Badump. Badump. Badump. The heartbeat pulled Lisa gently back from the edge of her nightly oblivion.

She stirred with a mumble, eyelids fluttering against the new brand of darkness, but she quickly settled back down with her face now buried in her pillow. Her lethargic mind found it queer that her heart would be so loud, but she reasoned that it was simply the night and sleep deprivation playing tricks with her. It wasn't worth dwelling upon; she simply wished to return to the void of slumber. Badump. Badump-Badump. Badump. Her pillow was making it difficult to fall back asleep. It was much more uncomfortable than she remembered it felt as though someone had pulled out a majority of the stuffing and replaced it with sticks. They were poking and rubbing at her plump cheeks through the thin (and slightly damp) cloth cover, but she was far too tired to heave herself out of bed to get a new pillow. She simply rolled her head to the side in an attempt to get more comfortable and return to her dreams. Badump-Badump. Badump-Badump. Badump-Badump. Her nose crinkled. Some awful stench was creeping its way into her skull and tugging at her eyelids. It reeked of copper, infection, and rotting flesh and splashed across her face in hot puffs of thick, moist air. It was the single foulest thing she had ever smelled, and it wretched her violently from the precipice of sleep. Her foggy blue eyes hung half open with a mixture of confusion and disgust, struggling to adjust to the darkness. They were met by a shadowy figure hovering right before her face, accompanied by a now audible panting. Her dog it must be her dog, waking her up at this time of night to show off some horrid thing he had dug up or caught or found festering in the basement. His breath certainly stank of it.

"Go away, Duke," she grumbled, closing her eyes and rolling over to escape the smell. "I'll deal with it in the morning." The strangely comforting lick of her dog's tongue along the back of her neck sent her mind floating towards sleep despite the ever-quickening heartbeat now pounding through her ears. Badump-Badump-Badump-Badump-Badump-Badump-Badump-Badump. A soft chuckle wheezed from within her pillow. "I really wish you would roll back over, because you have the most beautiful eyes." Lisa froze. She wanted to roll over, to reassure herself that it was simply her mind playing tricks on her, but every instinct in her body and every voice in her head shouted not to look. So she lay there, eyes closed so tightly she thought the lids would tear and a scream boiling in the pit of her stomach, straining to hear something more past her own frantically rising heartbeat. To her horror, the sickeningly smooth, bittersweet voice came again. "Oh, my dear, what's the matter? You're not frightened, are you?" Thin, spindly fingers crept up behind Lisa's ear and gently caressed the soft skin of her face. "Please don't be scared, darling." The fingertips smeared a warm, wet liquid over her lips as they admired the plump flesh. "I want there to be a smile on your face when I take it." The touch had the texture of rotten lettuce leaves and sent a greasy chill up Lisa's spine. She wasn't dreaming. This was real, and so was whatever had snuck into her bed. A terrified whimper began to dribble from her lips, the thundering of her own heartbeat almost drowning out that of the pillow-thing. Please, God, no, she prayed, her body beginning to shake. She attempted to shrink away to the far end of the bed, to roll her covers over herself like a child warding off monsters from under the bed, but the spider-like fingers simply followed her, unwilling to relinquish the velvet touch of her skin.

God isnt going to help you, my dear. Now stop being coy and let me see a smile, the thing crooned, worming under her blanket and jamming his index fingers into the corners of her mouth. The putrid taste made Lisa gag, acid climbing up her throat as she coughed and sputtered and finally managed to roll herself off of the bed and onto the floor with a loud THUD. Please, stop, she begged softly, scrambling desperately to find her footing. Im a good girl, I didnt do anything to anybody. Please, please stop. Her voice was soft and weak, cowering in the back of her throat, too afraid to confront the thing that had so shattered the safety and comfort of her home. A sick, distorted laughter filled the room. Nobody is a good girl, a voice oozed. You are lying to yourself. You are just as much of a good girl as I am! The laughter heightened in pitch, tearing through Lisas ears and clawing at her brain. No, she whimpered, I am a good girl. Lisa combed her mind for evidence of this, desperately needing to comfort herself with something, anything that would make her not deserve this. She went to church. She donated to charities. She prayed. She laughed. She loved. Of course she said things and thought things that wouldnt exactly be considered good, and her tongue could sometimes drip with venom, but that didnt make her a bad person, did it? No, of course it doesnt. Im a good girl. Im a good girl, I swear I am, Lisa promised herself. However, her pleas only seemed to amuse the creature more, his heaving laughter now booming throughout the room. It was clearly apparent that he knew that she had been attempting to rationalize with herself and that his words had already begun to have an effect on her. It was also clearly apparent that he found this hilarious. Stop, please! she cried, louder now, raising her voice to compete with the ever-growing laughter until she was nearly shouting at the top of her lungs: STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP

