A World Concealed - Open Lines

Cayleah sighed as she stared at the clock on the register's monitor. There were only twenty more minutes left in her shift, but, like usual, they felt as if they were crawling by like hours. Her tongue stud clicked along her sharp teeth in impatience, as her olive-toned fingers tapped at the counter.

'At least it's my last this week.' she reminded herself, for the fifth time. With another sigh, she perked up from behind her counter, and looked around the store. The instrument-filled shelves and aisles appeared barren, except for her other co-workers who wandered around, preparing for the store's closing. “Hey Jerry, we don't have any customers. Can I dick around with one of the guitars?” she asked, through the store's PA system.

Towards the other end of the store was her manager, Jerry. A portly man with brown dreads and too many tie-dyed shirts, he at least made her job at Guitar Center a bit more bearable. His eyes were still locked on the drum-set in front of him, as he carefully took it apart, while his right hand went into the air, giving Cayleah a thumbs-up.

“Thank you, Jerry.” she said through the PA, with a smile on her face. “This one's for you.” she added, as she grabbed the acoustic guitar resting against the counter next to her. After making a few minor adjustments, she began to play with practiced ease, the opening chords resulting in a whistle-of-approval from her manager. “Said the man, who feel him a fool, for he be the wiseman. For the man who don't think he's a fool, he control his destiny but he's too cool for himself... for himself~... for himself~...” she began to sing, her eyes closing as she lost herself to the flow of the song.

As it was a short song, it was not much longer til she finished, the strings on the guitar still humming as she opened her eyes. She smirked when she saw Jerry standing on the other side of the counter, grinning.

“I've said it before and I'll say it again, Cayleah. What the hell are you still doing here, and not up on some stage?” he asked. She merely shrugged in response, as she set the guitar back down.

“Waiting.” she answered simply, and let out a puff of air, blowing a few strands of light-red hair away from her amber eyes. Jerry rose an eyebrow at the response, which coaxed a laugh from the girl. “It's hard to explain right now, but you'll see, one day.” she added, causing Jerry to shake his head.

“Whatever, if those kinda answers of yours didn't bug me I wouldn't keep asking.” he replied, still grinning. “Anyway, if you want to head home early, feel free to. It's been a slow night and I doubt we'll really need you for the rest of the shift.” he continued. Cayleah laughed again, and began her clock-out routine on the register's monitor.

“If only I could exchange easy covers for work time more often, huh?” she joked, tapping a few buttons on the monitor. She watched the digital hourglass flip a few times, before a green check-mark appeared in it's place. Now officially off the clock, Cayleah felt even more giddy about going home, as she quickly pulled her black leather jacket out from the counter and slipped it on.

“If you learn more Slightly Stoopid or Sublime, I s'pose we'll see!” Jerry answered with a smirk. Cayleah simply gave him a smile and a shrug, before walking out from behind the counter and towards the exit.

“No guarantees, Jer'. Have a good night now.” she said with a wave, and stepped outside. Her manager waved back, and headed back towards the center of the store, no doubt to finish working on that drum set. The olive-skinned girl stood in front of the door for a few more moments, her hands searching through her pockets for her car keys. After a few mutters and grumbles, she soon found them, and began walking towards her vehicle, a dingy but reliable plum colored Dodge Neon.

One short and uneventful drive later, the young girl pulled into her driveway. Her home was small and unassuming, a blue rambler-styled house in a suburban neighborhood of other small unassuming houses. Cayleah smiled as she stepped inside, the sounds of a typical history documentary playing on the television.

“Gram, I'm home!” she called out, and walked into the living room. Sitting on the sofa was her grandmother, a woman with strong familial resemblance who looked anything but, rather looking more like Cayleah's older sister. She turned away from watching the television, and beamed brightly at her granddaughter, sharp teeth on full display.

“Hello honey, how was work?” she asked. The younger ghoul merely rolled her eyes, and leaned against the door frame.

“Boring, as usual, but Jerry was nice tonight and let me out early.” Cayleah answered. “Have you heard anything from Mom or Dad about when they'll be home?” she then asked. The older ghoul merely shook her head.

