But even as I said the name, I knew that it wasn’t him either. He wouldn’t have remained hidden. He would have come to me instantly; he would have revealed himself the moment that I stepped into this room. For the first time true fear enveloped me as I realized that whoever was in the room wasn’t coming toward me to talk to me, but was stalking me. Hunting me. My throat went dry. I slipped the gun slowly from my waistband. I held it at my side, trying not to draw attention to the fact that I possessed it.
“It’s you.”
The words were a soft hiss that caused my skin to crawl. I took another step back, jumping slightly as I bumped into the wall. I hadn’t realized that I had stepped away from the doorway until that moment. It was a foolhardy mistake that may have just cost me my life. And I knew, without knowing how, that this was going to turn into a battle for my life.
The man emerged from the shadows and I understood why I had briefly mistaken him for Cade. They had the same slender build, same dark hair and eyes. He was even staring at me with the same hunger and tension I had seen in Cade’s eyes a few times. However, in this man’s eyes that hunger caused a panicked, primitive reaction to flare hotly through me.
I wanted to flee, wanted to run from the room but I remained immobile and shaken. I was terrified that if I ran he would hunt me down and maul me to death. Somehow I knew that he would, and that he could. “Excuse me?” I managed to choke out.
Ian’s eyes raked me from head to toe. His lips were a strange shade of red, there appeared to be something on his mouth. His gaze smoldered with heat, burned with longing, but there was nothing sexual in his eyes as there was with Cade. He did not desire me the way that Cade did, he wanted something else, something more from me. I didn’t know exactly what, but I was convinced that he wanted to devour me completely. I was shaking slightly as I took a step to the right, trying to get back to the open doorway.
“It’s you,” he said again freezing me in place. I turned questioningly toward him. What was me? “You’re what he’s been hiding.”
His words caused turmoil and confusion to surge through me. “You’re all over this room. Your smell, your taste, it’s everywhere.” His hand fell onto the hematology analyzer on the table. It was then that I noticed the empty vials littering the table. My blood was gone. “You’re all inside of me.” My eyes flew back to his, my heart slammed rapidly against my ribs. I could barely breathe through the horror choking me. His lips were red, red as blood. My blood. “And you’re good.”
The purred word caused everything inside of me to go limp. He had drunk my blood. And he liked it. And he wanted more.
He was going to kill me. He wasn’t human. Holy crap he was one of them!
Thoughts raced through my head at a million miles per hour. I couldn’t focus on just one of them, couldn’t grasp just one. All I knew for certain was that he wasn’t human, that the aliens had infiltrated our group for some reason, and that he was going to kill me. “Sooooo good,” he continued. “No wonder he’s keeping you to himself. No wonder he’s hiding you. Greedy, greedy boys always lose their toys. He’s been bad though. Very very bad. He’s inside of you too. He knows better than that. It’s forbidden. But he is, he’s in you, and you survived it. Amazing. And now he’s made you even yummier than you would have been otherwise.”
Holy hell, not only was he going to kill me, but he was completely freaking insane on top of it!
I didn’t know what he was talking about. Didn’t know what he could possibly mean with his hissed words, and strange statements, but I was shaking from their effects. Shaking from the strange notion that I should understand his words, that a part of me did understand them, even though I didn’t want to, even though I refused to acknowledge the fear that twisted through me. And not all of that fear was because of this man standing across from me, but from something more, something else.
I was lost. I was terrified that I was going to die, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. I whipped the gun up, but before I could fire it he was on top of me, knocking it aside. He was so fast, so stunningly quick that it took my breath away. He hit my hand so hard that numbness instantly enveloped me, causing my fingers to involuntarily release their hold upon the weapon. Dismay filled me. I opened my mouth to scream but his other hand wrapped around my neck, choking off my scream as he swiftly crushed the air from my throat.
I grasped hold of his hand, struggling against the death grip strangling me. Stars of bright light burst over my eyes. My feet kicked against the wall as he lifted me off my feet with terrifying, inhuman, ease. There was something wrong with his eyes, my vision was swimming due to lack of oxygen but I could still tell that there was something wrong with his eyes.
And that was when I realized that his entire eyeball, not just his iris, was completely black. It seemed as if the color in his iris had seeped out to completely take over the eyeball. But it wasn’t only just encompassing the eye it also seemed to be seeping into his face. I watched in horror as the black spread throughout the veins in his face, causing them to stand out starkly against his dark complexion.
