by Nicole Rae
What a monster, she thought disgusted. Different… yeah right, he was just like every other psychotic freak. He got his jollies off by taking advantage of innocent girls. It clearly thrilled him to watch her panic. Unfortunately, she didn’t disappoint him in that department. Her mind and body was set in a high panic mode, with no signs of relenting anytime soon.
She tried to dodge his mouth by turning her head. He responded by aggressively, grabbing her chin and forcing her to face him. After kissing her harshly on the lips, his mouth moved down and his teeth grazed her neck. At their touch her skin went cold and rigid. They felt like tips of a wicked sharp knife at the base of her throat.
They were the sharpest teeth she had ever felt, more like needles than teeth. They pressed on her flesh, threatening to break the tender skin. Why couldn’t she just wake up from this nightmare? That’s what this felt like… a nightmare, only it wasn’t, this was reality.
The hem of her shirt had come up, exposing her stomach. Emily couldn’t feel the chill of the night air on her bare skin though. The jerks shirt was some kind of wool material and it scratched her, but kept her somewhat protected from the cool breeze. It felt like someone was giving her midriff an intense Indian burn. The rocks under her back were sending sharp, piercing pains into her flesh.
The nagging, clenching of her abdomen was increasing with every second that passed. It felt like someone was grabbing all of her internal organs, trying to flip them inside out and then into a bite sized pretzel. It was as though the entire world had stopped and began moving in slow motion.
Every movement, every pain seemed to last longer than it should have. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she thought she was going to throw up. She didn’t deserve this, no one did. She just wanted to go home with the safety of locked doors and windows. Fear for her life kept her squirming, even though it was a useless effort.
Finding her voice, Emily opened her mouth to scream, but he quickly covered it with his own. She sickeningly tasted the booze on his breath and had to stifle a gag from exploding out. His kiss was hard, fury and desire pulsed through it like the steady beat of a drum. She tried to squirm out of his clutches with everything inside her. Her attempts were futile. His weight was too much for her.
Traces of the scent hit her nose again, stimulating her senses, sending them into overdrive. Was it booze on his breath? The more she thought about it, the odordidn’t smell like he had been drinking at all. In fact, the more the scent entangled her senses, the more it intoxicated her. It was as though his pheromones were wrapping around her, until she was enveloped in the warmth that they offered. It made her woozy and maybe even a little sleepy. She tried to cling to her awareness. There was no way that the overwhelming feeling that his touch was a good thing, was her own idea. It was becoming harder and harder to convince herself that she was in danger. Who was this guy and what did he mean by his kind?
He pulled his lips from hers long enough to say, “Now now, don’t make this harder than it has to be. Just be quiet. It won’t be long now and you will feel nothing except bliss. Are you as excited, as I am?” He said with mock enthusiasm.
He brought her arm to his mouth and kissed the underside of it. Out of nowhere a sharp pinch stung her wrist. Then his tongue snaked out and licked where her arm burned. Oddly, it soothed the sting, turning it into a dull ache.
“Simply divine,” he purred.
Emily was seriously grossed out. Not only was this pervert attacking her, he was licking her too? She tried wiggling free again, but he was too massive above her. His mouth moved to her neck hungrily, as if searching for food.
A sharp stinging sensation made her whole body tense. It felt like he actually broke through the skin this time. His mouth lingered over the bite mark, as he sucked. What was he doing? The pain was unbearable at first. It felt like all of her organs were being pulled from the small puncture. After a minute it turned numb. The woozy feeling was starting to take over again. What was he doing? The question was there, but it was getting harder to stay focused.
Even though it was cold outside, she knew the newly formed goose flesh wasn’t from the weather. A cramp in her stomach made her cry out. Instead of pausing at what he was doing, it made him more aggressive. He took it as a green light that she was into it. That was far from the truth. Every fiber of Emily’s being was writhing in utter terror. She had a stunningly clear realization that tonight would be her last on this earth. If she had ever thought of her own death, it surely wasn’t like this. Itwasn’t supposed to be this way.
“Please God don’t do this,” Emily begged again. Her breath coming in hyperventilating, little gasps and her voice was a hoarse attempt at a yell. Her throat was so dry, that she probably couldn’t have gotten a loud enough scream out for anyone to hear.
Don’t move! You will only make it worse. The voice in her head was back again. Emily listened to it, obediently. She let the words replay in her mind over and over. Focusing everything she had on those words. Somehow, they made her feel less alone.
The strangely pleasant haziness was taking over more of her mind. She knew what was happening was wrong. On the other hand, she was beginning to see what the monster was talking about, as much as she didn’t want to admit it. Whatever he was doing did feel good. She almost didn’t care what was happening anymore. Everything was starting to go fuzzy around the edges. It was like
BAM!!!
At the sound, the monster released a gasp and crumpled to the ground beside her. Emily was jolted back to reality and things were immediately clear again. She let out a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding. She was thankful to have the terrorizing weight off her body. Instinctively, she sensed the new danger and hurried to her feet preparing to run. She hadn’t even made it a foot, when she ran smack into a brick wall.
