With the mouth watering scent of cooked meat wafting through the air, the otherwise foul stench of the sewers was nothing but a distant memory. Over a small pile of broken scraps of wood, a ramshackle grill had been made, and a monster was tending to it.

  Wearing a 'kiss the cook' apron that was soiled, torn and ultimately too small, Bob wore it with pride. With his heat resistant skin and long claws, he had no need for useless tongs, and spatulas, and so tended to the grill bare handed. Not that Marlo knew, with him hearing the clacking of Bob's claws together, and assuming he was getting giddy with the tongs.

  Off to the side, Marlo was sat with Mr Squeeks beside him, with the latter eating a small piece of meat, and the former eating a burger patty. Even so Marlo was relishing the taste of cooked meat, something it had been years since he had some, he was also suffering from anguish over his drug supply.

  The constant dripping of blue liquid that formed the crystals he smoked, had suddenly increased the other day, turning from a trickle into a stream. The large influx overflowed the container, and ended up filling the alcove with blue crystals. He now had enough to last him an extremely long time, but the blue liquid had now ceased entirely. What he had there was all that he would ever have.

  Numerous times a day he would have the thought, that maybe he should just smoke a bucket load of it and OD, that way he would never have to go through the pain of withdrawal. Realistically he knew it was stupid, even so his life as a vagrant was hard, his body was decrepit and he had no family, his days were still filled with fun and new experiences.

  So ultimately, his conclusion was to enjoy his drugs as normal, and let future Marlo deal with the issue. He really enjoyed shifting responsibility onto future Marlo.

  Bob pinched one of the burgers between his claws and placed it on his tail, before stretching out the appendage and dropping it onto Marlo's plate. Taking hold of another burger, he simply tossed it into his mouth, swallowing it in a single bite, before he placed some more meat on the grill.

  From one of the many connecting sewer pipes, Mr Crocks made his entrance, dragging along his very own cart. Although they called it a cart, it was only a discarded wooden door, with thick rope tied to it and dragged along by the undead crocodile. With this contraption, Mr Crock's had turned into the perfect scrap collector.

  A pile of broken pieces of wood were heaped on the cart, as well as a few other miscellaneous items, including random blankets, and all of them were collected from throughout the sewers. Bob had also given him another task while he was on his travels collecting scrap, that being on the lookout for people. Ever since a random policeman had elected to become food for them, Bob had been worrying about the day his friends would come calling. Thankfully that had not yet come to pass.

  While Mr Crocks was releasing the cart pulling rope from his mouth and preparing to receive some food, Marlo's voice cut through the air.

  "Hey ugly, why ain't there any seasoning on this? Call yourself a grill cook, ya not even brought out the succulent juices in the meat, ya damn burnt it all off!"

  Shaking his head in denial, Bob continued grilling the meat, while occasionally tossing a piece into his mouth. Only after a full minute of calming his inner voice down, did he reply.

  "Look at your hand! You tried cooking and cooked your damn hand instead! Drug addicts and open flames don't mix. Now eat what you're given, or Mr Crocks'l eat your share"

  Liking what he heard, the undead crocodiles tail began to wag, while he took up residence next to Bob. Marlo on the other hand, acted as he just had an attempt on his life.

  "Eh!? My food!? Ugly bastard, don't start giving my food to that overgrown handbag! Who gave you a roof over the head? Me!...Who overlooked you killing my best friend? Me!.....Who accepted you even so you're the ugliest bastard that ever walked the earth, and even scared your own shadow away? Me!"

  Bob initially wanted to continue arguing, but Marlo made some good points, well apart from the last part. Deciding to quash the argument, he deposited some more meat onto Marlo's plate.

  "Tsch, calm down already. If you die I'll make you into an undead hat stand! Stupid stick insect"

  "Tee He"

  Hearing the slight laugh from beside him, Bob was happy at least someone found his jokes funny. With that, he was also certain he won this round of their war of words. Feeling a slight pull on the right side of his apron, Bob unconsciously gave some meat to Mr Crocks.

  Staring at Marlo and waiting to see if he would say anything else, Bob could also see Mr Crocks and Mr Squeeks enjoying their food. Another pull came from the right side of his apron, and once again he just handed some food over. It was only then that his brain started to understand something was wrong, with the only three other people in his sight, who was the other person beside him he had been feeding.

  Please don't be a ghost....Please don't be a ghost!