STOP STOOOOOOOOP! Tears were streaming down her face and mucus bubbling from her nose; she cried frantically and her limbs flailed around for something, anything, she could use to protect herself. Her fingers tightly wrapped around the first solid object she could find, and she desperately fling herself to the far end of the room. She hurried onto her feet and pointed the object at her bed with her right hand while her left slapped around the sticky drywall to find the light switch. As light flooded the room, however, the vomit roiling up in her throat at the scene before her made Lisa wish she had stayed in the dark. Blood was everywhere: splattered all over the once-blue walls, drenching her oncewhite carpet, and dripping off of her once-pillow, whose gaunt arms were now pulling it up off of the bed. She gagged at its appearance, almost turning away to spare her carpet yet another horrid stench and stain, but as horrible as it looked, she didn't trust it enough to take her eyes off of it or rather, him. He was a lanky, pale son-of-a-bitch, his bony legs stretching his skinny 6foot frame a good bit of the way towards her damp ceiling. He was completely naked, save for a pair of black Nike sneakers, a patchy loincloth made of some material she hoped to God wasn't human skin, a very liberal coating of blood, and. Lisa barely had time to flick off the lights again, for the sake of her already crumbling sanity, before she dropped to her knees. Chest heaving, Lisa doubled over and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Stretched over the man's face was a foul mask of flesh and fur: the once comforting maw of her faithful Rottweiler, complete with a crude smile scribbled up the edges with Magic Marker. The man laughed hysterically and took a large stride towards her. Lisa attempted to compose herself enough to point her weapon at him, but she could only manage a sideways glance and a barely audible, trembling voice. "G-get, urkugh, g-GET BACK, you s-s-sick frrrfrreak," she weakly commanded between dry heaves.

Suddenly, the laughing stopped. The man pulled apart the canine maw of is mask to reveal an enormous, barely human smile. "Oooohh, and what are you going to do to make me?" he chortled. "I don't think that a flash drive is the best thing to defend yourself with, darling." He took another step closer. "Why don't you just put that down and stop fighting me? You do have quite a beautiful face." The man reached out a hand, his ragged yellow fingernails just barely touching Lisa's quivering chin. "Such soft, smooth skin, just barely kissed a gentle shade of tan. Such plump, round cheeks, and a very dainty, lady-like chin.. Such big, beautiful eyes, and an adorable, stubby, piggy nose. And such plump, pink lips, so succulent and sweet. Ah yesss, such a perfect, beautiful mask." That disgusting touch of rotten lettuce once more slid across Lisa's face and nearly caused her to vomit again. She just barely able to overcome the waves of nausea, and offered little more than a soft whimper as she jerked her head away, flattening herself against the wall and wishing that she could just melt through the drywall and escape. The man roughly grabbed her chin and wretched her face towards him. "Come now, darling, the more you cooperate the faster we can get this over with. Lisa was crying now, but she could already feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins, triggering that ancient response that had kept much feistier ancestors safe from beasts. But now a beast had her trapped in the one place she had felt the most safe, and she felt like she had nowhere to run. She closed her eyes and screamed, but her instincts drove her hand forward. She felt the flash-drive still clutched in her fingers shoved into something soft; the frantic and pained screaming and flailing that soon followed made Lisa open her eyes again. A fresh coating of blood was showering her carpet as the man desperately tugged at the flash-drive now embedded in his eyeball. His inhuman screams caused the hair on the back of

