Friends? She hoped he didn't say anything. Don't tell, Sebastian. Just stop by every now and then. When the sleep happens, I can run. I will run. Marlene laid on her bed, eyes on the ceiling but only seeing the forest that day. She tried to recount how humid it was, how she shed her coat and stuffed it in her backpack before downing a bottle of water. Struggling to keep up with her dad. The fog was thick, like the entire woods around them was steaming in the heat.

She struggled to see the path in front of her.

"The fog will pass," he said. "Just keep moving, and you'll be past it."

The door creaked open. She could see the silhouette of Mr. Meeks step into view.

"Downstairs."

"We already ate," Marlene said.

"Party."

"Party?" Marlene asked.

"Birthday party."

* * *

She realized she had never seen the creature sitting. Now, it sat at one end of the small table, while Mr. Meeks sat at the other. In between them on the table top was a small cake, with several lit candles. On one side of the cake were forks and a knife. There was a single plate on the side of the table closest to her. The lights were off, the room only illuminated in the dancing candle light. The creature turned to her, and reaching out on elongated arm, it pulled out a chair from the side of the table.

"Sit. I have a surprise for you."

Marlene approached the table and took the seat. She scooted the chair closer to the table. The cake was simple, white frosting with "Happy Birthday" in cursive blue letters. She was turning twelve, but she only counted eight candles.

"Do you like it?"

Marlene glanced toward the creature, its wings draped around it, the white mask giving the visage of a pale man with solid black eyes.

"For my birthday?"

"Yes. Mr. Meeks was very helpful. I believe now you blow out the candles and make a wish."

"Any wish?"

"If that is the custom," the creature said.

"I wish for you to release Mr. Meeks."

The creature chuckled. It turned toward Mr. Meeks, who stared at the candles. "I am not bound by your customs."

"It's a birthday wish, you have to."

"I am afraid I cannot. These next days, and the months to follow as I sleep, are crucial. I need to make sure everything is perfect. So our family can grow."

"You killed my family."

The creature exhaled, air escaping like a howling winter wind. It turned to Marlene. "A mistake."

"He raised me. On his own. He was my dad; he was the best dad. And you killed him!"

Even Marlene was surprised by the volume of her yell. She had never raised her voice to the creature before. Mr. Meeks remained still. Could he hear them? Did any part of the real Mr. Meeks remain?

"I had a father too. He raised me and when he died, I mourned him. I am sorry."

"You're sorry?"

An arm unfurled from his back with a series of clicks. It picked up a knife from beside the cake and laid it in front of Marlene. She stared at it.

"Why don't you cut the cake? Have a slice."

She stared at the knife. Could she? The creature wasn't invincible, was it? Could a blade penetrate the shell? She felt an ache in her chest, a rock in her belly. Grab the knife. Kill it.

The creature reached over and took the knife back. Marlene exhaled. It cut the cake in several pieces. It took Marlene's plate and slid a slice onto it with the knife.

"Happy birthday, child."

It set the cake in front of her.

"I know you are angry. But I am bound to care for you, to love you, as a father would its child. I cannot undo what is done, but for your father, I can always make sure you are safe. I promised."

She screamed. She screamed and threw the plate, which shattered on the counter behind her. The creature stood. Mr. Meeks remained motionless; eyes caught in the flames. She reached forward and grabbed the rest of the cake and chunked it onto the ground. She slammed her fists on the table and sobbed.

The creature moved to her and loomed over her. Its shadow overwhelmed her.

"Go on. Kill me. Just kill me," Marlene sobbed.

She felt one of the creature's hands rest gently on her back. It whispered in a gentle voice.

"Never."

* * *

He told her to catch up. He looked back one last time, started to say something. Probably a stupid joke.

"Hey, Bug—"

Then a deep oomph sound, like a bad cough. Her father was lifted into the air. She first thought it was a bird. But what bird could carry away a man? A full-grown man? She cried out and rushed forward. She leapt off the trail, trying to followed the sounds of her father, now screaming, the dark shape carrying him deeper into the forest, dodging trees in smooth motions. Her breathing grew louder, her heartbeat in her ears, she couldn't hear her father anymore over her own desperate breaths.

The creature never made a sound. She didn't even hear the wings flap. She ditched her backpack and kept running. The fog started to lift and eventually, she could see a shape ahead, on the ground by one of the massive tree trunks.

Her father laid there; the creature bent over him. His clothes torn. The blood on the ground seemed brighter than she saw in movies. Vibrant. It held her father's head in its hand. When she gasped, it moved its hands and the head dropped. She could see her father's open eyes. She expected him to speak or cry or something, but he was silent. He was dead.

The creature rose up and spread out is wings. Its many arms unfurled and snapped into position. When its mandibles opened, it was like the entire face blew apart. It screeched.

She ran. How she ran.

The sun set. The air grew cold and she curled by a tree. She heard the snapping of twigs and the crunch of leaves as something landed near her.

As always, as every day since, it stood over her, a dark cloud that enveloped her, one she could never stray from. It spoke, it knew her language.

"You will not die. I will find you a home for you, my child."

* * *

Marlene tried to get for help at first. She told people. Three days after her capture, she even told police in one small town. It had been forcing her to sleep in the woods with her, using its wings to keep her warm. It made her sleep in the day and walk at night, its schedule, while it searched or a suitable home. That morning, she could see a small diner through the trees, a police car in the parking lot.

She told the creature she needed privacy to use the bathroom. She remembered running to his parked cruiser and knocking on the driver's side window. The police officer lowered the window and barked at her, demanding to know what her problem was. Between sobs, she told him. He rolled his eyes and opened the door. Before she could speak again, the creature landed on the top of the car, the metal crunched and the windows shattered. Marlene dropped to the ground, covering her head. When she looked up, both the creature and the cop were gone. People started to run out from the restaurant. Marlene bolted to the woods.

Two weeks into their journey and before it started using drones, she attempted help in a grocery store. She remembered one woman holding tight a tight grip on Marlene's arms as they ran across a parking lot. She had convinced the creature to let her buy supplies on her own that night. She told the woman what was happening, and they had to run.

The woman wanted to call the cops, but Marlene knew they had little time. What was her name? Oh God, Marlene thought. I don't even know her name anymore.

She often wondered how close they were to the woman's car. Was there ever a chance at escape? As the creature lifted the woman, it pried away Marlene's arms, so she plopped onto the parking lot, still hot from the daytime sun, and watched the two vanish into the trees at the end of the lot.

Marlene scanned her room. The toys and books and dolls taken from other houses. How many did the creature control? How many did it need to create its new hive? She wanted to set fire to this place, burn it all down, maybe that would scare the creature away.

But no. She knew she was more than a pet to it.

The bedroom door squeaked open. The creature walked in this time.

"I am sorry about your birthday."

Marlene didn't respond.

"I want to teach you things. Things my kind know. So, when I am gone, you can pass them on. My name, as close to your tongue as possible, is Ar'canii."

"Arcanny?"

"Close."

"What about just 'Arc?'"

"Yes. When the second child arrives, you will be a sister. It will see you as a sister."

The creature remained in the doorway for a few minutes more. It started to reach toward Marlene, but drew its hand back. It wished her goodnight and left.

She thought about running away. She often fantasized about it at night. But what worried her, more than the possible failure of her escape, was how sad the creature would feel seeing her gone. How Arc would feel.

Outside, she could hear the creature howl, as it did every night, looking for others.

What did it mean to feel this way?