The Mall of Cthulhu

Prologue 1993 Laura woke up nauseous, disoriented, and covered in blood. This last fact was not immediately apparent to her, which is why she focused on Teddy, who was standing across the common room emptying a gasoline can onto the floor. "Teddy?" she asked. Teddy? That kind of geeky kid who was Steve's roommate? The kid who wanted to study folklore? The one everybody in the dorm called "Shaggy"? At the sound of his name, Teddy paused from his pouring and looked up. "Oh my God, Laura, are you alive? Are you okay?" She had that feeling that she had just awoken from a really good dream. It was coming back to her. Camilla. Camilla had kissed her, had licked her lips, and had asked her, "Do you want it?" Laura had assumed that the "it" Camilla had been referring to was the same "it" that kids in dorms all over campus were getting at exactly that moment. She had been about to say yes when everything went black. As her mind fought through the fog of disorientation, it occurred to her that everything had actually gone red. She wondered what that meant. And now here she was, still on the red velvet couch in the Omega Alpha house, but with no Camilla and with Ted pouring gas on the floor. "Uh, I guess I'm okay. What the hell's going on? Where's Camilla?" Ted shook the last few drops of gas out of the can, stood up and looked at Laura. "She didn't bite you, did she?" "Uh, I don't think so. I mean, I just wish, but... " "I'm completely fucking serious, Laura. Did she bite you?" "I don't remember. I don't think so. What happened to her? I think we were going to... I mean hey, it's Bitsy!"