Chapter 2

2

KING

As I run through the quad, I pass students and take a double look at the Zombie that lumbers past me. Shit, I'll have to get used to that. Where I come from, monsters exist, but not too many. Here at Creelin U, they’re everywhere–and I mean everywhere . I make it a point to not stare, but I find them so fascinating. There’s a reason humans jokingly call this place “Creepin U”.

How amazing it must be to be a monster. I’ve seen so many species, and I’ve only been here a day. I’ve seen some flying high above the ground while there are others walking around with three heads. A Centaur helped me find my dorm hall, and I was stunned at how huge he was. And those that can shift? Damn, those are some cool-ass dudes. This morning, while dropping off my stuff in my new dorm, I ran into a Mummy. I must have startled him because he quickly shifted from human, to Mummy, then back again. It was wicked cool to see.

After running into him, I easily found my dorm, but neither of my roommates were there. I know they’d moved in already because their stuff was everywhere, but there was no one to be found. I waited as long as I could to see if they would show up, but I worried I would miss orientation, so I left.

Fuck. Orientation.

Which I'm currently late for.

I pick up speed and keep running, trying to find the building where they’re holding human orientation. Coming to Creelin U wasn't my original plan, but when I was offered an athletic scholarship to transfer here, I couldn't turn it down. Getting a scholarship meant I didn't have to take out more loans, which was a plus for me. The baseball team here is also really talented and they were looking to improve their roster.

I was on the team at my previous university, but I wasn't seeing much field time–I was only a sophomore and they tended to play the upperclassmen. I’d worked my ass off to become a great baseball player, but riding the bench hurt. I gave it my all during practice, only to never be noticed. I'm hoping it'll be different here. We'll have to wait and see.

Skidding to a stop, I apologize to the guy in front of me that I've almost crashed into before pivoting around him. Fuck, I really need to slow down. I glance at my watch, seeing I have three minutes to get where I'm going. Not wanting to get lost, I walk toward a group of girls in the middle of the quad and tap one on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Hi, would you happen to know where the human orientation is?" I ask her.

She whips around, her eyes scanning me from head to toe, taking in my basketball shorts and plain black tee. Looking down at my clothes, I grimace and immediately regret the decision to not dress a little better. I snatch my baseball cap off my head and swipe my brown hair back before putting my cap back on. I glance back at her and grin. She has shiny purple hair down to her waist and light violet eyes. She smiles sweetly at me, and that's when I notice the sharp fangs.

Again. So, fucking cool.

"Uh, yeah. You have to head down that way." I follow her finger. "Then it's on the left. Just go up the stairs.”

I offer her a swift “thank you” before taking off again. Luckily, I reach the auditorium in time, slipping into a seat in the back and huffing loudly from being out of breath.

"Damn, you barely made it," a voice next to me whispers.

Turning my head, I take in the guy next to me. He has dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He's about my size, bulky and muscular, but my eyes widen when I notice his Creelin U baseball sweatshirt. And hey, he's human. I haven't run into many of my own kind today.

"Barely. Are you on the team?" I ask enthusiastically, gesturing to his sweatshirt. Since baseball doesn't start until the spring, we haven't had an official practice yet, which means I haven't met any of the other players.

"Yeah, I start practice on Monday. Fucking excited to be here."

"Same. On the baseball team, I mean. And excited to be here." He bumps his fist into mine, laughing.

"Fucking awesome. I'm Sam," he says.

"King. Nice to meet you."

He's about to say something else when the doors swing open and slam shut. An older woman with gray hair glides down the aisle. And I do mean glides . She's floating down the aisle on a mortar—which looks like a barrel—her eyes focused on the front. The room quiets down, her presence commanding our attention.

"Wow," I whisper, in awe of her.

"Good day, students," she says as she reaches the front of the room. "My name is Dean Yaga, and I'm here to lead the human orientation. Firstly, I want to say welcome to everyone here. We are very lucky to be welcoming human students for the first time to Creelin University."

Dean Yaga gives us her introduction speech, telling us all about the history of Creelin U. She explains more about what they call the Halloween Wave. It was a paranormal event that happened two decades ago that ended up turning a large number of the population into monsters. We still don’t know what caused the wave, only that it came and went overnight. I was a baby when it happened, so while I don't remember it, I grew up existing side-by-side with monsters. She explains the different courses we will be enrolled in, including Intro to Monsterkind as well as Monster History. I’m looking forward to taking them; I want to learn everything I can about monsters. After giving us a rundown on what to expect this school year, she dismisses us so we can finish unpacking and getting ready for classes.

"Hey, man. Do you want to walk over to the Athletics Center together for the team meetup?" Sam asks as we stand up and start heading out of the room.

"Yeah, sure." We walk out of the building, and I stop abruptly. "Do you know where it is?"

"This way." He takes off to the left, and I follow his lead. "I learned my way from my dorm room to the facility this morning. I figured I would need to know that path, plus I had extra time since none of my roommates were there."

"Yours, too?" I ask him, catching up and walking beside him. "Mine weren't there either. But anyways, are you going to that bonfire tonight?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah, I think so. I debated not going, just because I still need to unpack, but I probably should get to know the other students here.”

“Let's go together. I don’t know anyone else here, and I bet you don’t either," Sam says, turning left toward a huge gray building with gargoyles perched on the top. Rumor has it some of the gargoyles are alive, but no one knows which ones–or if that even stands.