“I did talk to your father, but he didn't give me a specific date. The halfway houses have a lot of guests being shipped between them, so he's going to be on the road for at least a few more weeks. As for your mother, well, you know the military.” she answered. Cayleah merely shrugged.

“As long as we don't have to move again, I'm fine with her being busy.” the younger ghoul replied. She glanced over at the TV, and smirked when she noticed it was a program on the American Civil War. “So Gram, how wrong are they on this one?” she asked.  The older ghoul laughed softly, and shook her head.

“Whoever wrote it and did their fact-checking should be fired, I'll say that much.” her grandmother answered. At a hundred-and-seventy years old, she was at a unique position to have witnessed the war with her own eyes. Cayleah was at least happy to have been born at the tail end of the twentieth century. Sure, she did wish she could have experienced the seventies and eighties first hand, but with how positive things have been looking for monsters lately, she felt that this was a prime era to be in her early twenties. “Oh, by the way honey, Paul from the tattoo parlor called, someone canceled on him, so your appointment was pushed up by an hour.” her grandmother added, pulling the young ghoul out of her thoughts.

“Good! Maybe I can get my back tattoo finished, then.” Cayleah answered. To say the young ghoul had an alternative look would be putting things simply. A fair number of tattoos, ranging from music, to anime, to video games and beyond, ran along her arms, legs, and across her stomach. She had a fair amount of piercings as well, mostly located on her ears, but as well as one in her tongue and above her bellybutton. While Cayleah did legitimately enjoy her body-mods, they served a dual purpose, making her look strange but still very human. It was one of the reasons why she had been given the okay at attempting a normal, human life.

“So when are you going to ask this Paul out, Cayleah?” her grandmother asked with a smirk. It was no secret that the young ghoul liked the tattoo artist, having asked her grandmother more than once for advice. She had been visiting the parlor he and his father ran since she was eighteen, becoming one of their regular customers, but when it came to that, she still felt tongue-tied around him. Cayleah rolled her eyes, and turned to leave the living room.

“When I'm good and ready, Gram, it just hasn't felt like the right moment yet.” she said, walking into the kitchen. “Besides, how am I supposed to tell him I'm not exactly human?” she continued, opening the refrigerator and grabbing an energy drink out of the fridge. “Oh, by the way Paul, I'm a flesh-eating monster, but don't worry, our kind hasn't eaten humans in millenia, so you're fine!” she added, as she shut the fridge, and grabbed a sack of beef jerky from the counter. “Like he's gonna believe that once he finds out. It's just a big pile of horseshit is what it is.” she finished, cracking open the energy drink and taking a few sips from it.

“Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, honey, it's easier than you think!” her grandmother answered. “I'm sure he'll look at the girl he's known for years, and not the stigmas attached to our race.” she continued. Cayleah returned to the living room, and gave her grandmother a doubtful look. “Listen, if men were more concerned with what we are than who we are, you wouldn't be here right now, understand?” the older ghoul asked, giving her granddaughter a sympathetic smile. Cayleah merely sighed, and shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine, you got me there, Gram. I just... don't want things to go bad, you know?” she replied. Her grandmother nodded, as her smile grew warmer.

“You've got a good heart, Calypso. Don't ever doubt yourself, okay?” the older ghoul said. Cayleah simply smiled back at her grandmother.

“Alright, Gram, I'll try not to.” she answered, and walked across the living room towards her bedroom. “I'm going to practice for a bit, but I'll try to keep the noise down.” she added, as she entered her room. She then turned around, and peeked her head out of the door frame. “Love you, Gram.”

“Love you too, honey.” her grandmother replied, and returned to watching her show. Cayleah turned back around, and shut her bedroom door, making a beeline for her bed. After setting her food and drink on her nightstand, she fell onto the her mattress with a dramatic flop. Gram was an odd one at times, but she certainly filled the role of grandmother far too well. The olive-skinned ghoul stared at her ceiling for a few moments, before sitting back up.

