Trapped in a Vile World

Zacky and Brian came running at full speed when they heard me screaming. They found me crying a little hysterically over Jimmy’s unconscious body. Brian immediately bent down and started checking his vital signs, and checking the severity of his wounds. He glanced up at me then looked back at Jimmy before doing a double take.

“Tera…” He said quietly. “Tera you have blood all over you.” I looked at him like a deer in the headlights. He reached over and swiped his finger across my cheek and I saw the crimson liquid shining on his fingers. I looked down and saw it across my chest and lap, even matted in my hair. “You should go clean yourself up,” he said gently, pity glowing in his eyes. I looked away from him. I hated pity.

“Here,” I said, slipping Matt’s shirt over my head and handing it to him. He nodded and mopped up Jimmy’s back with the shirt, then pressed it down on the wound; it was nearly soaked already. He hitched Jimmy’s body over his shoulder and walked out the door without another word.

When I looked up again, Zacky was still standing frozen. I looked over at him, and his eyes found my face.

“You,” he said the word as if it was disgusting. I was immediately afraid of what I saw stirring in those green eyes. “You!” his voice climbed louder with every word. “This is all YOUR fault!” he screamed at me. Warm tears started to spill down my cheeks. “If it wasn’t for YOU, we’d never be in this mess and Jimmy would be okay!” I started sobbing, but couldn’t look away from his furious eyes. “Get out!” he yelled. “GET THE FUCK OUT.” I got up off of the floor and ran as fast as I could through the door.

On the other side of the door, there was a long hallway that was made out of highly polished wood. I didn’t even stop to look or be surprised. I just ran to the first door I saw and threw it open, hoping that it led to the outside. By sheer dumb luck, it let out into another grimy alleyway. When I heard the door click shut, I started second guessing my rash decision. I tried the handle gently, but it was locked.

“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath. Well, at least I couldn’t hurt anyone who cared about me out here… I looked up at the sky. The rising sun was now hiding behind a thick layer of threatening clouds. “That’s just all I need,” I groaned. I started to walk down the alleyway, but I only made it a few steps before it started to pour. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” I half yelled to the clouds, pounding my fist on one of the brick walls.

It wasn’t dark out, but it wasn’t really light either. I stood out in the rain, not really sure what to do, but doing my hardest not to see the blue eyes full of pain or the green ones full of fury or even the brown eyes full of pity.

I sighed and started walking away from the distant noise that sounded like the civilized world. I wasn’t exactly dressed for going out in public. My gauze and ripped towel skirt were already soaked wet. I started to shiver.

“Just fucking fantastic,” I mumbled to myself. “Could this really get any worse?” When I turned the corner into the next alleyway, I realized that my day really could get worse. There in the pouring rain at the other end of the alleyway stood Johnny, wearing a wet, ripped black t-shirt and dirty jeans. We made eye contact and I froze as he smiled.

“So, we meet again,” he said with malice, his dark eyes practically glowing. “I hear third time’s the charm,” he mused, trying to get a reaction out of me. I stood like a deer in the headlights. There were a million thoughts running through my head, and I hadn’t the slightest idea what course of action to take. Should I call out for Brian and hope he should hear me? No, I’d bothered him too much already. Johnny took a step towards me, but I didn’t back away. He raised an eyebrow at me. “Not going to run away this time?” he asked me tauntingly. I looked up at him, frightened, yet determined.

“No,” I said simply. I saw a few emotions run through his face: surprise, anger, and disappointment. The last one that flashed was satisfaction.

“So you’re simply going to give yourself to me?” he asked, licking his lips. I shuddered at his reaction.

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” I replied shakily.

He approached me slowly, one step at a time, giving me plenty of time to run. He seemed to be anticipating, even craving, a chase. I refused to give it to him; I wasn’t his prey. I wasn’t going to run like some frightened animal. Soon, he was within an arms length of me. I watched him with my eyes, but I did not move. He slowly reached out and drug a finger across my collarbone. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t suppress the shiver that rocked my spine at his touch. He smiled darkly.

“That’s what I though,” he smirked, satisfied. “Still afraid.” He grabbed my arm and threw me face first into the wall.

I really hoped this wouldn’t be like our last encounter in an alleyway. I didn’t think I could bear much more physical damage. He didn’t seem very interested in playing with me now that he’d caught me. He grabbed me by my hair and turned me around roughly, pulling it. I groaned in pain before I could stop myself. He chuckled darkly.

“Did that hurt?” he mocked me. I said nothing.

He pushed me against the wall. The rain pounded down all around us, soaking us both to the bone, but he seemed to not even notice it. He pulled my hair viciously to the side, tilting my whole head and exposing my soft, lightly tanned skin. The rain had washed away all the traces of Jimmy that had been on my body. He explored from my collarbone up my neck with his tongue, making me cringe. He chuckled.

“Don’t worry,” he hissed in my ear. “This won’t hurt. Much.”

Without warning, he plunged his fangs into the soft nape of my neck, and I could hear the gentle sound of my blood being swept away between his smirking lips.