  While silently praying, a large swallow could be heard emanating from his throat, as he slowly turned his head to the side. Stood beside him, and merrily chewing on the piece of meat he had grilled, the cheery face of a small girl looked up at him.

  With dishevelled brown hair and smears of dirt on her face, it was not enough to detract from the radiance of her green eyes. Smiling proudly, small slithers of meat sat wedged between her white teeth. Wearing a yellow dress and matching pumps, a litany of stains covered her clothing.

  Bob was momentarily stunned, not understanding what he was looking at, or how this angelic little girl had appeared, and most importantly stolen their food. The food part was not important to Bob, but Marlo would probably be a different matter all together.

  "Dwink pwease....."

  Holding out her hands expectantly, with the last piece of meat being swallowed, she stared at Bob. Even so she was stood next to a monster, a creature that could easily rip a man limb from limb, and could quite literally bite the girls head off, she was not scared in the slightest.

  Bob was still stunned, but he dutifully did what she said. Not wanting to give her the dirty water that they drink, he took a bottle of water out of the carrier bag that Cody bought. After cracking the lid of it, he handed it to the little girl.

  At that moment, Marlo's voice piped up, waking Bob up from the surreal situation he was in.

  "Stop using that cute voice you ugly bastard! Trying to sound like a child, damn freak"

  Bob immediately ran towards Marlo, gripping his shoulders tight, he began to whisper in his ear.

  "Marlo shut the fuck up a second....There's a kid here. A little girls just appeared"

  Marlo's head dropped forwards, a loud sigh escaping his crusty lips. Looking up to where he assumed Bob's face was, he spoke in the tone of an elder.

  "Bob, a know life here's stressful....But ya gotta keep ya sanity!...An ya delusion is of a little girl...Tsch...If a knew ya was like that back then, a would a handed ya over to the police"

  Just as Marlo finished admonishing his friend, and mentally consigning him to signing a register, while also thinking of keeping him away from schools, a small voice came.

  "Thanks uncle! What you an gwanpa talking about?"

  The little girl had finished off the entire bottle of water, and was stood in front of them, her free hand casually stroking Mr Crocks. Marlo turned to face the girl, a look of utter shock on his face. He now understood that Bob was not an ugly degenerate, he was just plain ugly.

  "Hello there little lady. How did you get down here?"

  Bob was frowning, as he had never heard Marlo actually speak politely to someone. The girl pointed towards the cart that Mr Crocks had brought, and then replied.

  "Fwom over there. The cwocodile bwought me on the door......I was tired, so I had a west there, and woke up here"

  Mr Crocks instantly understood that it was his mistake, and at that moment, he was having a mental conversation with his master. Bob now had half of the picture, with the undead crocodile explaining when the cart randomly became heavier.

  Marlo tried to press on for information, and smiled in an attempt to seem kind. Even so his teeth were black and rotten, and would of scare most people away, the little girl was not phased, and only smiled back.

  "Where are your parents then little girl?"

  Deciding to take the load off her feet, she casually sat on Mr Crocks, straddling the beast while facing his tail. With a finger to her pursed lips in thought, she then replied.

  "Hmmm Mamas at work...Papa went for milk"

  Bob being oblivious to what her words meant, he sat crossed legged in front of her and spoke.

  "Won't your mama wonder where you are when she gets back from work? What about your papa, won't he worry when he gets back from the shop?"

  The girl cast a dejected look downwards, the gloom in her demeanour was even felt by Marlo. Being aware of what it probably stemmed from, Marlo nudged the little undead rat forwards. Mr Squeeks fell into a roll, before he went to the girl and started a small circus routine to cheer her up. With her cheeks brightened slightly, she replied to Bob's questions.

  "Papa went the shop for milk years ago....He's still not back.....Mama works hard, but.....But am alone"

  Bob could not decide the best course of action at all, while he pondered it, his gaze fell on the environment him and Marlo were living in. The squalid sewers, a cardboard and trash built house, polluted drinking water, a large pile of Class-S drugs, two undead creatures, and even a dangerous monster.....Not to mention a 'thing' called Marlo.

  All in all, this was the worst place possible for a child. Resolving himself, Bob spoke again.

  "We're going to take you home then, then you can see your Mama....By the way, my names Bob, and this is Marlo...The big guy you're sat in is called Mr Crocks, and the little rat is called Mr Squeeks......So what's your name?"

