FIC: “FML,” by Harper Kingsley – 01

Title: FML
Author: Harper Kingsley
Character: Dantea Gasswell
Genre: urban fantasy, drama
Summary: A quick stop for milk results in a wacky and wild adventure.

I’m the stereotypical Asian girl with bad teeth. Fuck my life.

The irreverent thought popped in her head while waiting in line at CVS. She’d caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored shelf-back of a jewelry display.

At some point she’d begun to let her appearance go. There was no one that she felt a need to impress, and keeping up her appearance was a lot of work if the only time she left the house was to pick up a gallon of milk and some Ibuprofen. There were some days–today–when it didn’t seem worth it to wash her hair or put in her contacts. She kept her face and hands washed at all times and tried to keep her appearance somewhat neat and tidy, but she didn’t bother with fancy clothes or makeup. It was just easier to throw on her glasses and an unmarked black ball cap as she headed out the door.

I’m a wreck, Dantea thought.

She’d been in a rush and hadn’t bothered to check her reflection before leaving home, which meant she hadn’t realized that she was looking worse than usual. Less hot mess and more of just a mess-mess.

There was a gob of whitening gel firming up like gelatin on her eyetooth.

Screams for milk before school had ruined her morning bathroom routine.

The Iron Man tee shirt she’d pulled on was looking a bit dingy and dirty. She hoped it didn’t smell.

Her ponytail stuck out lopsidedly from the hole in her cap, the ends looking frazzled and maybe a bit dry. She hadn’t remembered to grab her headband, so her bangs were escaping the edges of the cap in crinkled waves. Even with the cap on, her hair looked horrible.

Dantea forcedly looked away from her startled reflection. She looked like a fawn or something, helpless prey waiting to be consumed.

It was hard for anyone to believe that she was an apex predator. Though she was one, a somewhat rare human-dragon hybrid. Which meant she’d inherited her dragon-mother’s large size and fierce appearance when in dragon form, and her human-mother’s lack of height and all around daintiness when in human form.

There were times when she saw pictures of herself and got confused. Her dragon nature wanted to snatch up the delicate girl she saw and either chomp her into gullet-sized bits or hide her away somewhere. Then she’d remember that she was looking at herself and things felt weird. Because who wanted to Captive Princess their own human form?

She was a freak.

If anyone knew what went through her mind sometimes, she’d be locked up.

An unbalanced apex predator was a danger to society. There were posters on buildings and television PSAs that urged citizens to turn in any suspect apex. Monetary rewards were given out when an arrest was made.

Dantea did not want to be exiled to the Spirit Realm. It wasn’t a great place to visit and she seriously didn’t want to live there. She’d much rather live as a human. Which she would only be able to manage as long as she avoided her reflection and the allure of the fawnish young woman.

“Excuse me. Next please.”

Dantea twitched and looked at the cashier. The line had moved on without her and she was next.

“Oop. Sorry.” She smiled apologetically and trotted to the counter. She pushed the jug of milk and the small box at the older looking woman.

“Not a problem.” The cashier rang up her purchases and didn’t raise an eyebrow when she refused a bag. “That will be $7.50.”

“$7.50? Geez, everything’s getting expensive. Soon we’ll have to stop drinking milk all together.” Dantea reached in her pocket for a ten dollar bill.

“Everyone’s been mentioning the raised prices lately,” the cashier–Marion read her nametag–said. “Crop failures and sudden climate change have wrecked nearly everything. Things are only going to get more expensive.”

Dantea stuffed the pill box and the receipt in her jacket pocket. She cradled the milk jug against her chest. “I hope not too expensive. We’re barely making it as it is.”

“I hear you,” Marion said. “My husband’s on disability after an accident at work. We’re barely making ends meet.”

“Sucks.” Dantea gave an affable nod toward the wall clock. “I’ve gotta go. The kids are waiting for this milk.”

“You have a good day,” Marion said.

“You too. I’m going to want to talk to you more next time I see you, so keep a line clear.”

Marion laughed and waved her hand as Dantea headed toward the door. It cost nothing to be friendly and Marion had seemed like a nice woman.

Dantea flipped up her hood once she got outside. It had started lightly misting when she got to the store, but it was drizzling now. She could already foresee her sneakers filling with water before she got halfway home.

Great. All I need is a pair of wet shoes stinking up the house along with everything else going on.

She’d looked at the overcast sky and thought about bringing an umbrella, but had figured it would hold off long enough to get back. Looked like she’d gambled on the weather and lost.

She stuck her free hand in her jacket pocket and began the trek toward home. Water immediately began splashing against her glasses and she could feel it soaking through her pant legs.

Even wearing her most stoic expression, she could tell that she was giving off an aura of irritated misery. The few pedestrians she passed swerved widely around her without knowing why they did it. Human instinct would recognize the danger she represented even if they didn’t consciously realize what was making them so nervous. It was one of the reasons she’d had such a terrible time in school–children had zero tact when dealing with someone perceived as different. The teachers may have insisted that they were being ridiculous, but the children had known that she was something to avoid. Thinking back, she couldn’t really blame them. She’d been a bloodthirsty monster until halfway through middle school. It was lucky she hadn’t eaten one of the little bastards.

Dantea was half a block from her street when she realized a pickup truck had been creeping up behind her slowly. She could see it reflected in the plate glass window of the bookstore and dress shop as she walked by.

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and called Home.

“H’lo?”

“Hey, it’s me. I’m running a bit late. Think you could get the kids ready and out the door?” She kept an eye on the truck’s reflection as it got closer and closer. She considered throwing the milk and running, but these fools were awfully close to her house. It was better to handle them now rather than wait for a nighttime visit or have to deal with finding a new place to live.

“What’s going on? You sound weird.”

“It’s raining really hard, that’s all. I thought I should wait somewhere dry until it stops.”

“That might be a while. It looks like it’s raining cats and dogs.”

“Yeah. I should have just fed the kids freezer waffles and gone back to bed. Anyways, you got a handle on things there?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool. I’ll be home later. Thanks.”

“Sure. Bye.”

“Bye.” Dantea hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. She didn’t want anyone to worry while she did what needed to be done.

Her claws flexed in readiness when the truck sped up and squealed to a stop crosswise in front of her. The passenger side door flung open.

“Get in,” the driver growled. Guns bristled from the backseat, enough that she worried about accidentally getting shot in the face.

“Okay.”

TBC…

*

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