"Hell yeah, sounds good!"

We end up at the Athletics Center, and Sam shows me the way to the locker room. I walk inside, taking everything in. There’re lockers lined up all around the wall with benches in front of them. There’s a hallway off to the side, and I can see the signs that point to the Coach’s office. There's already a ton of players–and no seats left, so we lean against the back wall.

Coach Mahone walks into the room, clearing his throat. All of us shut up real quick, waiting to see what he has to say.

"Afternoon, all. First, to those who weren't here last year, welcome to Creelin U. It's a pretty damn good school, with a damn good baseball team, if I'm being honest." Coach Mahone chuckles, and while I hear what he's saying, all I can focus on is his head. He looks completely normal—like a human—except for the fact that under his baseball cap are snakes . The reptiles are hissing and winding around his neck, and I can't help but to fixate on them.

"Are those dangerous?" I whisper to Sam, not taking my eyes off the snakes.

"Yeah, they can be."

"So, fucking cool," I murmur.

Coach Mahone finishes his speech and introduces us to the rest of the assistant coaches. Then he gives us time to introduce ourselves and share our positions.

"Uh, I'm Kingston. Or King, or even Porter if you like last names. I'm a catcher," I ramble nervously. Sweat starts to form on my brow and I quickly wipe it off. “I’m a junior this year at CU, and excited to start the season.” Fuck, starting over on a new team is hard. I’m anxious about having to show everyone I was worth the scholarship to come here.

Next to me, Sam pipes up. "Hi, I'm Sam Santora. I'm a pitcher. Can't wait to get out on the field!" The rest of the team whoops and cheers before moving onto the next person.

"Hell yeah, man, catcher and pitcher. Dream team right here." I fist bump him.

"This is going to be a great fucking season." Sam replies, bumping his shoulder into mine.

We stay at the Athletics Center for another hour talking with other teammates before finally deciding to leave. I’ve learned many of the players on the team are monsters, but they’re excited to have humans join in. A few of them give us newbies a tour of the facilities, showing us the weight room and field. I’m still nervous about riding the bench, but the team has welcomed me with open arms.

"Meet you outside the dorm at eight for the bonfire?" I ask Sam as I begin walking away.

"Sounds good."

I sip on my third beer as my eyes scan the students dancing around the fire. Sam and I have been at the bonfire for the past hour, and I’ve been taking everything in. Humans and monsters are mingling for the most part. There's flirting, dancing, and drinking. A few people are acting wild, shot-gunning beers or playing beer pong. It's a typical college party, and I'm loving it.

This is my kind of scene.

I love being the party guy, the happy one. I always try to see the good things in life, and I don't let many things get me down. Some people consider me to be too much, but I tend to think I'm just enough.

"This party is epic!" Sam yells, coming up to my side. He’d wandered off to see what else the bonfire had to offer.

"Hell yeah, man. What did you see on your walk?"

"There’s a river down there; a few monsters were splashing around having fun. Pretty sure one was a Merman–I swear I saw a tail flip in the air." He laughs and I chuckle alongside him, taking another sip of my beer.

"So, what made you come to Creelin U?" I ask, wanting to know more about Sam. We've talked here and there over the course of the day, but we haven't really discussed anything outside of baseball.

"Uh, you know about the Halloween Wave? Well of course you do, you're alive and here. Well, when it happened, it turned half of the population into monsters right?" I nod my head, curious as to where he's going with this. Of course, we all know about the wave. "When it happened, it transformed my family into monsters."

"Woah," I cut him off. "Wait, you're a monster?" Eyeing him up and down, I try to see how I missed he wasn't human. He looks exactly like one. "Oh, wait–you're a shifter!"

"Actually, no. My family consists of all monsters. Except me. The wave didn't affect me. I'm the only human in my immediate family. When I first left for university, I thought I would love being around all humans. Ya know, other people like me? But I hated it. I missed seeing monsters daily; I missed interacting with those who reminded me of my family. So when I heard they were allowing humans into Creelin U, I applied right away."

"Damn, man. That had to have been hard." I can only imagine how difficult it must be to be the only person who is different in your family. "If you don't mind me asking, what type of monsters are they?" I’ve got a curious mind, and all that.

"They're Mummies. They can easily shift in and out of form, but they really enjoy staying in their true form most of the time."

"I love that. Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a brother and sister. My sister Taylor is older, and she lives back home. My younger brother Connor actually goes here, too–freshman. What about you? What made you come here?"

"Well… first, baseball." We both laugh before I continue. “But I also wanted something new. I did the typical university thing, and needed a change."

"I can appreciate that. How are you liking it so far?"

"Love it."

The beautiful Vampire girl from earlier walks up to us, smiling brightly. "Hey," she says, looking at both Sam and I.

"Hey," we echo in unison.

She looks at Sam, then turns and gives her attention to me. "I saw you over here and figured I would come say hi. Did you find the human orientation easily?"

"I did. Thank you for your help."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sam take off into the crowd of swaying bodies.

"I'm Vanessa," she offers. Her purple eyes glint up at me as she steps closer.

"King. Nice to meet you."

"Want to dance?" she asks, batting her violet eyelashes my way. Would I? Not really. But it doesn't hurt to make new friends.

"Yeah, sure."

We move toward the mass of dancing students. When we reach the edge of the group, the song changes to “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift and my body vibrates with excitement.

"Oh, hell yeah! I love me some Taylor Swift!"