  Listening to his words, the little girl repeated each persons name as she heard them. Her eyes suddenly shot open wide when she realised she had not even introduced herself, something her mama told her is important the first time you meet someone.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Ah!...Hello, my name is Rebecca Rofs....Roths.....Errr Rothas.....Rebecca, my name is Rebecca"

  Bob jumped to his feet and performed an exaggerated bow, as he replied to her effort.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you Rebecca....How old are you?"

  Matching Bob's stance, Rebecca stood on Mr Crocks back, her little legs wobbling to maintain balance while she did so. Performing a bow herself, she then began giggling.

  "It's a pweasure to meet you too Monster Uncle!...I am 7 years old.....Everyone always asks my mama how old I am when I say my name...Mama tells them I'm slow....But, but Monster Uncle, I'm weally fast!...See!"

  Rebecca climbed down off Mr Crocks back, before entering the basin and then started running around as fast as her little legs could carry her. The two undead creatures both joined her, with the three devolving into a game of tag.

  Marlo spoke to Bob, keeping his voice low enough so Rebecca could not hear them.

  "Ha Ha. Even Rebecca thinks ya ugly. Ha Ha. Monster uncle!.......We taking her back now?"

  Bob looked down at his hands, his eyes taking in his monstrous appearance, with his thick scales and sharp claws. Looking at the little girl happily playing, he understood why people say that Human children are pure. Rebecca did not once shy away from him, or even act hesitantly towards him. With a deep internal sigh, Bob replied.

  "Yeah. The sooner the better. This place isn't good for a kid, especially not one as good as Rebecca"

  "Hmmm true dat"

  After Rebecca had ran herself tired, Bob and Marlo convinced her that they had to take her home. To her credit she did not cry, although she was adamant about not wanting to go home, she relented in the end and was a good girl about it.

  Now walking through the sewers, Mr Crocks knew precisely where he thinks Rebecca got on the cart at. Also, Mr Squeeks was following the scent trail, just as a precaution.

  Marlo was riding atop the undead crocodile as usual, with Mr Squeeks on his lap. Perched atop Bob's shoulders, Rebecca sat while leaning forwards and resting on his head.

  After a while of being deep in thought to the point that Bob thought she was asleep, Rebecca suddenly spoke up.

  "Why do Monster Uncle and Stinky Gwanpa live down here? Is it becwause you're mawwied?"

  Bob burst out laughing, his body shaking to the extent that Rebecca had to hold onto his head tightly to avoid falling. On the other side, Marlo was furious, but quickly controlled himself as he was dealing with a child.

  "What!? Married to that ugly son of a.....Hell no! Marlo the Magician don't swing that way little lady! I love big breasts, the bigger the better! And sweet tasti...Eurgh...."

  Marlo's words that were verging on the lewd, had crossed a line in Bob's book, so he slapped him on the back with his tail, causing him to choke mid sentence. Understanding he may of said too much, he quickly corrected himself.

  "What a mean Rebecca, is I like women.....Also, am not that stinky...Am a?....Anyway it's rude to say that......Ya can use ma name, Marlo!"

  Rebecca heard his words and clamped her hands over her mouth in shock, her child like attempt at forcing the words back in, that she had already said earlier. Grimacing, she then replied.

  "Sowwy.....Mama said I need to learn respwect!....So, hmmm, not stinky, it's Smelly Gwanpa!"

  Marlo gave up, knowing full well arguing with a child is a losing battle. Searching about his jacket, he finally found what he was looking for and withdrew his pipe. Putting it in his mouth, he loaded a blue crystal into its bowl. Before he lit it, Rebecca's voice came again.

  "What's that blue gem Smelly Gwanpa? Can I have one?"

  The exact moment that Rebecca uttered those words, Bob's head span to face Marlo as they walked along. His burning gaze was easily felt by the blind man, with the back of his neck breaking out in a cold sweat. Putting his pipe away without lighting it, he quickly thought of a plausible excuse.

  "Ah well, ya see.....It's a piece of jewellery, yeah it's the only one I got....Errr, it was a gift!....It's very fragile, so I'll put it away now to keep it safe!"

  Having absolute trust in Marlo, Rebecca believed every word that he said. The group then continued on in silence, before Rebecca suddenly pointed forwards and let out a shout.

  "Ohhh! I rememba this!....I think...."

  On the left side of the sewer tunnel, a large portion of the wall was cut out, resembling a train station platform. On the raised part of the concrete, only a metal pair of service ladders were bolted into the wall, leading up to an open manhole cover.

  Mr Crocks mentally confirmed that this was the place he felt the increase in weight, and Mr Squeeks also confirmed that the scent trail of Rebecca's led up the ladders.