Lisas neck to stand on end, but she only stared in horror at the gruesome sight before taking her chance to scramble to her feet and bolt for the door. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought her ribs would snap, but amidst the terror she had begun to feel a strange kind of rush. The thrill of fighting for her life was starting to create a brave new face for Lisa to wear. "YOU BITCH," the man roared, shoving his pain aside and charging at her with beastlike fury seething from his canine maw, YOURE NOT GOING TO RUN FROM ME! Fists balled so tightly his fingernails drew blood from his sweaty palms, he ran after her faster than any human should have been able to, let alone someone as gaudy and injured as he was. He chased her into the living room and caught Lisa by her long locks of her fire-red hair right before she could reach the front door of her house, wrenching her backwards and throwing her to the floor. Her cries of pain only brought a twisted smile to his face. If you dont BEHAVE, Im going to have to PUNISH YOU. I thought you said you were a good girl? he cackled, stepping on her throat with a bony foot and shoving her back to the floor as she attempted to get up. Now STAY STILL. Wh why. Lisa choked out. Wh why are you ach doing this. The pressure of his foot lifted as the man seemed to ponder this question for a moment. He freed her throat from his weight and turned around, his hands clasped behind his back, as Lisa sputtered and gasped for air. Because, he said after a lengthy pause, we all wear masks. Wh what? He turned to face her, strangely calm. We all wear masks, my dear. You, me, the guy down the street everyone does. The world has taught us to pretend to be something were not when other people are looking, because who we really are inside is ugly. He took a few steps

towards her and crouched beside her, staring directly into her eyes. That pretty little face youve got isnt who you really are, Lisa. How how do you know my name. Ive been watching you for a while. Lisa had begun to quiver, but couldnt bring herself to break his gaze. There was something about his presence in the room, his crazy-talk that sounded almost rational, that kept her glued to the spot. You like to put on a pretty little face for all the world, but I know who you really are. Ive seen what you do to people. Jamie, youre so fat, you should just kill yourself so they can make you into rations for starving kids in Africa. His voice was mocking hers now. Thats not a very good girl thing to do, now, is it? Or how about that naughty little stealing habit of yours? You think nobody sees you slip those cute little dresses of yours into a bag before just walking out of the store? And dont get me started on all of the poor ickle pets youve let your dog murder. Do you think going to church and putting on a pretty little smile is going to trick me? Ive seen who you really are, Lisa, and I want the whoooooole world to see it, too. Lisas fear was beginning to morph into anger. How dare you, she hissed, her voice not as strong as she would have liked it to be. She was still shaking, but the adrenaline was giving her a sense of confidence. How how dare you come into my home and act like you know me! Im Im not anything like you say I am! IM NOT! Are you telling that to me, dear, or are you just trying to convince yourself that youre not? the man smiled. Lisa paused to think, but saw that her hesitance was exactly what the man had wanted.

Exactly my point. His eyes were starting to regain their fire again. Now, if youll be ever so kind. STAY STILL! He lunged for her, but his hands were met with floorboards as Lisa lurched out of the way just in time and began to scramble away. Her pudgy fingers groped around the darkness for something, anything she could attack with. The man wasnt going to stop chasing her, and it had dawned upon Lisa that she was going to have to fight for her life if she wanted any chance of escaping with her face intact. However, as the rush overtook her, she was confident that, if she could wield a flash drive so effectively, she could turn any object in her house into a weapon. Just as she latched onto the familiar plastic of her remote control, a heavy pair of bony feet thudded and cracked towards her through the blackness. She was ready, and in a voice still trembling with fear but louder than she thought she could have mustered, she shouted, "COME AT ME!" Silence: a sudden, deafening quiet fell over the house, and all Lisa's ears were met with was the faint echo of her battle cry. She couldn't hear the footsteps. She couldn't hear the heart beat. She heard absolutely nothing. Her entire body was on edge, listening, struggling, straining to pick up any indicator of his presence. Though adrenaline and a newfound bloodlust were starting to more effectively mask her fear, the sudden silence and the brief moment of lucidity the man had shown her earlier left her uneasy. Her defenses were growing stronger, but they were malleable. A low snicker drizzled through the thick air. Lisa lunged at the supposed source of the sound, swinging her remote-control sword violently but there was nothing there. Another chuckle came from behind a couch, louder this time. With a mighty howl she sprinted across the room and dove over the leather seats, only to be met by her hardwood floor smacking her in the face. "Shit!" she growled, quickly scrambling to her feet. Yet another cackle, higher-pitched

