Chapter 1 Revised: Where am I?

Where am !?

The cold air made her eyes flutter open.  There was a criss-cross of metal along the ceiling, and all around her were concrete and cinderblock walls. She put her hand out to finish sitting and froze when her hand touched something. A grimace crossed her face as she looked over to her right. Her hand landed on someone’s arm and instantly recoiled. Her eyes flew open when she realized it looked as if something ripped it off a body and cast it aside after chewing on it. She let out a small noise as she noticed the bodies scattered about in the space.

She slid over a little and bumped into another body, which caused her feet to scramble on the concrete and propel her backward into a wall, hitting her head. She could hear her heart thumping and felt her heart beating as if it was going to explode.

Get a grip, Angie.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to take long and deep breaths. Angie knew she had to look around, but the gruesome sight she shared the space with made her think twice. She finally relented and opened her eyes to take in the scene around her. She did her best not to focus on the bodies.  Where there was a lack of walls, there were support pillars and dancing shadows caused by the swinging lamps above. She shivered as another breeze came in through one of the windows.

The sound of a rotary saw snapped her head to the back corner of the room, where plastic sheeting divided the areas. There were splatters of blood on the sheeting. The high-pitched whine when the saw hit bone made Angie cringe and cover her ears. 

I have to find a way out of here. I can’t stay here. Whoever that is will see I am not dead and fix their mistake.

The saw stopped, and the sheeting was pushed to one side. The voice that came from the woman was coarse, “Don’t worry, hun, you’re not next on the chopping block. In fact, this is your mess I am cleaning up.”

Angie’s brow furrowed, and she pointed at herself and then around the warehouse, “Excuse me? I didn’t do THIS. Did I?”

The woman smiled, nodded her head, and spoke into a recorder, “Ah, classic disorientation and amnesia following a lycanthropic transformation.” She stopped the device and looked at the girl, “Yes, dear, you did this.”

Angie’s eyes flew open, and she waved her hand around, “How did I-“

The woman walked toward her, “You, young one, are a freshly turned werewolf. You went on a hunt last night. It was a full moon. This is the spot in which you dumped your kills.”

“How did this happen?”

“I just told you.”

“No, I mean, how did I become a werewolf?”

The woman shrugged, “The only way to become one is to be bitten by or exchange saliva with one. You didn’t happen to kiss anyone within the last moon cycle that you never met again, did you?”

Angie tried to think. She couldn’t bring up a single memory.

The woman smiled, “Before you ask, and while you’re trying to remember what happened, my name is Gloria. I am a paranormal cleaner and researcher.”

Angie looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

Gloria chuckled, “You are not the only cursed person, cryptid, or supernatural entity I have dealt with, hun.”

“Angie, the name is Angie.”

“Ah, thank you, you are not the first, and you won’t be the last. My job is to make sure you don’t get yourself in trouble.”

Angie’s expression fell into one of remorse and sadness as she looked around the complex again, “These people probably had families.”

“It’s already been researched, and their lives have been examined. Those with attachments will be found, just doctored to look as if an animal did it.”

“And those without ‘attachments’?” Angie used air quotes around the word.

“They will be cut up and put into acid.”

Angie threw up.

Gloria turned to go back to her corner, “You asked. In the meantime, there are showers and a locker room in the opposite corner. You’ll find a set of clothes your size, shower items, and a towel.”

Angie made her way to the showers. After casting off her clothing, she stepped into the first stall and turned on the water. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to let the water roll down her face and the back of her head. She tried to think back to anything that may have happened to make her this way. The more she tried to think back to a month prior, the harder it was to concentrate on anything in particular. She stopped, took a slow breath, and tried to remember what she was doing just a couple of days ago. It was all a haze. Nothing came to her.
 The block in her head parted long enough to show her the bodies of the people she had killed. She slid down the wall, shaking with tears pouring out of her eyes. 
I’m a monster.

She placed her head between her legs, allowing the water to run down her back.