Wait, that was no wall, it was a big broad chest. It wasn’t just broad, it was rock hard. She started to scream her best horror movie scream, when a large hand clamped over her mouth.
“Be quiet. You might wake him up.” The voice was hushed, barely audible.
After what had just happened, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him. Part of her wanted to be thankful that he had gotten the monster off of her. Her heart knew he had just saved her from a tragic ending, but her head remained skeptical. What if this was the monsters friend?
His voice regained her attention. “If I take my hand off, will you promise to be quiet?”
Emily nodded, slowly fighting back sobs. She could feel tears sliding down her cheeks,disappearing into the stranger’s hand. Just when she thought she had a chance, the possibility of her death loomed its ugly head again.
The hand moved off of her face, lingering an inch away, as if waiting for the returned scream and broken promise. She could smell the sweet, ruggedness of his hand, as it lingered a moment longer before he dropped it. It reminded her vaguely of warm spices.
With a slight, clicking sound she saw a small beam of light on the ground at their feet. She was suddenly aware that she was only wearing one shoe. Crap. She must have lost it in the struggle. Stupid slip-on shoes, she thought. From now on she would wear thick, heavy boots. As if hearing her idea, his foot moved across the gravel drawing her attention to his shoes. They were thick soled black boots, exactly the type she had been thinking about for herself. His feet were quite larger than hers, but he was considerably larger than her in general.
A noise from behind them broke into the silence. As quick as she heard it, her protector had her moved behind him. After a moment, Emily realized the noise wasn’t from her attacker. He apparently wasn’t going to move anymore, for now anyway. The noise was from a passing car on Main Street. Figures, one would drive by now. Where were they when she was getting shoved into the alley in the first place?
The alleged protector gave her a nudge towards some dumpsters, a few yards away. When he motioned for her to go behind them she hesitated, not understanding why she couldn’t just run straight home
. He gently nudged again slightly harder than the last time. “I need to finish this… it’s important that you trust me. I won’t hurt you,I promise.” He whispered.
Emily could hear the reassuring tone, making her relax slightly. She felt like she could trust him. There was something about his presence that comforted her. She crouched down behind the dumpster, as quietly as she could. Unfortunately, there was some sort of debris behind them and her weight on it made a loud, crunching sound. Part of her wanted to whisper an apology into the air between them, but somehow that didn’t seem appropriate.
The stranger disappeared from her side. He moved silently, she couldn’t even hear a single rock scuff the ground. Emily heard an odd snapping sound, a groan and then nothing. What was happening? She waited, frozen, for what seemed to be forever and still nothing. Was he just watching her attacker, waiting for him to regain consciousness? Whatever he was finishing,didn’t make a sound.
Creeped out, she listened carefully for any clue but still, there was nothing. Then, someone cleared their throat and she heard footsteps coming towards her. What if it wasn’t the good one? Even though he may not be the savior she hoped he was, she didn’t care. He was being nice to her and didn’t seem at all like that other thing. Should she try to run?
Don’t be afraid, the unknown voice in her head told her. Great, Emily thought. She was still hearing voices. She hoped that was due to the trauma she had experienced tonight and not a symptom of mental illness or something. That was just what she needed, as if her life wasn’t complicated enough, without having to add a therapy bill to the list.
“It’s okay, you can come out now.” He no longer spoke in a whisper and the concern was much more noticeable.
She felt a hand on her arm and automatically flinched back. His voice sounded kind of like the one in her head. Emily quickly did a mental comparison of the two. Clearly this theory was ridiculous. Obviously,they couldn’t be the same voice. God, she needed help.
“It’s alright. I’m just trying to help you,so you don’t trip on the siding thatyou’re standing on.” His voice was apologetic now. He realized, he had frightened her and seemed like he was trying to be careful.
As she thought about if she could trust him, she glanced down at the siding he spoke of. She could tell by the feel under her one bare foot that it was wood, butshe couldn’t see that it was siding and she had good vision. The night was black, cloudy, and there wasn’t a visible star in the sky. This guy must have night vision or something. He repositioned the hand on her arm to help support her through the discarded mess.
After both her feet were back on the gravel, he lifted her arm and put something in Emily’s hand. Her shoe, he had found her shoe. She was grateful; the rocks under her bare foot were murderous. The irony of what she had just gone through, versus the rocks being murderous, caused a slightly hysterical giggle to bubble up her throat before she could stop it. She immediately clamped her lips shut like a vise. It definitely wasn’t the time or place for her moronic weirdness.
“What do you find so funny?” He sounded much smoother now, almost fluid.
“Nothing.” That’s all she could manage? He probably thought she was nuts. She decided not to elaborate and instead bent to put her shoe back on. They weren’t the cutest shoes but they were comfortable for work. Her work attire would never make the what’s hot list in a fashion magazine, that’s for sure.
His voice interrupted her thoughts again.“Here, take this and rub it where you were bitten.” He didn’t give her a chance to ask questions, putting an object into her hand and moved away.
Emily lifted her hand, trying to get a look at what the object was. It was a tiny cylinder shaped thing. “What’s this?” Her fingers probed the cylinder, trying to make it out. It reminded her of Chap Stick or a lip gloss tube, only much smaller.
