The pizzeria was blanketed with the heavy aroma of their fear and smothered in my victims’ blood. The clashing scents tainted my senses, and while I admired the feel of it dripping down my face and body, it made the situation a bit challenging as I tried to locate my prey.
A scuffling sound, followed by a voice, caught my attention.
“Lavender, what the fuck?” I recognized it as Sybil’s voice. She was the biggest bitch of them all, and the main drive behind my mission.
“S-s-s-s-s-Sybil,” I sang out while snapping my head sideways. Lavender suddenly rushed across the pizzeria and through the back doors that led to the kitchen. “Oh?” I whipped my head toward the direction she had come from and glared at the back booth in the corner.
There you are.
Slinking down toward the ground, I quietly crawled on all fours toward the table.
The closer I came to the booth, the stronger the scent of their fear and anticipation grew. Their smells wrapped around me and constricted my senses, beckoning me nearer like a nice, juicy platter of fresh meat waiting to be devoured. Holding back my animalistic urges was becoming harder and harder with each passing second, for I wasn’t ready to be done with my games. But my demonic cravings were slipping out of control the longer I hunted these humans.
A second voice stopped me in my path as I listened carefully. “Wait—Sybil—maybe Lavender has the right idea. We came in through the back alley door; it should still be unlocked which means we can run straight through and escape.” His whispered voice was anything but hushed.
“Escape? How the hell do you still think we have any chance of escaping! She’s a fucking freak Montey! A demon-possessed freak with an army of human-eating rats! She's going to kill us all!” Sybil was now whisper-shouting, presumably thinking she was being quiet, but she wasn’t at all.
I am curious to see how this plays out.
Scurrying to one side, my body hit one of the nearby tables, creating a loud thud. I backed away a little bit and dipped into the shadows, hoping they wouldn’t see me. I wanted them to decide what they were going to dobeforeI devised my plan.
“Stay here,” Montey whispered. “I’m going to check it out. Just be quiet.”
Montey slowly backed out from under the table and inched toward the back, carefully placing his feet as he walked. He looked around, searching for the cause of the sound, creating a larger distance between him and Sybil.
Perfect.
Sybil stuck her head out from under the table, her red hair nearly glowing in the neon lights that remained dimly lit above. “Montey, you ass!” she whisper-shouted. “Don’t you dare fucking leave me.” She shifted back under the table with a sigh and I had the perfect opportunity.
“S-s-s-s-S-y-bi-l-l-l-l.” Slowly, I slithered out from the shadows and started crawling toward the table she was hiding beneath, my hands and knees sliding from the immense amount of blood along my skin. Her blue eyes widened at the sheer sight of me, absolute terror radiating off her like a gust of wind. It was even more intense than that of the twins or the others I had already devoured, which only excited me.
So close.
Each pounding beat of her frightened heart sent another rush of fear through her body, and it made my mouth water. “They left you all alone, didn’t they, Sy–bil?” A menacing chuckle poured from behind my teeth. “Just like your daddy did.” I could taste the deep hurt that rushed through her as my words dripped down from my sharp tongue. “Mmmm, yes. That really struck a chord now, didn’t it?” I stopped, cracking my head to one side as my blood-soaked hair flung across my face. “You think because you are not wanted at home that you can treat people like shit, as if it makes you feel better about your shitty life. Well…surprise, bitch.” I crawled in front of the table where she was hiding with a giant smile plastered on my face. “That’s not how life works. Maybe for demons, but certainly not you humans.”
I reached my long arm under the table and grabbed a fistful of her long, red hair, pulling her out onto the dining room floor.
“Let me go, you fucking freak!” she screamed, trying her best to kick free. I tugged her hair sharply, forcing her onto her side while her pathetic little attempts did nothing. “Let me go!” Her scalp began to bleed from how forceful I was being, waving her around like a little ragdoll.
Oh, Crissa. You are about to miss the best part of the night!
I tugged Sybil high and raised her inches from my face. “You are such a funny human, Sybil. You know that, right?” I raised the tip of my finger and dragged my sharp claw down the side of her face and along her neck. She screamed out through clenched teeth, scratching her long nails against my palm, as if it would make me stop. “You use your words to inflict such pain, saying things as if they have meaning in this world. But your words meannothing.” I then dug my claws into her arm and pierced her deeply. “But your words…your voice…it does nothing but irritate me.”
“You’re one to talk!” she spat. “You’re just a fucking freak! A useless nobody! You–you’re not going to do anything to me!” Her words were screams in my face. “Montey will stop you! He’ll save me! Just watch!” Such empty hopes.
I burst into bellowing laughter.
“Dear stupid, pathetic Sybil. Do you truly think all of this was a show?” I motioned around the pizzeria with my free hand. “Ha! You want a show? Fine. I shall give you a show!” I released my hold on her hair as she fell roughly to the ground. “But before I do, I must tell you, I look forward to eatingyouthe most.” She tried to scramble away. “And I don’t plan on saving any pieces of you for my dear Crissa.” My smile fell. “No. You aren’t worthy.”
Sybil screamed, turning to crawl away as I shoved two of my fingers into her open mouth, scraping the roof of it as my thumb forced its way up her nostril, hooking her face like a bowling ball. Her blood trailed from my sharp grip as she gagged on my claws, thrashing about. I stood and dragged her behind me toward the kitchen. Her kicks and attempts to bite my fingers made little difference and only sliced her mouth more.
“Patience, black widow. Your time is coming soon enough.” I continued my trek across the pizzeria as her body flailed about in my shadow.
As soon as I pushed the kitchen doors open, I caught a brief glimpse of dark curls flying around the corner. “It seems we’re not alone,” I chuckled. “Don’t worry, dear Lavender…” My voice lifted through the metal laden kitchen. “Once I finish playing with this one, you and that delectable Montey will be next.” Lightning flashed outside, a punctuation to my threat, aimed toward Lavender. Thunder boomed soon after, indicating that the storm wasn’t going anywhere. It truly was the perfect ambience.
Sybil coughed on my claws, spewing blood as I walked over to the large pizza oven, struck with a glorious idea. The corners of my mouth pulled up into a wide smile at the very thought of it.
Oh, that will do quite nicely.
