Theo had his back against the rough bark of a tree, his butt sitting on one of the sturdier branches, his vision trained on the tiny patch of light some distance below. Maxi’s window was closed, but the curtains still hung open, allowing him to view everything inside.

Her room wasn’t how he expected it to be. There weren’t any skeletons or skulls, no posters of death metal bands, no blood and guts. It was painted a bright pink, as opposed to black, with a ceiling that looked almost white. Her bed was small, pressed against the wall just under the window. It looked like a typical girl’s room.

“What the fuck am I doing?” Theo asked himself for the hundredth time that night. What had happened that afternoon had been confusing, perhaps even disturbing. This, however, was not the proper reaction. Creeping on a girl, looking in her window, hiding in a tree… that was all shit you got arrested for.

But he couldn’t get those things out of his mind. Those… monsters. What they hell had happened? What were they? And, most of all, why the hell had she kissed him? Something inside him wasn’t going to be satisfied until he knew the answers.

So, he had followed her home, then, once it got dark, snuck into a tree and watched. Nothing had happened so far. He was no closer to finding out answers, but a hell of a lot closer to being labeled a perv for life. “Theo, you fucking idiot,” he whispered to himself, and not for the first time that night. That was one more mystery. Why was he acting so strangely?

Then the girl’s door opened. Theo’s heart started to pump a little faster, his cheeks burning red. Maxi walked in, threw herself onto the bed, then reached for something. It looked like a magazine.

Sap had already made Theo’s cloths sticky and uncomfortable. The air was getting colder, the wind becoming more of a nuisance than a pleasant surprise. Bugs were all around him, chirping loudly, calling out to whatever would listen. Then the girl turned.

Her face appeared at the window, staring out into the dark yard. Theo froze, praying that he hadn’t been spotted. But that was almost impossible. She couldn’t possibly see him, concealed as he was. He was safe.

Then she turned, her eyes seeming to meet his. But, no, that was impossible. She couldn’t have seen him. He wasn’t even moving. Still, he dared not breathe. Just a lucky glance, that was all. Her hands reached up to the curtains, pulling them across the window with a single tug. Theo’s let out a low breath, oxygen returning to his lounges.

“Shit,” he whispered after a moment. That had been too close. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be doing any of this.

He started to turn, meaning to climb down the tree, away from Maxi. No good could come from stalking her, monster or no. Besides, that had to have been some sort of a trick, right? Yeah, just something she made up to scare him. That hologram didn’t even look real.

“Ah!” he yelled, Maxi’s face only inches away from his. Theo pulled back hastily, his sap soaked butt coming off of the branch. Rapidly he flung his hands and arms about, trying desperately to grab anything to keep himself from falling. He found nothing.

He hit the ground with a thud, his back instantly aching. His eyes were shut, his mind racing. That couldn’t have been real, right? Just his imagination. No one could move that fast. He was just losing his mind.

But, when he opened his eyes, she was still there, sitting lazily on the branch above, looking down at him curiously. Theo wanted to die. It seemed like an easy option at least.

Maxi dropped down from the tree, her boots thumping into the earth only a few feet from his head. She stood over him, clad all in black, her face radiating contempt. “The fuck were you doing?”

“I… well…” Theo struggled for words as he tried to sit up. She placed one of her boots on his chest, forcing him back to the dirt.

“You were looking through my window.” It wasn’t a question.

“No, I was…”

“What? I’m curious to see what lie you can come up with.” He stayed silent. “Nothing?” she asked after a moment. “You didn’t lose your Frisbee in its branches? You weren’t trying to chase down a squirrel to fuck? Is that what it is? You fuck squirrels?”

“What!? No... its just… I” he was truly a master of words.

“Pick one, dipshit. You a squirrel fucker or peeper?”

“I…”

“Pick one, or I stomp on your head until your brains splatter.”

Theo gulped. Her eyes were steady, her voice unquivering. Just like before, he somehow believed she would do it. “I was looking in your window,” he admitted, afraid of what would happen if he didn’t.

“Thought so,” Maxi said, almost disappointed.

“Ugh… What are you going to do?” he asked timidly, now afraid of the answer.

She shrugged, seeming not to care. “You seem to have gotten obsessed over what happened. Guess I’ll have to kill you.”

