Disguise time. Tentacles under beanie. Check. My black hair writhed under the beanie until I forcefully smoothed it, willing the tentacles to lie limp and fold over themselves. They twitched resentfully.

  Next: sunglasses to cover the glow of my eyes. Then, there was the hoodie, oversized and baggy sleeves hiding the layer of black ink covering my body. And finally, my sweatpants and shoes. No ink was leaking down there.

  “So, am I all clear to go, Miss?” I asked Samsara.

  “Do you have your ID?” she asked, holding out her clawed hand.

  “Yes, officer,” I said drolly, pulling out my fake ID.

  “Ramona of Sylvia,” she said, inspecting it. “You are missing one critical item.”

  “Oh no!” I fake cried out. “What could I have possibly missed?”

  “Your backpack,” Samsara said, handing me a large black backpack.

  “Thanks, I’ll be heading off to classes now!” I waved.

  We both giggled. But Samsara stopped giggling. Instead, her clawed fingers clung onto my sleeves.

  I peeled Samsara’s fingers off my sleeves one by one. She was doing the wide-eyed thing again, the one that made me feel like a monster, even when I’m trying to be a decent roommate.

  “I’ll be quick,” I told her. “In and out. You’ll blink and I’ll be back with groceries.”

  “Hey, that’s totally unfair!” She cried out. “You know I can't blink.”

  “What do you mean?” I giggled. “It’s totally fair. I technically can’t blink either. But that makes sense since I don’t have eyelids.”

  “You know that’s not what I meant,” She playfully pouted. “You and your word games.” I giggled and poked her cheek.

  Samsara lay coiled on the mattress that we pretended was a couch, pink scales catching the sickly light through the blackout curtains. The tiny fan above us hummed against the heat, filling the room with a light breeze.

  Her upper body was 3 centimeters shorter than mine, and I was only 1.55 meters tall. Though her tail was much longer, allowing her to reach 3 meters in height when fully extended.

  “How do I look?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

  “You look like some rebellious goth girl who’s too scared to be rebellious,” She said.

  “I hope that’s a compliment,” I said, adjusting my oversized beanie. “Because I didn’t hear the word squid or monster in that sentence.”

  “It was more of a criticism,” She shook her head. “But you look good. I don’t see any ink leaking anywhere.”

  “Well, I don’t look as good as you,” I said.

  “That’s because you’re completely covered in black clothes,” She said, folding her arms. “All I have is this pink shirt. You have an entire outfit.” She pointed towards me with her clawed hand.

  “I think it matches your scales nicely,” I said, sitting down to rub her tail. Technically, it matched her braided pink hair, too. Maybe I should get her a white shirt to match her pale skin? Or a brown one to match her eyes? Actually, that sounded like a terrible idea. Better to just stay with pink.

  Samsara’s body was layered with pink scales that went up all the way up her neck. It made it nearly impossible for her to leave, especially since she had a tail instead of legs. Every human would immediately know she was a monster girl. It was already a hassle getting ourselves in here. But since we were in the center of the city, she had no reason to leave. I could do all the hunting and grocery shopping myself. And humans had no reason to investigate an apartment at the center of Utlond City.

  And then a beep from the fridge alerted us.

  “Aww, the water filter broke,” I said, staring at the red pulsating light on the fridge. I pulled out my phone and added ‘Water filter x1” to my shopping list in the notes app.

  “Hey, do you ever think of moving?” She asked, looking down at the creaky wooden floorboards.

  “No, not particularly, why?” I asked. “This place is way safer for you.”

  “Well, I was thinking more of a different apartment,” She said. “This place is really getting worn down.”

  Dammit, was I doing a bad job of maintaining this place?

  “I’d rather not risk it,” I said. “Besides, we would get the same issue in another apartment. There is no way I am calling maintenance. They’d spot you, and that would be the end of us.”

  “Oh, okay,” She muttered. I felt incredibly sorry for her. This place sucked. But it was safe. That was the price we had to pay.

  I took a look inside the refrigerator to make sure everything else was good. Piles of meat filled the shelves. We should be good for at least a year.

  “Thankfully, it looks like the rest of the fridge is okay,” I said. “All the meat is still frozen.”

  “Whew,” Samsara sighed. “I wouldn’t want to imagine what would happen if it fails. It’s a good thing we’re saving up for a second one.”

  “Just another month,” I said. “And then I should have the cash.”

  Being a garbage woman wasn’t the shining beacon of success, but it did pay the bills. It also meant I didn’t have to talk to people as much as in a service job. The only people I needed to talk to were my coworkers, and fortunately, they were a pretty quiet bunch.

  It wasn’t the worst job in the world. We had three weeks worth of vacation. Actually, that was it for the benefits. And there wasn’t even paid time off or maternal leave. Not that I could ever be on maternal leave.

  But today wasn’t my shift. I wouldn’t be collecting garbage, but instead something more important: groceries.

