Terror in the Shadows Vol 5

by Scare Street

  “So, where are we headed?” he asked, starting the car.

  “You tell me,” I replied, maintaining my provocative tone.

  I bit my lip gently, bringing his gaze where I wanted it. I leaned closer to him for a moment, innocently enticing his desire.

  He smiled faintly. “I think I have an idea.”

  As soon as the car started moving, I leaned into him, wrapping his arm around me. I had to let him think I wanted him as much as he wanted me. I had to make sure he was comfortable with me beside him. He drove on and I whispered in his ear the entire ride through; it was how I hypnotized them, made them surrender to me completely. His grip around me tightened and I knew it was working, his desire for me was getting stronger by the second. I turned away from him for a moment, watching the lights of the city zoom past us. The night was dark and dense, the moon invisible. I felt the night’s energy around me, its intensity. I had felt it since the night had started, but it was only now that I was out in its openness again that I could feed off it.

  I asked him to roll my window down and he complied. The cold wind made its way into the car quickly, sending my hair flying in waves toward him. I could feel him sniffing my locks, sending my poison coursing through him. I leaned away from him for a moment, making him long for my touch. Moving closer to the window, I breathed the night air in, letting it fill me with its energy. I stuck a hand out the window and let the air push my hand back; it was only then I realized how fast we were going.

  “Come back here,” I heard him say, extending his arm.

  I smiled, bit my lip again, and leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around me, even tighter this time, almost as though afraid to let me go. I talked to him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear. I spoke softly and laughed at his jokes, my laughter echoing into the night.

  Before long, he was parking the car, pulling into the driveway of a rather large house.

  “Is this your place?” I asked, acting impressed.

  His lips tilted proudly. He looked at me and then at the house.

  “It is.”

  I looked at the house once again. It was rather secluded, surrounded by shrubbery, plunged in the shadows away from the world. This wasn’t anywhere I had been before, a target in a new area. This was where it was going to happen.

  He turned the car’s headlights off, shrouding the area in complete darkness. Silently, he stepped out, making his way to my side. He opened the door and extended his hand to me. I took it and stepped out too, looking straight into his eyes as I did. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me up to the front door.

  As soon as we walked into the house, he put both his hands on my shoulders.

  “May I?” he said, slowly sliding my coat off.

  I exhaled, pulling my arms out. He hung my coat on a hanger which stood directly beside the front door.

  “Can I get you something to drink? Another scotch, perhaps?” he asked, taking his own jacket off.

  I hesitated for a moment, knowing I shouldn’t get too drunk.

  “Sure,” I said, eventually. “Why not?”

  One more drink wouldn’t hurt.

  He led me deeper into the house. I gazed upon every little detail of the massive space, examining who he was through them. There were several tall, glass windows, allowing the darkness of the night and the forest that surrounded the house to be seen. The place had an overall contemporary look, telling me just how rich he was. My heels echoed through the house, the only sound for a few moments. He led me into the sitting room and turned on a dim light, brightening the room enough for us to see each other, but not one another’s details.

  “Sit down,” he said. “I’ll go get us our drinks.”

  I picked a spot on a grey leather couch and sat down. Once again, I fixed my hair, making sure it fell just right. I caught my reflection in the widescreen TV across from me and smiled. I felt least like myself at that moment, feeling the other side of me take over. Soon enough, she would be in total control. I looked out the huge window behind me, examining the house’s surroundings. Hardly anything could be seen outside. If anyone lived in the area, they had made sure they had their privacy just like he did.

  “Here you go,” he said, walking into the room and handing me my drink.

  He sat down beside me, the fabric of his pants grazing against my thigh. I eyed him from head to toe as I took a sip from my drink, staining another cup with my red lipstick. My mind drifted back to the moment when I’d first laid eyes on him. It felt like someone else’s memory, like someone else had captured the meal that I would soon devour.

  “It’s good,” I said, gesturing at the drink.

  “25-year-old Bowmore,” he explained, his eyes never leaving mine.

  I licked my lips, making sure he watched me do it. He took a quick sip from his glass and set it down on the table beside him. I followed his suite. My action suggested consent, and I knew he’d read the message. He moved closer, running a hand up my thigh. I looked down, then back up to him, leading him in with my eyes. He leaned in gradually, bringing his other hand to the side of my neck. He brought his lips to mine, softly taking me in. Once I tasted him, I could feel her awakening, wanting more. We kissed and he ran his hands over my body. His touch excited her, made her long to come out. I pulled away for a second, not wanting her to get too eager just yet.

  “Should we take this to the bedroom?” I suggested, running a hand through his soft hair.

  It was time.

  He nodded, leading me through the dark hallways of his house, up a flight of stairs, and into the bedroom. He kept the lights in the bedroom off, pulling my hand and leading me straight to the bed. I stopped him, asking him to turn a light on. I wanted to see him.

  I wanted to see what she would do to him.

  He sat me down on the bed and went to one of the corners in the room, turning on a tall lamp with a white linen shade. It cast a faint light in the room, but made the shadows grow. My heart beat with excitement, with longing. He walked toward me, the look he gave me full of hunger.