“No point in waiting around...” she muttered to herself, as she grabbed the electric guitar leaning at the foot of her bed. With the white Fender Stratocaster in hand, she then plugged it into the nearby amp, and turned it on. After a few test chords, she attempted to try something a bit more difficult. Rapid fire notes sounded out from the amp, but the ghoul found it hard to keep pace, with the occasional crunch and missed note echoing in her room. Cayleah winced at every mistake, and after an hour of trying and failing to get into the groove of things, she decided to call it quits for the evening. It seemed she only had enough juice for one song tonight.

She turned the amp off, and set her guitar against the foot of the bed once more, crawling back across her bed to sit with her back against the headboard. Cayleah looked over at her nightstand, staring for a few moments, before flicking the switch of her radio on. Music filtered through the speakers, the cheesy pop-song causing the ghoul to frown. With a twist of the dial, the radio station was changed over, the air filling with the sound of eerie music. The young girl raised her eyebrow, her mind in contemplation, followed by a shrug as her hand left the dial, the bag of jerky soon in it's clutches. The eerie music then began to fade, replaced by a baritone voice.

“Good evening and welcome to Nightscape Radio, your source for all things paranormal in the midwest! As always, I am your host, Ross Waite.” the voice began, recognition clicking in Cayleah's mind. She'd heard of this show before, though she could not recall where, and had been curious about it for some time. “It's Friday night, guests, and that means Open Lines! If you have had an encounter with the unknown, the paranormal, the extraterrestrial, or simply have a spooky story to share, call us at five-five-five, forty-two forty-two. Following tonight's news headlines and words from our sponsors, we'll begin answering.” the host continued. The ghoul stared at the radio once again, her mind toying with a thought, and placed a piece of jerky in her mouth, shredding the dried meat in seconds.

'It can't be that bad of an idea... can it?' Cayleah thought to herself, her eyes flicking between the radio, and her cellphone laying next to it. Under the government program that kept Cayleah, and other beings like her, hidden from the public, there were certain rules that needed to be followed. She could reveal her true nature to a select few individuals after careful discretion, but had little wiggle room beyond that. '...Although,' the young ghoul thought, 'calling in anonymously should be okay.' With a nod, she slowly grabbed her phone, and punched the number in, her thumb hovering above the send button.

“Here goes nothin'.” she said out loud, and pressed send. Cayleah lightly chewed her lip nervously, the dull tone ringing into her ear over and over. Minutes passed, the news section quickly ending as the commercials started. Just as the ghoul was about to hang up, she heard a click, and perked up.

“Thanks for calling into Nightscape Radio! Can I get your name and the subject you're calling in for, please?” a woman's voice asked, sounding somewhat tired. Cayleah turned the radio down, swallowing nervously, and let out a breath she was unaware she was holding.

“Umm... I was kinda hopin' to be anonymous, so-” she began, but halted when the woman cut her off.

“That's fine, you can use a fake name. Pick one fast though, you got fifteen seconds before I'm throwing you on.” the woman said quickly. Cayleah felt put off for a moment, but shook it off, and quickly glanced around her room, looking for something to use as a name. Her eyes soon settled on a poster of a zombie holding an axe.

“Call me Eddie...” she started, her eyes darting around again, before settling on a poster of a guitarist. “...Mustaine. Eddie Mustaine.” she finished, mouthing it once more to herself in horrified, embarrassed shock. She heard the woman laugh warmly on the other end.

“Nice! Alright Eddie, you're calling in about...?” the woman trailed off, causing Cayleah to clear her throat.

“Monsters. I'm calling about monsters.” she replied quickly. The sound of a keyboard tapping away came through the line, followed by a short tone.

“Alright, you're on in five.” the woman said, a click signaling the change in lines. The ghoul girl took a slow, deep breath, and let it out in an anxious breath. Soon, a calming baritone voice spoke out.

“And on line two is Eddie Mustaine, calling in about Monsters. Hmmmm! I'm guessing you're a fan of the 80's, huh Eddie?” the host Ross opened, a warm chuckle following his question. Cayleah laughed with him nervously, staring at her bedroom ceiling.

