren’t you glad I lied?”
    Roaring, the hedgehog threw itself into Vom.
    Diana, along with half the customers, found herself trapped by the grappling horrors cutting off the exit. She didn’t know what anyone else observed, but she saw a giant hedgehog with a thick, rubbery skin wrestling a fuzzy green puppet. The scene put Diana in mind of a
Scooby-Doo
episode. Except the villains were exactly what they appeared to be, and people were going to get hurt.
    Vom took a bite out of his opponent, inflicting a gushing wound. A purple splotch jumped off the hedgehog’s back and enlarged into a duplicate of the original. The new creature turned and charged at Diana.
    Yelping, she threw her hands up to defend herself. A chill ran down her arms, and invisible forces catapulted the monster through the ceiling. She felt a little woozy after te effort. She definitely needed to get the hang of these new superpowers.
    The hedgehog spawned two more duplicates. All three piled on Vom.
    Wendall took her by the hand and pulled her out the door. Outside the restaurant she stopped him from dragging her any farther. The roars and shrieks coming from within were terrifying and bizarre. The struggle shook the street and cracked the building.
    “We have to get out of here,” said Wendall.
    It was the smart thing to do, but it felt wrong. She’d left Vom to be mauled to death. Although she wasn’t