Invisible Monsters

Shannon McFarland is inside a home that is burning down. The day began as a celebration of a wedding, but now the bride, Evie Cottrell, is on the stairs with a shotgun in her hands, her wedding dress burned off, and her hair charred to the scalp. Brandy Alexander lies on the floor, shot in the chest by Evie. As the house burns, the guests stand outside waiting for the fire trucks. Brandy begs Shannon to tell the story of her life before she dies.

In her mind, Shannon travels through her own life, remembering her parents and her brother Shane, the domestic issues in her family, and Shane’s death of complications from AIDS. Shannon recalls falling in love with a police detective, Manus Kelley, and running away to become a supermodel. Shannon’s recollections quickly move through time, settling just a few days ago when she, Brandy, and Manus toured a home for sale. Brandy makes up names for the three of them and convinces the real estate broker to allow her and Shannon to tour the home alone. They go straight upstairs to the main bathroom where they search the medicine cabinet for artificial female hormones and pain medications.