“Yeah, big fan! First time listener and caller here, I uh, I kinda turned to your show by random, but I have a...well...a lot of stuff to talk about.” she replied in a shaky voice. She started to chew her lip again, her shoulders tense from anxiety.

“Well, what have you got for us tonight, Miss Eddie?” Ross asked, his warm voice starting to put the ghoul at ease. She let out another nervous breath, and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat once more.

“Um, so, I should start by saying I don't exactly know how much I can say here, I'm kinda testing the boundaries of my... well, contract I guess we could call it.” she began, the start of a second thought halting as she received a quick reply.

“Contract? With a corporation?” he asked. Cayleah quickly snatched the energy drink left sitting on her nightstand, and sipped it just as fast. If she wanted to keep up with the host, she had to perk up.

“No, uh, government, and I'm a special class of citizen, so they're probably listening to this already.” she replied frankly.

“Really? Let's not beat around the bush then, tell us as much as you think you can.”  Ross answered, a slight hint of skepticism in his voice, but his overall warm, polite tone remained.

“Well Ross, I'm uh, I'm... not entirely human. I'm a Ghoul.” Cayleah continued, nervously running her tongue across her sharp teeth. “But, if it makes any difference, I was born the uh, 'Organic' way, and I have a heart-beat! So I don't really consider myself undead...” she went on, pausing briefly to catch her breath.

“A ghoul? So Miss Eddie, being one, what makes ghouls different from humans?” Ross asked, a genuine interest starting to show in his voice.

“Umm, well, the big one people notice is my teeth... I don't have have a normal pair, every single tooth is pointed sharp. The excuse I give to people now is that they're just one of my body-mods, I started getting tattoos and a few piercings to help sell the idea a few years back. Before that, my parents would use some vague 'culture' excuse, but that only got more questions with the nosy types.” she answered, frowning as she finished. “The quirk I share with my race didn't help things, either. A lot of ghouls have mouth fixations. Talking, chewing, smoking, sucking on uh, candy, you get the idea. I'm mostly a talker, but I sing too.” she continued, and brought another piece of jerky to her mouth, devouring the snack in seconds. “I'm also stronger than I look, I wouldn't have any problems lifting something heavy, or biting through something tough like a stone... though that's been more annoying than helpful, I went through six pairs of headphones cause I chewed on the cord without thinking.” she finished, and took a breath. The ghoul was finally beginning to relax, her more talkative side starting to show.

“Wow, don't take this the wrong way, but you do got a bit of a motor-mouth on you!” Ross replied with a warm laugh. Cayleah laughed with him, the tension beginning to melt away from her shoulders.

“Yeah, like I was sayin', I'm a talker.” she started, sipping her drink again. “Umm, what else... We've got longer lifespans too. I'm only twenty-four, but if my relatives are any indicator I'm looking at another few hundred years to go, maybe longer. If we break one of our bones? We'll heal in a third of the time a human would. We don't really get sick, either, a Ghoul getting something like... food poisoning, is unheard of.” she continued, pausing briefly to take a breath. “And uh... yeah, I s'pose we could go from there to the um, the kinda bad stuff.”

“Now whaddya mean by 'Bad Stuff', Eddie?” the host inquired. Cayleah swallowed another lump in her throat, and took another breath.

“Well uh... well, no beating around the bush. My race ate people. Like, a lot of people. We're a predator race and we, uh, rightfully earned the reputation we have. B-but we don't do that kind of thing now! This is way, way back in history that all this happened.” she answered, and let out a shaky sigh. “I don't know exactly when we stopped... we've got our history recorded down somewhere, but since we're uh, kinda hiding, it's hard to get that stuff around. They haven't tossed it online or anything, you know.” she then added, shredding another piece of jerky in her mouth soon after.

“Yeah, you mentioned something about 'Special Citizens', and I wanted to ask about that, but, please tell us more about your race, if you can.” Ross replied. The young ghoul briefly chewed her lip again.