“It’s…medicine, like Neosporin. It will help close any wound left from the bite.” He turned his back as he spoke. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
Emily couldn’t help a smile at his politeness. “I don’t need privacy.” She said with equal consideration. “It’s just on my neck.” With that, she began applying the mystery ointment to the wound at her throat. It felt nice with a sort of soothing quality to it. It evaporated the flames that were licking up her neck and under her chin.
He cleared his throat. “I know, but all the same…” He trailed off. “Just let me know when you’re finished. Oh and don’t forget the one on your wrist.”
Emily swallowed, feeling the blood rushing to her face, making it instantly hot. How did he know where she had been bitten? She wondered how long he had been in the alley. It was possible that he had seen the entire thing take place. Emily couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t have stepped in sooner, if that was the case. The feeling was immediately squelched by her common sense. What was important was that she wasn’t being attacked anymore. Besides, it wasn’t like he was confessing to seeing her naked or something.
She wanted to ask the stranger if he knew what that monster did to her. He must have had some knowledge on the subject. Why else would he carry around some kind of bite kit? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to make her lips form the words.
Instead, she finished applying the medicine and paused in the act of clicking the cap into place. Emily brought the tube up to her nose and attempted a nonchalant sniff at the foreign substance. Oddly, it almost smelled like blueberries. Huh. Without another thought, Emily pushed up her sleeve and rubbed the medicine over the wound that was no longer numb, but flaming hot. At least it was until the blueberry substance touched it, simmering to a tingle and was completely extinguished. Wow, this stuff is wonderful, she thought as she repositioned her shirt and snapped the lid back on the tube.
Responding to the click of the lid, the guy turned around to face Emily again. “Well miss, we should get you home.” His words sounded formal and polite.
The use of the word miss almost made her laugh again. He didn’t sound much older than her, if at all. She wondered what was with the formalities. He was probably still trying to reassure her that he wasn’t going to take over the job of killing her. Quite considerate of the stranger really, she thought absently.
He led Emily out of the alley ,the same way she had been pushed in. She could tell they were in the same vicinity of where she had been attacked. She could feel the nearness of the back of the building to her left. When they reached the dip, indicating the road, he pushed on her arm to the right. How did he know which way she needed to go? It was more than likely just a coincidence, a perfect one at that.
What happened to her attacker? Shouldn’t they have run into him? Stepped over him? Maybe they hadn’t walked in the same area. No,that’s not right, she knew they did and she never heard him being moved. Her muscles were tight and she felt exhausted. Her mind blurred with questions,but she couldn’t seem to stay focused on one thought for long.
When they got to the corner, her whole body relaxed under the welcoming blaze of the street light. She smiled to herself at the sight of cars driving by. They were witnesses if the guy changed his mind and attacked her. Emily wondered how much time had passed since she left Blake’s. She glanced up at the man who had saved her, still not totally sure, thathe wasn’t leading her to yet another location, where death awaited.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. This guy seriously had to be the absolute hottest guy, she had ever seen. She made an effort not to stare, whichdidn’t work out so well. He didn’t seem to notice, thank God. His eyes were focused on the walk sign on the other side of the street. Lucky for her, this intersection had a very long light giving her a chance to covertly examine him.
He had blonde hair with a slight wave to it. It was neatly kept, not at all like those loser surfer wannabe guys, she always saw loping around. She never understood, why guys assumed it was cute to look like they just crawled out of bed. His skin was tanned perfectly. The cerulean blue of his eyes was dazzling.
Even his nose was perfection. His lips were full, almost pouty. They looked smooth and very kissable.
Wait… kissable? What was she thinking? This man might be planning to make her disappear off the face of the earth and she’s drooling over his pouty lips? She looked away quickly, feeling foolish. Absently, she watched the cars speeding by, pondering whether or not she should jump in front of one at an attempt at rescue. Honestly, shedidn’t feel like she was still in danger. He seemed strong but harmless.
Emily felt silly about the worry, nagging at the back of her mind. She was being paranoid, at least she hoped she was. This was a public street after all. They were walking in the direction of her own house. Clearly she wasn’t in danger. This was the same guy that saved her life. If he planned to do her harm, he had a chance to do so discreetly back in the alley. There would be no point in the theatrics of posing, as a knight in shining armor.
Helplessly, she found her eyes drifting back to stare at him again. He was almost a head taller than her, broad shouldered and wore a tight fitting, long sleeved knit shirt. She could see that his chest was very well-defined. Emily looked away again, mortified. My God, she thought. What was wrong with her? Where was her sense of self-preservation? She apparently had a deep seeded death wish. Just then the light changed and the sign across from where they stood, switched to walk.
He nudged her elbow and they started off the curb. Once across, he walked up another block and turned left. Where was he going? She wanted to ask, but again she couldn’t make her mouth cooperate.
He was walking with a smooth confident stride,that didn’t give her any sense of menace. It seemed as though he was heading toward where she lived. That wasn’t possible, she had never seen this person before in her life. He couldn’t know who she was, let alone where she lived.