  After identifying the place, Rebecca became solemn, with her hands fidgeting nervously. Bob reached up and grasped her by the sides, before gently placing her down on the raised platform. He could see the worry on her face, and could hazard a guess as to why she looked like that, but he could not relent. Now was the time for tough love, as it was for Rebecca's own safety.

  Bob crouched down in front of Rebecca and spoke to her in a caring voice.

  "I want you to listen to me Rebecca. When you go home, I don't want you to come back to the sewers, do you understand? It's very dangerous here, and you might get hurt"

  Even so Rebecca had been very brave the entire time, the thought of not being able to see her new friends again, instantly opened the flood gates. Tears began peppering the floor one after another. Her beautiful green eyes became a deep shade of red from her crying, and her bottom lip was quivering.

  Marlo could hear her crying and it hurt him, at times like those he was happy for not being able to see. Bob had no such luck, if it could be called that. It was the first time he had been in a situation like that, and it caused a stabbing pain in his chest. Even so she was a different species, even so he had only met her that day, he had unknowingly became emotionally attached to the little girl.

  Rebecca tried to stop her crying, squeezing her hands into little fists, she tensed her body up and snorted loudly. A long trail of snot that had been making its escape, retracted as one.

  "Can...Can I not come sometimes pwease? If I'm weally, weally careful!?....I'll miss Uncle and Gwanpa!"

  Taking in a deep breath, Bob steeled himself to deny her a second time. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Mr Squeeks and an idea came to him, hoping it would be enough to appease the little girl. The last thing that he and Marlo wanted, was for Rebecca to wander back into the sewers, and get attacked by something, fall and hurt herself, or even just get sick from the filth.

  "How about this Rebecca.....We exchange letters? Once a week, I'll send Mr Squeeks up to your house, and you give him a letter....Then once we've read it, we'll send a letter back.....How's that sound?"

  Rebecca knew she would not be able to get Bob to let her go back down the sewers, she had seen many times how stubborn adults could be about things like safety. Mulling over the proposition, Rebecca wiped her eyes and replied.

  "But what do I write?"

  With a big smile on his face, Bob lightly pinched Rebecca's cheek and replied.

  "Anything!....You can write about what you've been doing at home, school, your friends....If you don't want to write, you can even draw us some pictures..... Does that sound okay? Oh, and don't tell your mama. This will have to be our little secret"

  Bob did not like the idea of having to get Rebecca to keep a secret from her mother, the thought itself felt somewhat icky to him, but he knew it was necessary. If Rebecca told her mum she was exchanging letters with a homeless blind man, and a monster who lives in the sewers, as well as a zombie rat being the mail-man, he could just imagine the absolute shit show that it would cause if it was believed.

  Although Rebecca was young and a bit on the slow side, she was not completely stupid, and so she knew how her mother would react if she found out. Being resolute, she nodded her head in agreement as she spoke.

  "I pwomise!....I should go. Mama will be home soon.......Thanks Monster Uncle, Smelly Gwanpa! I love you both!"

  Rebecca dove at Marlo and gave him a big hug, before she attempted to wrap her arms around Mr Crocks. While she was hugging the two, Marlo successfully managed to speak without his voice cracking.

  "I love you too little lady, and we'll definitely write to you!"

  She then petted Mr Squeeks on his head, and then finally hugged Bob, pressing her face tight against his chest, she really did not want to let go. Bob held her tightly, fighting back the urge to cry. Looking down at her, he spoke as they both released.

  "I love you too Rebecca....Now get going. Remember, Mr Squeeks will come every Saturday"

  Rebecca nodded her understanding, then made her way up the metal ladder. After she climbed out of the manhole, Bob made his way up, only allowing his head to look out above ground.

  The manhole was situated inside a bush, with the street beside it nearly completely obscured by the foliage. Across the quiet road, a lone detached house stood, which Rebecca made her way to. Once she reached her front door, she opened it and then turned to wave at Bob. With a massive cheery smile, and no sign of the tears she had shed, she said her final goodbye to the Lizardman.

  Completely unknown to everyone, an invisible warm light had been floating around Rebecca the entire day. Only when she was alone, did it turn visible and make the little girl smile.

  Bob let out a sigh and retreated back into the sewers once Rebecca had vanished from sight. All four of them looked dejected, with Marlo leading the way on solving the lingering sadness he was feeling. With his pipe in his mouth, he lit up his crystal and smoked his worries away.