  I gave Samsara a hug. “Like I said, I’ll be back in a blink.”

  “Liar,” She smiled, hugging me back. “Stay safe.”

  “I will.”

  I left the room and locked the three locks, plus the deadbolt that sticks if I don’t swear at it. The hallway smelled like mop water and rust, and our placard had a barely visible ‘164’ written in black ink on it. Mr. Henley walked down the hallway towards room 165. He gave me a stiff little nod as I smiled and waved at him.

  Kindness. It kept us safe. That was my mantra for living with humans. Even though I wouldn’t care if they all died, I had to pretend as if I was a well-functioning and amicable adult in society. In exchange for my kindness, my neighbors would be unlikely to think something was wrong with me. I didn’t fit the stereotype of the feral monster girl shown on TV.

  Of course, if I ever got exposed, I knew my kindness would not be reciprocated. Every human would sell me out. They couldn’t risk a monster girl living among themselves. And that’s why I wore the disguise.

  There was an extreme dissonance to my ‘human’ personality and choice of clothing. But I couldn’t do anything about the clothing. The dark colors matched my black ink. If there was a leak, I’d notice it and take steps to conceal it.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  Outside, Utlond hummed. It was a bad neon hum, with advert screens warbling, tram rails singing, and the distant sound of a blimp flying across the city. Overhead, the propaganda blimp crawled across the skyline like a swollen tick: JOIN THE MONSTER PURIFIERS — HUMANITY’S FIRST LINE was written in giant neon gold text for all to see.

  I took a look at the one-story apartment that I’ve called home for the past five years. I’ll be back soon.

  The plan was simple. It’s always simple. Down Marescalcus Avenue, left at the pawn shop with the cracked window, and go straight down Tailor’s Alley. After 30 minutes of walking, you would find yourself at Viscon’s Supermarket. And yes, I meant walking. Using my true strength was a no-go in the city. So the slow route it was.

  At least it was 100 times better than constantly being on the run in the Wild Lands. Keeping both of us safe was a nightmare. Feral monster girls lurked everywhere. And the occasional sound of Kaiju stomping in the distance put both of us constantly on edge.

  The only danger in the city was my identity as a monster girl being exposed. But that’s why my disguise existed. Plus, there were too many people mingling about on the sidewalks to notice anything wrong with a girl like me.

  And there was also the issue of bringing Samsara here. That was the most stressful night of my life. I felt sorry for having her curl up into a large cardboard box. But that was the only way I was getting her into the city. The occasional human late out at night would certainly notice her. Thankfully, her short height allowed her torso and her head to fit inside perfectly, while her tail curled around to fit inside. I left a few small holes near the bottom edge of the box so she could breathe.

  And thus our life of normality began. At least for Samsara. I still had to hunt. But I only had to go out once every six months. Still, most of my life was pretty normal. Plus, we each had our 20th birthday last month, so everything was going great.

  A drone hovered in front of the supermarket and projected a holographic ad below it. The ad contained a silhouette of a man carrying a rifle with a bayonet. It was captioned, “Drone delivery services offered at the Monster Purifiers Guild! Enlist today and never worry about grocery shopping again!” Advertising that outside a supermarket was certainly a propagandistic choice.

  The inside of the supermarket was a stark contrast to the technologically advanced drone. Rows of wooden shelves stood in front of me. Shoppers pushed their carts without the assistance of any drones. Cashiers operated analog cash registers, with no modern technology in sight. Us peasants weren’t afforded any of the high-tech luxuries of automation. Those were solely reserved for the Monster Purifiers and the nobles.

  I took out my phone and pulled up my shopping list.

  Toiletries:

  Toilet paper x2

  Hand soap x1

  Body soap x2

  Shampoo x2

  Maintenance:

  Bleach x1

  Trash bags x10

  Cleaning wipes x1

  Water filter x1

  Thankfully, I didn’t have to buy any food. Not that they sold anything we could eat. With my backpack, I could store a couple of bags, and I would just carry the other two. I’m just a normal human girl shopping with average human strength.

  Adding to my normality was my average height of 1.6 meters. Technically, it was actually 1.55 meters the last time I checked, but with the power of rounding, I can make any number look better. Maybe I should round to 2 meters. No, that is way too tall. Well, at least one benefit of being short was that it made me less noticeable.

  Keeping up with human norms, I grabbed a shopping cart and began loading it with everything on my list, weaving through the aisles like I’d done this a hundred times before. Not that I had been shopping a hundred times before. Due to our rationing, I only needed to shop around every month or so.

  The smell of disinfectant and overripe bananas filled the air. Humans milled about, many of them pretending not to notice each other, which suited me just fine. A couple of humans glanced at me for a second too long, but I simply smiled in response.