and frenzied, pierced through her skull. She flung herself towards it. Smack. An insane giggling rustled around her grey matter. She charged. Thud. A chortle: she dashed. Crack. A snort: she leapt. Whack. As laughter and snorts and snickers and the sounds of delightful madness filled the room, Lisa's actions became more frenzied. As she threw herself around the living room like a rag doll, swinging and swatting about with her remote, fear and delirium were twisting and corrupting the energy and anger she had collected to fight for her life. Her instincts and defenses were slowly turning to feverous bloodlust, and not once amongst all of the mounting insanity did she ever think to turn on the lights. The man, however, did. Lisa stumbled back as light filled the room, momentarily blinding her to the dog-faced figure that had never moved from his place in the hallway. "Youre not as strong as you think you are, dear. Dont forget that I know who you really are, you weak little shit, he purred. His smile spread so wide it threatened pull his face apart, and he began to shuffle towards the holder of his precious new mask. Once more, Lisa wildly swung her trusty remote in his general direction, desperately blinking the world back into her eyes. "GET BACK," she ordered. "I-I-I-Im not weak! I can defend myself! I can fight you! I already got your eye, and I'll get the other one too if you come anywhere near me!" The man laughed so hard he nearly choked on his own spit. "Yes you are! You've taken your pathetic flight or fight response and escalated it past the realms of human instinct and into psychosis! Or are you trying to tell me that haphazardly throwing yourself against the walls and furniture while attacking the air with a remote control is a calm and collected defense?" "I'm not the one wearing a fucking dog's face and running around almost-naked into people's houses! Who the Hell are you to tell me I'm going crazy?"

"Because I know how to get into your head, my darling. I already have." As he strode towards her, he silently slipped behind his back a knife that had been lying on the adjacent table; the man was surprised that Lisa had never thought to grab it, as it was sitting literally two feet away from the couch she had ambushed. "I know how to creep around and mess up all of the little connections and conceptions you have up there. I know how to change up my game and rip the already uneven footing right out from under you." He fingered the blade as he approached her, driving her slowly back towards the door leading outside. "I know how to fuck with you. I know how to weasel around in your skull and get your defenses aaaaaaaaall twisted up." The remote was shaking violently in Lisa's hands. She was desperately clinging to her rapidly melting faade of confidence and strength, but the man's words were starting to get to her. They were poking holes in her armor and wiggling about under her skin; it was getting harder and harder to ignore. She had to think. She had to act. She had to rip him out of her head and out of her house and smash that disgusting face of his in, if not only to prevent him from talking anymore. "Shut the fuck up. You don't know anything." She continued to retreat from his advances until the cold metal of the doorknob jabbed her in the back. At first she nearly panicked, feeling cornered, but then she remembered what was on the other side of that door and it gave her an idea. "You're just some fucking psycho," she growled, trying to muster any courage that she could. "Just some psycho with a half-finished flash drive lobotomy lodged in the face he's too much of a pussy to show me." She slowly reached one hand down and onto the knob, turning it gently and cracking open the door ever so slightly. "My face is too good for you." "Oh? And so you're saying it's good enough for you? It's just another pretty little mask that you hide behind, my darling. I don't see the harm in simply removing it and taking it for

myself. Now." His arm tensed, and his fingers gripped the knife's handle. "How about you be a good little girl and GIVE IT TO ME?" He hurled himself at Lisa, whipping out the knife and driving it at the tender skin of her neck. She jumped forward, ducking under her remote and whipping open the door. The blade became lodged in the plastic and Lisa ripped both her shield and the knife to the side and bolted out the door, shouting between bouts of laughter, feeling a sickly sweet kind of excitement as she ran for her life, her heart furiously pumping a twisted smile across her face. She didnt know why in the Hell she felt this way, but she kind of liked it. "IF YOU WANT IT SO BAD, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO COME GET IT!" She sprinted through the sweet, dewy grass, eyes darting back to make sure that her hunter was following her; just as she expected, he was. But he didn't have the benefit of the enclosed space of her tiny house anymore. Outside, in the endless space and land and sky, she had absolutely everywhere to run. She had absolutely everywhere to find him. She had absolutely everywhere to fight. Not once did Lisa ever consider calling for help she didn't need it. Even though the whoops and hollers were definitely going to wake the families of her small suburban neighborhood, she was going to fight him alone. His blood was hers. Grass gave way to blacktop, and the man was approaching. Her heart was beating too quickly for her eyes to focus anymore, but Lisa could tell from his frenzied cries that he was nearly frothing at the mouth with rage and excitement. She was, too. The thrill of the hunt was consuming her; she, the once-helpless prey, was becoming the predator, and for that brief moment, she thought she almost understood why the man seemed to enjoy killing and chasing and stealing faces. It was all for the thrill. "OH COME ON, IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT YAH PUSSY? COME AND CATCH ME! COME AND GET MY FACE!" Approaching

