Sonia was jerked forward, but she caught herself before she fell. Quickly regaining her balance, she hopped back and grasped the edge of the chair beside her.
The man’s sneer curved into a smile. “A fighter, are we? You don’t look the type. One look at you and I thought you’d die quicker than an ant under my shoe.”
His words broke through her fear for a moment, triggering some hidden fire she’d never felt. “Leave! Get the fuck out of my house. You touch me, and I swear I’ll kill you.” She didn’t know how, but the words felt true. She wasn’t going to let this fucker anywhere near her.
“I almost believe you.” He stepped forward.
With strength that surprised her, Sonia swung the chair, letting all her fear and anger guide her aim.
The man let his arms fall to his sides and allowed the chair to smash into him, breaking as it made contact. He didn’t as much as flinch, let alone stumble or move. Sonia’s fear returned in triplicate.
The man stared at her, the smile never leaving his face. He dusted the splinters of the chair off his filthy clothes and then let his hands glide down past his waist, beginning to stroke at the growing bulge inside his gray linen pants. “I think I’d like to see you try to kill me.”
Sonia’s blood turned to ice, and she was frozen in place. She tried to get herself to move, to run, to scream, but terror held her captive.
He stepped across the room, away from her, and picked up a heavy antique armchair. With a flick, he sent it careening into the television set, glass exploding across the room, sparks flying from the outlet then fading to nothing.
Sonia flinched, but still was unable to make her feet move.
He bent and picked up the coffee table, lifting it over his head as if it were a pillow. He smiled at her. “Run.”
The command released her from her frozen state, and she turned and dashed around the kitchen table to the glass doors. She yanked the door handle with all her might. The door refused to budge. The force of her pull made a jolt to course through her arms. Locked. She flipped the lock free and jerked the handle again. Still, the door held.
“Maybe this will help.” Before she could turn around to see where he was, the coffee table slammed into the glass door by her head and crashed at her feet. The safety glass splintered like a spiderweb but held in its frame.
Tears flowing down her cheeks, she bent down, fingers desperately fumbling with the safety latch at the base of the door.
“And you told me you were a fighter.” The man let out a cold laugh. “I hoped you’d do better than this.” She craned her head over her shoulder in time to see him launch himself across the room and land on the table, breaking the wood in half.
Nearly slipping as she rose from her crouched position on the floor, Sonia dashed into the kitchen. She rushed through the small space and turned left to exit the door into the hallway that led to the front door.
A flash from the corner of her eye told her she’d never make it. Twisting to the right, she flung herself down the hallway and through her bedroom door, then slammed it shut.
She wasn’t even halfway to the window across the room before she heard him behind her. There was a crash of some furniture being overturned, and then he was upon her. He threw her from her path so abruptly, it felt like she’d been sideswiped by a car. He flung her on the bed and pinned her to the mattress.
His green eyes were centimeters from hers, his hot breath on her face. She saw her fate in his eyes and felt her body surrender. She cursed herself inwardly.Fight him! Fight!But she couldn’t. How could you fight the devil?
“It’s a rare woman that catches my eye, but you…” He traced his finger over her cheek and down her throat. “You’re gorgeous enough, I’d almost believe you were a demon. Of course, if you were, you’d have put up even more of a fight.” His hand traveled down her body, reached her legs, and pulled the hem of her T-shirt back up to her waist. “As it is, you did better than most.”
She couldn’t fight, but Sonia was damned if she was going to cry or beg. The fucker could do what he was going to do. Live or die, she couldn’t stop it, but his eyes told her what he wanted even more than her body. He wanted her fear, her screams. In that she would win. In that she could deny him.
His tone changed. Its lustful rasp intensified but took on a more conversational cadence. “Did you know I fucked your roommate? Brett is his name, right?” He waited for a response, but she didn’t so much as blink. “No? Didn’t think so. I fucked him in some trash-filled alley. Of course, with him, I made him believe he wanted it, at least most of the time. We were outside, couldn’t make too much noise.” His weight shifted as he readjusted. “And do you know what he did? The fucking pretty boy set me on fire. Nearly burned me alive.” He arched an eyebrow at her and gestured to the charred portion of his face. “Any idea how many people I had to eat to even look this good?”
Even if Sonia had been able to make sense of what he was saying, she wouldn’t have understood. As it was, she was millions of miles away. Her body was there, but she had left.
“For you, I don’t think I’ll offer the same courtesy. I want to hear you scream.”
Despite his actions, Sonia gave no response. He lowered his eyes to hers once more. “Oh no, my dear. You can’t escape me. Not even in your mind. You belong to me.”
In a sudden flash, he sank his fangs into her neck, tearing so roughly through the skin that he had to swallow a chunk of flesh before he could gulp down the blood that poured into him. As he drank, he continued his onslaught.
The weight of him on her felt like she’d been buried under the rubble of her home. She couldn’t breathe. For a moment, the monster returned to focus, his emerald eyes sparkling cruelly.
“There you are.” His voice was nothing more than a gravelly rasp.
He reared up above her, dug his fingernails deep into the far side of his throat, and ripped across his jugular. Blood spewed forth with such force it splattered against the wall over the bed’s headboard.
Then, for the first time, Sonia screamed. She screamed until the sound was drowned out by the blood gushing down her throat as he shoved his gaping neck wound over her mouth.