He was going to say something else, but her boot moved too fast. Before he could even let out a cry, the thick, hard sole crashed into his face. He fell back into the dirt, the world quickly growing black.

“Ugh…” Theo moaned, coming back to reality. His vision was foggy, only making out general shapes and colors in the dark room. His back hurt, his face throbbed. Then he remembered what had happened. “What the…”

“Be quiet,” he heard, the voice sounding distant. He tried to push himself off the hard ground, but found his hands tied behind his back, fastened around some sort of metal pole.

“Hey, what’s-“ Again he was cut off.

“I said be quiet.” The voice sounded closer now, more familiar. His vision started to clear, shapes becoming more detailed, colors more vibrant.

“Maxi?” he asked, the girl’s form coming into view. She didn’t look happy. Then again, she never really looked happily to begin with.

“Didn’t I tell you to just forget about what happened? Didn’t I tell you to just fuck off? Why couldn’t you?”

He tried to shrug. The room around him made about as much sense as his life. There weren’t any windows, the only light source coming from glowing white orbs lining the wall. The floor was hard, grey, probably some form of concrete. But what caught his eye was the massive computer set up on the far wall. He couldn’t tell much from his point of view, but it looked big, powerful, glowing, and just a bit out of place.

“I just wanted to find out what was happening.”

“And so you decided to follow me home. Good call, freak.”

“I know it was stupid. I’m sorry. Please, just let me go. I’ll leave. I won’t tell anyone.”

“See, I already gave you that chance. Now you fucked up.” Her voice had no humor in it.

“Please,” Theo begged, fear starting to rise in his throat.

“Stop. Its degrading, and you already have such little dignity.” She turned walking over to the computer. “How do you want it done?” she asked over her shoulder casually.

“Have what done?”

She groaned at his stupidity. “How do you want me to kill you?”

Theo gulped. He didn’t know many murderers who gave you a choice. Still, not really much of a consolation. “Can’t I just leave? Please, I swear I won’t-“

“Oh come on, just pick something. Anything. Want to have your head exploded?” She turned back to him, leaning on the massive machine. She looked almost smug. “Drawn and quartered? Tar and feathered? Bug eat out your brains, or perhaps you'd rather be tossed into a black hole? Come on, that last one has to have some appeal.”

“No!” Theo shouted, now desperate. Somewhere, still in the back of his mind, he hoped this was all some sort of a sick joke. He struggled to his feet, the rope that tied his wrists together sliding up the pole with him. “Please, just let me go!”

“Fucking freshmen,” Maxi muttered, smiling, shaking her head. “Always got to be dipshits.” She said her next words slowly, as if talking to an extremely dumb person. “Pick. A. Death.”

“I… I don’t want to.” He gulped again.

Maxi turned, dropped onto her knees, opened up one of the nearby drawers built into the computer, and soon emerged with a device he didn’t recognize. Completely chrome, from thick, orb shaped end to thin, stabby-looking front. “Pick, or I do it for you.” She turned back to her cringing captive. “And trust me, you won’t like what I pick.”

“No, come on. This is insane!” Despite everything that was happening, he found himself smiling. Hell, he was almost laughing. “You can’t kill me. This is just… just… you can’t.” She started coming closer, the shiny object glittering in her palm. “This is insane.” Her heavy boots thudded off the ground. “You're crazy!” She had almost closed the gap by now. The look on her face was a frightful mix of pity and pleasure. “Stop!” he shouted when she was only a step away. She didn’t.

He cringed at the objects cold touch. “Do you know what this is?” the girl whispered, leaning in. The metal devise was at his throat, but his thoughts were drawn to her lips. Once again they were only a few inches away. Despite the situation, he found himself wanting to kiss them again. Perhaps those poor priorities had something to do with his current predicament.

“No.”

“Have you figured out what I am?”

“Yes.”

Maxi smiled, seeming to take pleasure in watching her little captive squirm. “What?” she asked, slowly, seductively.  

He breathed heavy, his mind trying desperately to understand the situation, to make sense of the chaos that surrounded him, had bled into him, consumed him. Finally he spoke, though his voice was only a thin whisper. “Vampire.”