  I passed by a busier aisle, with several humans bustling inside. Golden, silver, and bronze statues of the Imperatrix Adara filled the shelves. The Empress of Humanity. I bottled up my rage towards her and simply moved from the aisle. It would be a bad idea to break my facade here.

  “Shampoo, check. Soap, check. Toilet paper… double check.” I muttered under my breath, tapping each one off my checklist.

  “Make sure you keep up with your studies,” an old woman called out to me. What? She probably thought I was a delinquent who dropped out of a grand academy because of my clothing. She would be wrong. I dropped out of a novice academy when I was 10. Who could blame me though? No academy was going to accept a monster girl, even if they weren’t feral.

  “Thanks for the advice,” I nodded. I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses as I turned my head. No need to worry about her. But there was something else that worried me.

  As I rounded into the home improvement aisle, a little kid with brown hair darted in front of me with her own shopping cart. I jerked my cart to the side as the kid’s cart rammed into my thigh, ricocheting off and clattering loudly. My sunglasses flew off my face, landing in the middle of the kid’s cart. Dammit.

  “No, no, no!” The kid panicked as her cart bumped into an aisle wall. Why did you let go of the cart? I wanted to ask. Cleaning supplies flew off the shelf, and a handful of flavored cracker boxes and chip bags tumbled off the top of the cart. Some of the other bags fell inwards from the sides.

  I went up to the cart, but couldn’t see my glasses. Why do you have so many crackers and chips? Where was the rest of the food? Wasn’t this unhealthy for humans? My mom would never allow me to have this much junk food. Sadly, I couldn’t have junk food at all now. Just meat. Also, this kid must have terrible parents.

  “I’m so sorry miss,” the annoying brat said. “I didn’t mean to run into you."

  I activated [Color Camouflage], and my glossy black inhuman eye transformed into a near copy of a human eye.

  “Ah, it’s no issue,” I lied to her, scanning her face for a reaction. She didn’t make eye contact with me. A prime sign of guilt. Good. That meant she didn’t fear me and thus didn’t suspect I was a monster girl. “Don’t worry, I’ll help pick up your stuff.”

  I helped her pick up the boxes of junk food off the ground. Soon, the entire cart was full again. Sadly, I still needed to get my sunglasses since using [Color Camouflage] was draining my mana.

  “Thank you so much, miss,” The kid gave a small bow, grabbing the hems of her white dress. If I had to guess, she was about 10 years old.

  “Hey, can you help me find my glasses?” I asked her. “I think they fell in your cart.”

  “Sure!” the kid’s eyes lit up. We scavenged through the boxes. “I found them!” She handed me my glasses.

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling and putting them back on. We waved at each other as I headed back to my cart.

  I heard an adult woman call out “Hera!” A brown-haired woman ran up to the girl. That must be her mom. Hopefully, she would scold Hera into not bumping into random strangers.

  And that was the power of kindness. If I had succumbed to my anger and just punched the kid instead, the Monster Purifiers would simply cut off my head.

  Now all that was left was to get the cleaning supplies and the water filter. I got up to my cart and began pushing it back to the aisle.

  Then the alarms blared.

  The first note was a high-pitched warble that sliced through the air, followed by the heavy, heart-dropping bass of the city sirens. A crackle echoed through the supermarket as the PA activated.

  “WARNING. A KAIJU IS DETECTED IN SECTOR TWO. ALL CITIZENS-”

  I didn’t hear the rest. I took out my phone and texted Samsara immediately.

  Ramona: Are you safe?

  No response. I panicked and left my shopping cart to join the horde of humans leaving the store. Bodies squished against me as I struggled to make it through the crowd. The temptation to use super strength and push everyone away slowly rose in my mind.

  As I got outside, crowds surged toward the northern edge of Tailor’s Alley, but I took the opposite flow, carving through a screaming river of elbows and bags. A drone dived low, barking instructions I ignored. I’m not going to abandon Samsara to hide in a shelter.

  Our building was still 30 minutes away by walking, but the ground faintly shook, accompanied by the faint echoes of stomps. Clusters of cars packed the streets as humans quickly exited their metal carriages to flee to safety.

  Taking a shortcut, I broke into an abandoned garment warehouse with the broken latch, past the rusted machinery, where the air smelled musty. A maze of equipment blocked my path.

  Stupid boxes. I dashed and broke past the crates blocking my path since I was no longer in the open. Nobody would come here, so I was free to use my true strength.

  The sound of stomping got louder, the ground shaking more violently as I exited the warehouse. A few more blocks, and I froze after I heard a loud inhuman-like roar in the distance.

  Fear pushed me back into action. I had to make sure Samsara was safe.

  My hope slowly began to dwindle as the wreckage of several buildings appeared before me. And then I saw our home.

  The apartment complex was reduced to rubble. Concrete pancakes. Steel bent into paperclips. Bricks and wood splintered at the seams.

  “Samsara!” I shouted, voice breaking. “Samsara!”