I froze. Lizzy shook her head. "Eve told you, didn't she, Vincent?"
"She told the whole group," Vincent said. "She just doesn't know what monster it was since the Puffer is the only one that doesn't eat people."
Huh, that's good to know. "Well, I do. Sapphire wants nothing to do with monsters so she will not be coming," Lizzy said. Then she turned to me. "Do you need anything, Sapphire? Clothes, shoes, or jackets?"
I nodded. "I need a lot of stuff. I'm unprepared for winter and the other seasons."
She stood. "Mary should be at the mall right now. Tell her I sent you."
I stood. "Okay, but aren't I supposed to help you here?"
She smiled. "I have to go get ready for the hunt so I'll be closing the store."
"Oh." No customers had come though.
She handed me the keys. "You'll have to drive to the mall."
I started shaking my head. "I can't. I only have my driver's permit."
She pulled a driver's license out of her pocket. "Oops, I forgot to give this to you this morning. Dad got this for you from the DMV yesterday." She handed it to me.
I took it and stared. "But I haven't taken the driving test."
"Dad's very convincing and you have to be able to drive around because of this whole monster stuff. You can take the Subaru. Vincent will drive me to our warehouse." We walked out of the store and she locked it. "See you later, Sapphire." She got into Vincent's car which was a Toyota. They drove off.
I got into the Subaru and used my phone's GPS to find the mall. I got out and went inside. Mary was waiting at the entrance. She looked me up and down. "You really are in need of clothes," she observed.
Thanks, Captain Obvious, I thought. "Yeah," I said. She led the way and picked out a lot of clothes. She bought them and then went to shoes. Boots with heels and high heels were soon added to the collection. However, I did manage to get her to put a pair of sneakers in the pile. We put the stuff in the Subaru and then she dragged me to a little cafe.
We sat. "Is there anything else you need?" Mary asked.
"Let's see. Dresses, jeans, skirts, T-shirts, long sleeves, jackets, and shoes are all off the list. I still need gloves, scarves, beanies, hair ties, headbands, a computer, and a tablet," I said counting them off on my fingers.
She nodded. "We'll get those next."
I stared at her in amazement. "Are you people rich or something?"
She smiled. "Yeah, we have a lot of money. Anything we spend today will be replaced tomorrow."
"Oh, wow."
After eating, we got everything else on my list. Then we went home and she helped me put everything away. "Hey, Sapphire, would you like to come with me to the park?" Mary asked after we were done.
"Uh, sure. Who's driving."
"Me."
"Don't we have to ask your parents first?"
"I did this morning before I went to the mall."
"Oh." There is so much going on in this place that it's hard to keep up and apparently I'm going to be saying 'oh' a lot. She drove to the park and we took a walk.
"What's your favorite color?" Mary asked breaking the silence.
"Green. You?"
"Hmm, I'd have to say blue. What's your favorite food?"
I guess she's trying to get to know me. "Pizza with black olives. What about you?"
"Meatloaf with mashed potatoes."
"Oh, that sounds delicious."
"Have you had it before?"
I shook my head. "We never had meat in the orphanage other than pepperoni."
"Wow."
"What are your hobbies?" I asked.
"Reading. What are yours?"
"Drawing."
"Drawing? Then why didn't we get you art supplies?"
I smiled. "Because I took my art supplies with me when I ran away."
"Oh."
"Do you have a boyfriend, Mary?"
She blushed. "N-no."
I grinned. "You are! Who is it?"
"You have to swear you won't tell anyone!"
"I swear," I said solemnly.
"Jordon Zole."
"Oh! He's a member of Dark Savers."
"Yes. We want to keep it from everyone so please don't tell anyone."
"I won't."
She gave me a grateful look. "Is there anyone you like around here?"
I looked away. "I haven't been here long enough to find anyone."
"That's a terrible excuse."
I felt my cheeks turning red. "Okay, I do have a crush on someone but if I tell you, you can't tell anyone."
"I won't, I promise."
"Vincent Oak."
Her eyes widened. "You've seen Vincent."
I nodded. "He came into Lizzy's shop to tell her about a hunt tonight."
"Oh, wow. Did he say what they will be hunting?"
"A Fangtor."
"Hmm." She watched a duck land on the pond. "I do believe in monsters I just wish I'd seen one."
"I doubt you'd like to see the one I saw," I muttered. I guess monsters are going to be mentioned a lot in my new life."
"Which one did you see?"
"A FleshEater."
Her eyes widened. "You saw the most deadliest monster ever?"
"Yes."
"How did you survive?"
"It was still eating my mom when I saw it." I shook my head. "Can we please not talk about it?"
She nodded. "Okay."
"What does Jordon look like?"
"Raven-black hair and chocolate brown eyes. A round face and his upper lip is a little bigger than his bottom lip. He's so handsome!"
I giggled. "You love him."
She blushed. "I guess."
"Should we head home?"
"Not yet. It's a beautiful day. Let's just keep walking."
"Okay." We walked in silence for a minute. "Do monsters only come out at night?" I asked suddenly even though I knew the FleshEater came out during the day.
"No. They come out all the time. They're just more active at night. That's why Eve's group hunts at night."
"Okay."
She sighed. "You're lucky you saw a monster."
I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I still have nightmares about that thing. It's not fun when you see a monster eating your mom and knowing it ate your dad before her."
She moved so she was in front of me. "I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"I'm the only Lockwood who hasn't seen a monster. I just feel left out." She looked over my shoulder and gasped. "Sapphire, turn around. Slowly."
I turned and swallowed hard because there, standing slightly behind a rock, was a monster I could never forget.
FleshEater.