JC counted out his remaining quarters. It would be enough for one load. Unfortunately, that meant combine all his laundry together. Which meant, more than likely, they would come out damp. An angry part raged at the unfairness of it all, adding fire to the Beast’s complaints.

JC closed his eyes and counted to ten before addressing the anger. It wouldn’t do to frenzy in the middle of a laundromat. It was no body’s fault here that he had come up short. Especially after he had just washed his clothes. The anger acknowledged this and went down to simmering. The Beast continued to howl for blood. JC’s call for patience were ignored.

So, he did his best to ignore the hunger as he packed his clothes into the dryer, slipped coins into the appropriate slot, and sat down with an old beauty magazine he had no real interest in. Then he waited.

Waited as little by little other dryers ran their course and had their contents removed by owners. One by one there were fewer people in the establishment. Bit by bit, things became safer for JC. Though he couldn’t say the same for the man who had fallen asleep in his seat. As the last customer got up to leave, JC’s eyes remained fixed on the prey. Waiting for one last thing. At the sound of the door closing behind them, the Savage sprang forward and pounced, thoughts of patience discarded in favor of the taste of hot blood.