  But his hunger was unlike mine.

  He pushed me back on the bed gently, kissing me as he climbed on top. Immediately, I pushed myself up, switching our positions. I had my legs wrapped around his waist as I undid his shirt, exposing his chest.

  At that moment, I felt her coming out of me, breaking through my skin. I could feel my bones cracking and my skin tearing, giving her space to emerge. There was no pain, but I felt myself disappearing slowly. Her dark eyes took over mine and her blade-like nails extended through my fingertips. I took a moment to look at my hands, watching my skin turn grey and my nails blacken. I could see the locks of my dark hair floating around me, as though gravity had abandoned them completely. I looked down at her victim, watching his face switch from confusion to fear, then to absolute terror.

  She had him firmly in her grasp and it was too late for him to escape. I felt sorry for the bastard, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now.

  She was in control.

  I felt like a spectator, watching everything happen through the eyes of the predator. She was using my body as a vessel and I felt everything she felt; the hunger, the anger, the lust for blood. He struggled beneath her weight, but she was too strong for him. She raised her nails over her head, her weapon. He screamed when he saw what I had turned into, thinking he would be heard.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he shouted in shaken confusion, his voice sounding like a mere echo to me.

  I smiled as I watched the scene unfold. Their fear was my favorite part; it made her stronger, and I could feel it. I didn’t love what she did, but she was a curse I was forced to live with for the rest of my life, and I would rather find something to enjoy in it than be forced to dread her every time she appeared.

  He continued to struggle, his fear exuding.

  It had been a while since she’d shown up, but she was waiting like a bubbling pot, threatening to burst. Now that she had finally come out,
I felt a relief I hadn’t felt in weeks. It felt good, freeing.

  She brought her nails down, slicing through his skin. He screamed as the blood seeped from him, his voice echoing in the emptiness of the house. The smell of blood flooded the room, and I could feel what it was doing to her. It was exciting her, provoking her even further.

  She brought her weapons down, again and again, splitting his chest open. He coughed, a trail of blood leaving his mouth. She lifted her hands to the air, howling with power and joy. The blood spattered everywhere, staining my skin and my dress; a shame. The world around me changed color, turning darker and darker by the second. I felt everything shift in and out of focus, almost as though she were trying to keep me from seeing what she was doing.

  Nonetheless, I saw everything. I watched as she tore him apart, I saw every last drop of blood leave his body and the life leave his eyes. This was how she thrived; feeding off the life of her victims, watching as they died in front of her.

  Before long, she was satisfied. She had gotten exactly what she had craved. She bent down, kissing his lips and tasting the blood that sat upon them. She got off him, running one of her sharp nails across the scars she had left on his body. The poor bastard.

  Suddenly, the energy I had felt through her dissipated. She had gotten what she wanted and was leaving me, letting me take control of my own body again. I lay down on the bed beside him. After all, I was one of her victims too. My heart beat fast; so fast, I could feel the blood pounding through me. I breathed heavily, feeling her leave me. The closer she got to disappearing completely, the less energy I felt I had. I could hardly move a muscle. I felt weaker without her, almost worthless.

  I gazed up at the ceiling, noticing the modern-looking light which hung from it, for the first time. I could hear my breath reverberating, the only sound echoing in my head. Once again, the world began to blur, feeling almost surreal, dreamlike. I turned my head to the side, looking out the window at the dark landscape. I felt the darkness of the night take over the house, like a cloud drifting over it, blocking any light from shining through. I was drifting. My eyes were struggling to stay open and failing. I couldn’t keep myself awake any longer. In a moment, I let my eyelids drop and the world turned dark.

  ***

  I sat on the edge of the bed, staring out at the rising sun. I drew a breath from my cigarette and took a look at the man lying next to me. The covers were raised over his torso, but it was clear he had no shirt on. His eyes were closed and the light of the sun shining in through the window gave his pale skin little life.

  I was calm, the calmest I had been in weeks. I drew another breath from the cigarette, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the silence that came with the sunrise. I let the room swallow me as I exhaled the smoke from my lungs. I opened my eyes and looked at the man again, and smiled. I knew she’d be proud of what she had done, but I also knew she was never satisfied, not entirely. Before long, she would show up again, using me to claim her next victim.

  I sat with one arm straddling my waist, resting on it and holding up the cigarette. I looked out of the window and drew a breath, blowing the smoke upwards. Outside, the sky was gloomy, as though a large cloud had taken over the sky’s natural blue. I couldn’t remember much of the night that had passed, but the feelings I felt still resonated within me. They had been intense, I knew that, but they felt good. For the first time in a long time, I had felt unbound.

  I looked at the man again, taking in the scene properly. His blood had drenched the sheets and splattered the wall behind him. The poor guy never saw it coming. All I needed to do was get him to trust my intentions. And I had done just that.

  This wasn’t the first time she had done it. Men were easy prey, if you had the right weapon. Look good enough and make them think you’re willing, and you’ve got them in the palm of your hand. She knew that. She knew she could use me to get them. Men. It was only the men she craved.