headlights illuminated her rosy cheeks as she whipped around and taunted the man with his desired prize. "Come and get iiiiiiit!" Drool was nearly pouring from his mouth at the thought of his fingers plying off that supple skin. This was going to be his favorite mask, and he would wear it with such pride especially considering all of the trouble taking it was turning out to be. "OOOOOOH MY SWEET DARLING, DON'T YOU WORRY! I WILL!" he replied. His feet thundered against the street almost as loudly as his rapid, ragged breathing, completely drowning out the frantic breaking of car tires as the asphalt tore at their rubber. Screeeeeeeech. BAM! Thud. Hissss. 'Ooooh.' The aroma of alcohol and blood permeated the moist night air. Buckled metal littered the streets and yards, shrapnel sprinkled across Lisa's flesh, and the man's internal organs absolutely befouled the innocent, by-standing telephone pole. The heroic drunk driver that had swerved into the psychopath was dead, but struggled breaths and weak moans and sniggers were still emanating from the dog-faced man's maw as the canine mask slipped off of his face. Lisa smiled. "Well well well," she smirked, haughtily striding over to his crumpled body. She bent over and brought her head inches from his, sensually rubbing her fingers all over her face. "Ooooh, looks like I get to keep my pretty face for myself, eh? It's such a shame that the chase ended so quickly, though. I was hoping to catch you myself, but this car seems to have stolen my glory. Oh well." She pulled back and spat on him. "That's what you get for hiding behind masks, you sick fuck." "Hah," the man choked out. "Hahaaaaaa, ooooh." He coughed up blood between weak laughs. He rolled his broken head to look at her. I brokeit.

"Broke what?" Lisa snorted. Theres barely a scratch on me. "Your mask." He chuckled weakly and slumped his head back against the splintering wood of the pole. "Your true face is showing." He coughed and sputtered, and his eyes were rolling back in his head. "The wh-whole world can see." His body went limp just as sirens were beginning to pierce through the garbled weather forecast oozing from the car's mangled radio. "Sunny skies were not here to stay, folks." Lisa stood in the street, hearing none of it. She was dripping with blood, not all of it her own, but the voices in her head were far too loud for her to take notice. They were all fighting and squirming and writhing around over what the man had said. He was crazy. It made no sense. What had he meant with all of that jargon about masks. He knew things about her terrible things, things that she hid from the rest of the world. She tried to be a good girl, she really did, but. She looked down at her bloody hands. Was this who she was? Lisa glanced around her for a moment, catching glimpses of the curious eyes of startled neighbors carefully peeking out from their windows. "It appears storm front rumbling in." She felt like the whole world could see her now. She felt like the whole world had heard her shouting in glee at the prospect of fighting someone, of killing him, and of his death. All of the good she had done not because she had wanted to do it, but because she felt she needed to improve her image was washed away now. The man was right. The front she had put on to the rest of the world as a good, wholesome, kind-hearted girl was gone. Her mask was broken. "Kiss the light goodbye."

Lisa grabbed at her head, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Everything the man had said the feelings she had felt during the chase they all felt so rational. So comfortable. The man seemed like less of a villain and more of a teacher. A philosopher. A visionary. Maybe he had a point. Maybe some people didnt deserve their masks. Maybe they were best suited for those few enlightened ones who knew all about the masks, like she did. Besides, she couldn't walk around with this broken face; she needed a new one. Lisa reached out and lifted her dog's face from the man's mangled visage, gently brushing the dust of glass and metal and blood from the still soft fur. Her Duke her best friend he had been so loyal, so kind, and so loving. He had been everything the world wanted him to be and what the world wanted her to be. He had been a good boy, yes, such a good boy. "Greet the clouds open arms." Perhaps she could be a good girl again, too. Perhaps this mask was better suited for her. She lifted the flesh to her face and nearly moaned with delight this mask definitely felt so much better than her old one. It felt right. Lisa glanced momentarily at the fearful faces peering from windows and doors and smiled. She lived in a world of masks. If this one stopped fitting, she would simply go and get a new one. The world deserved to see what they really looked like just as much as she deserved their masks. So she would take them. She would run across the world and start a collection of them, from all sorts of different places for all sorts of different occasions. Yes, it sounded delightful. "We're in for dark days ahead." Lisa smiled deeply into her new mask before turning and fleeing from the approaching wailing of sirens flashing red and blue.