“Umm... I don't really know what else to say about my race, so we can move onto special citizens.” Cayleah said, taking a short sip from her drink. “So, yeah, because I'm a monster, I'm a special citizen of the U.S. So, that should tell you already there's more of us around. Not all of us are ghouls, there's all kinds of monsters out there.” she continued on, setting her drink back down on the nightstand. She leaned over her bed, her left hand diving into her black leather purse, and quickly found her wallet. “Now uh, I'm reaching for mine right now, but on a special citizen's state I.D., driver's license or whatever, there's a symbol placed...” she trailed off, as she pulled her license out of her wallet. She tilted the card under the light a few times, shortly finding the symbol; a circle sitting upon a crescent, that had a cross coming down from the middle of it, in holographic printing. “...yeah, it's on the bottom-right of the card. Um, I don't think I'll be allowed to describe it, but, I think it's for a Roman god.”

“Heh, we're going to have to remember that when hire the new interns!” the host casually joked. Cayleah rolled her eyes, yet stayed quiet. “But you said there's other monsters out there? Have you met any, or is that also restricted?” he then asked.

“Oh no, no that's not restricted at all, if anything they encourage us to talk to each other, probably so we don't feel as alone. I've moved around the country a lot, and you end up meeting a lot of monsters at the halfway houses they set up for us. I still talk to a lot of them through skype.” she answered. “Like, um... well, I can tell you vampires exist, same with werewolves... harpies, mermaids, plant girls, spiders, bats... jeez, just, you name it. They're probably out there.” she answered, and frowned. “But I'm one of the lucky ones, really. I look human enough to have a life in society. A lot of them can't, though.” she continued, and shredded another piece of jerky. “I know one girl... I think I'll be okay talking about her, if you're 'In the Know' you'd be familiar with her family anyway. She's a friend of mine, her parents run one of those monster hotels. Nicest girl ever, but, there's no way she could hide as a human, being part plant and all.” she added, and paused for a breath. When Ross didn't respond, she continued.

“So yeah, she's stuck at home. She's never been out in a city, or seen the ocean, or any of that. But... I'm hoping that changes soon.” Cayleah said, shifting topics. “There's this rumor going around right now between monsters... we uh, we might not be kept a secret for much longer. Like, in the next year or two, we might be public knowledge.” the ghoul continued, and finished her energy drink. “I'm not sure how they'll really do it though. For all I know, the prez might just up and say it at a press conference.” she then finished, and let out a breath.

“That would be something, wouldn't it?” Ross replied with a warm chuckle. “But Eddie, this is quite the tale you're telling us now. How do we know you're not just spinning a good yarn for us?” he then asked. Cayleah frowned, and chewed her lip, nearly drawing blood. It was time to really push her boundaries.

“Alright... this is the only real way I can think of proving it. My real name is Ca-” she began, only to be cut off, the entire house darkening from a power outage. She heard nothing over the phone, and held it out in front of her, tapping a few buttons. The device had powered down, cutting off the call. “...Calypso Euterpe.” she finished, sighing heavily. “Fuckin' A.” After a few seconds of darkness, the lights flickered back on, as the power returned. There was a sharp knock at Cayleah's bedroom door, the door cracking soon after, her grandmother peaking inside.

“Everything alright in here, honey?” she asked, giving her granddaughter a warm smile. Cayleah nodded at her, glancing back to her phone briefly as it powered on by it's own.

“Yeah, I'm alright.” she replied simply, and set her phone down. “It uh, wasn't me this time, my amp's been off for a while.” Cayleah then said, hoping she was telling the truth. Her grandmother laughed softly in response.

“I know, I checked the fuse box, there was nothin' wrong in it. Strange though, the power outage was only in our house.” she replied, and shook her head. “Anyway, just wanted to check on you, sweetie!” she said, and gently closed the door. Cayleah stared at the door for a few moments, and turned the dial up on her radio. There was silence on the other end at first, but a song faintly began to fade in as the seconds passed.