  Bob only shook his head and started walking back the way they came. Mr Crocks walked after him, with Marlo sat atop him and still puffing on his pipe.

  "Hey Marlo, have you got any kids?"

  With his mind as clouded as his eyes, the melancholy was now eradicated and he replied in his usual cheery demeanour.

  "What a dumb ass question! Yeah a got kids, probably, somewhere.....A use to knock back out of every pair of tits on legs a saw, when a was in ma youth....But that shit all stopped when a met that damn demon! Blinding me an shit, I never even saw it coming. Tsch!.....But, I probably got a few little shits roaming about....A just hope they turned out as cute as Rebecca!.....Then again, they'd be adults now with kids of their own.....Hmm grandpa. Ha Ha. Doesn't sound too bad"

  While they continued on their way back home, the lingering scent and remnants of Marlo's blue crystals permeated the air. The pale blue wisps of smoke, transferred into invisible strands that stained the air. Not more than an hour later, and that very same fragrance reached the nose of a certain creature.

  From within the pitch black of the less often tread sewer tunnels, a pair of eyes containing pure hatred flashed brightly upon detecting the scent. Immediately the entity ran forwards, following the wisps of smoke it could clearly see. Now stood at the half way point, the creature could tell that the smell originated there, but then carried on down the tunnel.

  Another smell peeked its interest, the fresh scent of young meat that made its mouth water. Staring at the meta ladders, the scent trail was clear and calling it even stronger than that of the blood of its kin. Moving forwards, the creature was positioned below the open manhole, the pale light of dusk illuminating its face.

  The hungry creature looked similar to the one that was restrained and harvested for its blood, but this one was markedly bigger, with several physical differences. Its large blue body now found its legs practically useless, transforming from a lizard, to something more akin to a snake. The monsters size filled half of the sewer tunnel, if it were to grow anymore, it would completely fill the large sewer tunnel and become stuck.

  Looking up at the open manhole, it futilely rammed its face against the hole, the collision making the ground shake, but the solid surface held firm and barred its exit. From above ground, if one were to look towards the circular hole, they would of felt the ground shake, before witnessing a large blue tongue protruding from the hole and thrashing about wildly.

  Giving up on the fresh meat it smelled, it turned its attention back to the sewer tunnel and the blood of its kin. Wanting to investigate further, the scent was too strong, its instincts barring it from moving forwards, not until its strength had grown further.

  The blue monster was one of a pair, once born from their mother, the twins would go their separate ways and each rule over an area. The monsters feeding grounds would not overlap, that being until one had grown strong enough to easily dominate the other. At that point, the monster would kill its sibling and rule over the larger feeding ground.

  At this moment, the monster had no idea its kin was dead, believing the scent of the blue crystals Marlo smoked, to be the residual scent markers from its familial rivals feeding ground.

  Completely oblivious to the on goings that were transpiring beneath her feet, and those of her own daughter, Rebecca's mother came home. It was not before 10pm by the time she finally finished work and managed to rush home, with thoughts of her daughter on her mind.

  Closing the door behind her, the lights were still on even so Rebecca was not there. Looking around the room, she saw her daughters box of crayons and pencils on the table, with a stack of paper beside them. Moving her long brown hair from her face, she hooked it behind her ears and leaned over the chair, her eyes on her daughters drawings.

  When she saw what had been drawn, a frown came across her face, before it transformed into a giggle.

  "He He. This girl and her imagination"

  The scene that had been drawn, was not one born from a child's imagination, but a crystal clear memory from earlier that day. Rebecca had drawn herself in the middle, with a large Lizardman beside her, and a black stick man on the other side. At her feet was a crocodile, and what looked like a rat. The background of the picture had numerous love hearts.

  Leaving the picture aside, she crept into her daughters bedroom, a smile of pure bliss on her face as she saw Rebecca's sleeping face. Tucked up comfortably in bed, her face had been cleaned of the dirt stains, but the crumpled up dress on the floor bore them proudly. She glanced at them and sat on the edge of the bed.

  "Her clothes are filthy, she must have had a fun time at the park"

  Leaning close, she planted a kiss on her child's head, before she began to whisper to the sleeping girl.

  "I'm sorry I had to work today Rebecca. It won't happen again, I promise....I love you darling, very, very much"

  Gracing Rebecca's head with another kiss, her mother left the room, closing the door behind her. Now with only Rebecca in the room, a feint light reappeared beside her head, the same one that vanished just before her mother entered the room. The sleeping girl smiled, a warm feeling circling her heart.