  The method was simple. Flirt with them, get them to the nearest house, the nearest motel, the darkest corner on the side of the road, whatever was most convenient at the time. She’d let me have a little fun and she’d wait for them to relax, get settled, feel safe, before she made her way out. She hid within me, always lurking, waiting for the right moment to strike. I had tried resisting her in the past, but soon enough, I had found that there was no use. She always found her way out, and I always found something to appreciate in what she did.

  It was that initial look of surprise that satisfied me the most; the fear in their eyes as she slices through their skin, as the blood gushes out. They die quickly enough if she stabs them in the right spot, but sometimes it takes more than a few tries. I watch them squirm in fear and pain and it gives me pleasure, more pleasure than any of them ever give me.

  I stood up, turning my back to the window, and looked at him from a distance. I took another drag from my cigarette and blew the smoke toward his mangled body. The scene no longer bothered me, but I was certain it would bother whoever found him.

  They always found them, sooner or later. Even the lonely millionaires who lived in seclusion. I let out a soft laugh, imagining what they would think when they did. They would think an animal had done this; no human being could have borne the gruesomeness, certainly not a frail woman.

  In a sense, an animal had done this.

  I took one last drag from my cigarette and put it out in the ashtray on the bedside table. I walked to the nearest bathroom, aching to clean his blood off myself. As I washed the blood off my hands, I glanced at myself in the mirror. It was only when I took a good look at myself that the reality of what had happened started to sink in. Little specks of blood were spread about my face, tainting my skin. I washed every last drop of red off my body, including the red lipstick I had on. I couldn’t trust any of it.

  I walked back into the room, coming back from the high. I looked at the man for the last time, remembering each cut she’d left on his skin. I sat back on the bed and put my shoes on. As I glanced down at the ground, I saw something reflecting the light of the lamp he had turned on.

  A sharp kitchen knife with a black handle, covered in blood.

  The blood had fallen off the blade and stained the floors. I eyed it suspiciously, remembering it slicing through his skin. The image of her nails shifted in my mind.

  Huh, I thought. There were no nails at all, were there?

  I snickered. She always did surprise me. How had she done all of that with a knife? Her lust for blood must’ve been abhorrent. She had shown me what she wanted me to see, the monster she aspired to become. I didn’t know which parts of what I remembered were real and which weren’t, but the end result was the same. I picked the knife off the ground, once again staining my hand with blood.

  She was real. There was nothing unreal about her. She lived within me. She was just like me. In fact, she was me. She was as much a part of me as I was of her. She changed me, let out a side of me I knew to keep hidden most of the time—a monster.

  She had been a part of me for a long time, but her strength hadn’t started taking over me until recently. They told me she didn’t really exist, that the things she made me see weren’t real. Hallucinations, they called them.

  But I knew better than to listen to them.

  I knew she was real.

  I took the knife into the bathroom and washed the blood off of it. I couldn’t leave too much behind. I walked into the room for the last time, checking to see if I had left anything that would lead them to me. I put the knife in my clutch and walked downstairs, my heels clicking. I took my coat off the hanger and put in on. I knew I’d covered my tracks well. So far, we hadn’t been caught. Not once.

  I wiped my fingerprints off the doorknob using the sleeve of my coat, before I walked out. I turned to look at the large house one final time. The sun was beginning to shine over it once again.

  * * *

  The King Arrives

  By Ron Ripley

  Matt Davis stood in his kitchen and lean
ed against the counter. He finished his beer, put the bottle in the sink, and crossed his arms over his chest. A yawn forced him to admit to himself that he was tired, but a darker part of his mind understood that he wouldn’t sleep.

  He hardly ever did anymore.

  Stupid, Matt thought. He straightened up, took a step toward the refrigerator, and then stopped. Biting his lip, he finally shook his head, turned from the refrigerator, and went to the narrow cabinet over the stove. He stood up on his tiptoes, found the bottle of peppermint schnapps, and took it down. Breaking the seal, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the smell of it.

  The schnapps was nothing more than a three-dollar plastic bottle of some of the roughest schnapps he had ever enjoyed.

  Here’s to more like it, Matt thought. He put the cap on the counter and took a long pull from the sharp liquid.

  His eyes watered after he lowered it a moment later and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Damn, he thought. That’s a sight stronger than I expected.

  He took another drink, coughed, and chuckled as he capped the bottle and set it down on the kitchen table. From the pantry, he grabbed a bag of sour cream and onion chips, bringing it back to the table, where he sat down with a thud and winced at the sharp pain in his backside.

  Smart, he thought. He tore open the bag of chips and dug into them, eating loudly, trying to ignore the silence of the small farmhouse around him.

  He hated the silence.

  Hated it more than he had once believed he could hate anything.

  But it’s easy to hate, he told himself. Do what Jenn wanted you to do. Let it go. Be good. Find someone and love them.

  The last thought caused him to sneer, and he pounded back another drink.

  I don’t want to find another person to love, he thought bitterly. I’ve had my share, and that’s all I want.