“Well now, that was definitely strange! We've never had the power in our station get knocked out like that. We're on a back-up system right now, and we'll return shortly once we sort things out. Eddie, if you're listening, please call us back if you can! For now, enjoy this classic from The Doors. Strange Days are upon us, indeed.” Ross' warm baritone announced over the music. Cayleah checked her phone, the device finally powered on, and was about to dial, when she noticed she had a new text message. She didn't recognize the number, but the message was clear enough.

						“Keep it vague. Don't push your luck.”

Another lump formed in the ghoul's throat, and she swallowed it once again. After a few hesitant moments, she turned the radio down, and decided to call the station again. Luckily, she didn't have to wait as long as before.

“There you are, we were kinda worried. Is everything okay?” the woman from earlier asked, concern present in her voice.

“Yeah yeah, I'm okay... the power went out on my end, too, but um, I don't think it was an accident.” Cayleah replied, her voice somewhat shaky. “I got a text message telling me to uh, not go into details about things.” she added. The sound of typing on the other end ceased.

“I uh... I see. Can you...is it okay for you to talk more?” the woman asked, the worried tone in her voice increasing.

“I think I'll be okay, I just can't use my real name, it looks like.” Cayleah answered, and let out a nervous laugh.

“I guess so...” the woman said quietly. “Well, I'll patch you through. Just uh... don't put yourself in harm's way for us, if that's a risk you run.” she added, followed by a click announcing her departure.

“It looks like Miss Eddie's back with us! Boy, that was something strange, huh?” Ross opened, greeting the ghoul once again.

“Yeah, sorry about that... but uh, there's your proof, I guess!” Cayleah said, and laughed nervously once more. “But uh, I just wanted to call in to let you guys know I'm okay. I'm just kinda freaked out right now, so uh, I don't know what to really talk about, but I can talk, as long as it's vague!” she then explained, chewing her lip.

“That's fine, we're just glad to hear from you. If you'd like, you can call in another night, and we can pick up where we left off?” the host offered. Cayleah let out an anxious sigh, and ran her tongue over her teeth.

“Uh, yeah sure, we can do that.” the ghoul answered. “You guys have an email, right?”

“We do! You, and our guests, if interested, can contact us through Nightscape Radio, all one word, at gee-mail dot com. And thank you, Miss Eddie! You've given us a lot to think about tonight, and we hope the rest of your night is a pleasant one.” Ross replied. Cayleah was thankful the station used a simple email, she could easily remember that.

“Thank you, Ross! It was a pleasure.” the ghoul parted with, and the line clicked one last time, the call ending. Cayleah turned the dial on the radio back up, hearing the last few moments of her time on air.

“Wow. Now that. Was. Something. Monsters among us, folks, and they're not all bad! We'll need to do a show for that soon, we definitely need to sit Miss, heh, Eddie Mustaine down for longer. But, onto our next caller!” the host continued on, without missing a beat. The young girl shifted around in her bed, soon finding a more comfortable position on her side, staring out her bedroom window opposite her nightstand. The sky was clear, the crescent moon shining through brightly, but the ghoul just couldn't relax. The call was over, and if she was in any further trouble with the authorities, she would have already known. So why was she so nervous?

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Cayleah leaned against the leather support of the tattoo chair, the familiar burn and prickle of the ink needle against her skin doing little to bother the ghoul. She looked into the mirror arrangement, and smiled, watching as Paul slowly and gently worked on the pattern on her back, an intricate and, now somewhat colored, Flower of Life.

“It's coming out really well! And you were worried you'd mess the colors up.” Cayleah said, and stuck her tongue out. The blonde tattoo artist glanced up over his wire-framed glasses into the mirror, and rolled his dark-blue eyes.

“Yeah well, I'm not done, so don't talk so soon.” Paul shot back, and set the needle gun off to the side on his workplace. He then picked up the electronic cigarette sitting nearby, and brought it to his mouth, taking a puff off the device. He then held the e-cig out over Cayleah's shoulder and wiggled it. “Want to try? It's blackberry, no nick.” he said. The ghoul gently took it from his hand, and inhaled the vapor, handing the device back to him right after. It certainly tasted like blackberries, but it was far too sweet for her sensitive palette.