“Holly shit,” Maxi said, almost laughing. “You are dumber than I thought. Vampire? What the hell about me says vampire?”

“I… well… the dark clothes I guess.” Well, that was obviously the wrong answer, though his tormenter no longer seemed to be in such a dark mood. “And your hair.”

“My hair? The fuck is wrong with my hair?”

“Nothing!” Theo quickly corrected. “I just mean I looks like something a vampire would have.”

She looked at him for a moment, her features radiating a you-really-are-as-stupid-as-you-look vibe. “Vampire?” she asked again, still not really believing. Her eyes rolled as she brought her fingers up to her mouth, spreading her gums for Theo to see. “I got any fangs, fuckface?” She did not.

“I’m sorry, I just thought that was what you were going for.”

She pulled back a bit, her attitude much less threatening than the sociopath before. “What, is that some sort of fantasy for you? Some twilight level bullshit?”

“No, of course not. I just...”

“Oh, Edward,” she moaned, sliding up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt warm, even through his clothes. “Please, protect me. I’m just a little vampire girl who doesn’t know what to do.” Her voice was high, childlike. “I’ll do anything for you Edward,” she continued, Theo cringing. She leaned in closer, her lips almost touching his cheek. “Your skin is just soooo shiny.”

“Stop that,” Theo said, not harshly. “I don’t think you a vampire.”

“Oh, perhaps werewolves are more your thing. Sorry little boy, I can’t rip off my shit and show you a six pack. I’m sure the football team would be more than willing to, though.”

“I didn’t say that other. I just meant… well, what are you then?” His horror had been replaced with curiosity. He liked curiosity better. Curiosity didn’t threaten to kill him.

“Starts with an ‘A’.” Maxi pulled away from him, waiting for an answer.

“Animal?”

“Okay, I was planning to scoop out your brain later, but I don’t think you have one. Try again.”

“Alliga-“

“You call me an alligator, I fucking punch you.”

He cringed, but was determined to guess. “Alien?”

“There you go. Was that so hard?”

His brows furrowed. “Wait, you’re an alien?”

“Yeah,” she answered, crossing her arms. “Got a problem?”

“No, its just… I always thought aliens were more… green.”

“Wow, that is offensive.”

“No! I just thought…” Why did he always have to be so stupid?

She was smiling, shaking her head at his ignorance. “Just shut up.” He did. Perhaps he should do it more often. “Now, back to my original question.” She held up the pointy, metallic device. “Any idea what it is?”

Instantly Theo connected the dots. If she was who she said she was, an alien, then that long, pointy, shiny thing in her hand could only be… “A probe?”

“No.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god.”

“Do you want me to get a probe?”

“No!” he shouted.

“I mean, it’s a bit outdated, but still usable.”

“Its fine. Just… what is it then?” He tried to move, but the ropes at his wrist were still tight.

“Shrink serum.” She said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. After a moment, one in which he must have looked completely stupefied, Maxi continued. “It makes you small.”

“How small?” Because there weren’t any better questions he should be asking.

“Depends,” she answered playfully. “Its got a bunch of settings. I could shrink you down to only a foot, a few inches, centimeters, if I’m really feeling cruel, millimeters. Hell, I could make you microscopic.”

He gulped. “You aren’t going to make me microscopic, right?”

“No. It's no fun when I can’t see you. When I step on things, I like to feel them under my boot.” She grinned, he grimaced. “So, how small do you want to be?”

“I want to be my normal size!” he yelled back. “I want to be out of here.”

“Neither of those things are going to happen. You already know way, way too much about this whole thing.”

“No I don’t!” he insisted. “I don’t know anything. I’m an idiot. I’m the stupidest person you will ever meet. I swear!”

“True.” She seemed to think about it for a minute. “Still, I just got fired. I’m in the mood to squish something. Pick a size.”

He could feel the blood draining from his face. Like her past threats, he saw there was some truth to it. She wasn’t the type to just make things up, and the recent events helped her validity. Theo gulped, asking himself once again why he was such a dunce.

“Can I just-“ A loud buzzing cut him off, the computer screen across the room erupting in an array of colors and symbols that didn’t make any sense.

Maxi groaned. “Fucking perfect timing. Looks like you get to live for a few more minutes, dork.”