“Not bad, but the peach flavor you had last time was better.” Cayleah said simply, the thin vapor escaping her lips. Paul merely shrugged, and exhaled upwards, the vapor billowing towards the ceiling.

“Peach was out, but the shop is getting more on Monday.” Paul replied, and took up the needle gun once more, continuing his work on Cayleah's smooth, olive skin. The young girl closed her eyes and sighed pleasantly, enjoying the feeling of her favorite person at work. It felt almost like heaven to her. “So,” Paul began, breaking the few minutes of silence they shared, “I heard you on the radio last night.” Cayleah's eyes shot open, looking directly into the mirror, but Paul kept his eyes on his work.

“Uhh... heh, what do you mean?” she asked, trying, and failing, to hide her nervousness. Paul pulled the needle gun back, changing colors on the device, before returning to his work.

“Nightscape Radio, you remember I listen to it, right?” Paul answered simply. Cayleah felt her stomach sink. She knew she heard about it before, and now she remembered from who.

“...I uh, kinda forgot.” she said quietly. She closed her eyes tight, fear running through her mind. Fear of what, she wasn't exactly sure. She sat in silence for a few moments, hoping Paul would move on.

“So... is it true?” Paul asked, his hand steady as he worked with the needle gun. Cayleah opened her eyes again, and stared at the artist through the mirror. His hand soon stopped, and he set the needle gun off to the side once more, locking eyes with the ghoul through the mirror. They stared in silence, seconds feeling like hours to the young girl.

“...what do you think?” she asked back. Paul rolled his eyes again, and reached for his e-cig, taking another puff.

“Cayleah, I started my apprenticeship shortly before you started coming here. I remember your first day, you came in to get a tattoo to celebrate your eighteenth birthday.” Paul began, a genuine smile appearing on his face. “You were one of the first I was able to work on without my father over my shoulder, and I still remember what I thought when we first talked about what you wanted.” he continued, and smirked. “How the hell did this pretty girl convince her parents to get her teeth modded like that?” he revealed, causing the ghoul to let out an amused snort, and the corners of her mouth began to twitch. “Seriously! It's bugged me this entire time. No parent would let their kid get that, not a single one.” he added, taking another puff from his e-cig. “And the tattoos! I noticed right away your skin would heal faster than anyone else, with all the work we've done, and I always figured it was one of your weird quirks.” the artist continued. Cayleah gave in, and let herself smile. “And really? Eddie Mustaine? Only you could come up with something that cheesy.” he finished with a chuckle. The ghoul quickly stuck her tongue out again in response.

“That doesn't answer my question though. What do you think?” she then restated playfully, the fear melting away, being replaced by relief. Paul stuck his hand into his pocket, and fumbled around.

“I think you're telling the truth, but...” he began, and trailed off, pulling something from his pocket, which he soon dangled over Cayleah's shoulder. “...I'd rather know.” he finished, wiggling the smooth stone near her face. The ghoul couldn't help herself, and she began to laugh.

“Really? Of all the ways I could, you want me to prove it that way?” she asked with a grin, taking the stone from his hand.

“Hey, you said you could do it.” Paul said with a shrug. The ghoul simply smirked, and opened her mouth, bringing the stone to her teeth. Like a hot knife going through butter, she smoothly bit through the stone. She then handed the artist the dry half, spitting the other half on the ground. Paul took the stone from Cayleah, and flipped it around in his hands a few times, before pocketing it. “I gotta admit, that's fuckin' cool.” he replied, grinning, and grabbed the needle gun again, returning to the work on the ghoul's back.

“Well, I'm happy to hear that.” she said softly, unable to contain the dumb, wide smile plastered on her face. Paul changed the colors in the needle gun once more, and glanced at the clock.

“So what are you doing after your appointment? You wouldn't happen to be busy like usual, hmm?” the blonde artist asked, pressing the needle gun against the ghoul again.

“No, actually.” Cayleah started, her smile only getting wider. “I don't think I'll be as busy as I used to say.”

“Perfect. I'm off after this, would you want to get some lunch?” Paul followed up with.  The ghoul closed her eyes.

“I would love to.”