I choked, gagged, sputtered as ice began to pulse through my veins. Blackness, oozing blackness encompassed him. I could almost feel it creeping out, trying to wrap around me. Trying to get inside of me, just like that thing had tried to get inside of me. Against my throat, I felt the pinch of nails, or talons, on my skin. I felt the cool trickle of my blood as his suddenly clawed fingers pierced me.
Though he was not as ugly as those things that hunted us, and drained us dry, he was ugly, and he was horrifying. And he was what those things served. He was what they fed. And now he wanted to feed from me.
That blackness was in the air now; it seemed to be coming at me. Another long talon pierced my skin. Ian licked his lips eagerly, taking the last of my blood from them. A gurgled scream escaped me; bile surged up my throat as he bent his mouth to my neck. His tongue was hot against my chilled skin as he licked over me, tasting me. I nearly vomited with disgust. A low purr escaped him; his pleasure was nearly palpable as he continued to savor my blood. He drew back slightly, using a sharp nail to draw a line down my skin. I felt the sharp pain of the slice as my blood spilled forth.
“Delicious,” he murmured. “Eat you from the inside out.”
That blackness tore into me. It seemed to rip into my very soul, shredding through my flesh, bone, and marrow. I bucked against him. A silent scream of agony slammed through my skull, spread through my veins, and paralyzed my body. I felt as if I were being drained of more than just my blood, but also my soul, my very life essence. It was as bad as when that other thing had gotten a hold of me, only Ian was not physically inflicting a wound in order to do it.
“Inside,” he breathed.
I couldn’t move; I felt my eyes roll back in my head. I was going to faint. I was going to die. And I found myself welcoming it if it meant that I could escape this.
“No no sweetness,” he whispered. I could feel the darkness leaving me as he pulled slightly away. The black veins in his face began to slowly fade but his eyes remained burning charcoal orbs as he smiled at me. “Out.” His disgusting tongue moved up my neck, tasting more of my blood before moving on to stroke over my cheeks. I recoiled in revulsion from the feel of him. “It’s so much more fun when you stay awake. So much more fun when you enjoy every little thing that I am going to do to you. For hours, days even. I’ll make him pay for being a greedy, treacherous boy. Oh the joy of it all.”
I wanted to cry, wanted to sob in horror, but he was ripping me away from the wall. Dragging me by my neck he made his way toward the back of the room. I stumbled, nearly fell, but was held ungraciously up by the nails he dug sharply into my skin. I could feel blood seeping from the numerous wounds he inflicted upon me.
“I’ll teach him to try and hide his toys, to not share. You are a rare treat, a survivor, a delicious, scrumptious little survivor. It’s truly amazing you know.”
No, I didn’t know; I didn’t ha
ve one damn clue what the hell he was talking about. In fact, I could hardly think at all due to the lingering haze of pain, confusion, and terror that was clamoring through me.
Ian stopped abruptly, jerking me roughly up. Before I knew what he was doing, his hand was at my waistband. I froze in horror, my muscles locked into place as my breath stuck in my lungs. He grinned at me as his fingers brushed over my skin. They dipped momentarily lower, brushing against the edge of my underwear before he pulled the other gun from beneath my shirt. “It’s not time for that yet sweet one, not until we’re out of here anyway. There will be plenty of time for that after we’re away.”
My mouth parted slightly in horror, it was in that moment that I realized there was a fate worse than death, and that I was facing it. Renewed strength filled me; I shoved violently off of him as I tried to pull free of his tight hold. Pain surged through me as his claws ripped across my throat, and tore into my skin. Blood spilled over me, but he had not expected me to react at all so I was able to wrench free of his tight hold. Shock radiated over his face for a moment, and then the black lines surged to the forefront again.
I stumbled back, trying to catch my balance as I slammed off of one of the tables. He lurched at me, leaping forward with a snarl that caused the hair on my arms to stand on end. Grabbing hold of the closest thing to me, I lifted the microscope and swung it at him with the full force of my might. Pain radiated through my arms as the jarring impact of microscope, verse face, slammed through me.
His head snapped to the side, but his forward momentum was barely knocked off balance as he plowed into me. His arms wrapped around my waist as we fell back. I took most of the impact of the hard floor as my body bounced painfully off of it. A startled cry escaped me, I wanted to scream but he was on top of me, tearing ferociously at me. My shirt ripped beneath his savage assault. His face was a mask of fury and blackness, though he was enraged with me, he did not shred my skin. It was apparent that he was able to keep enough reason to not kill me now; that would ruin all of his wonderful future plans for me.
I tried to fend him off, tried to deflect his hands as he pushed and pulled and grabbed brutally at me. He seized hold of my hands and slammed them over my head with one of his hands. He was so strong, so unbelievably, inhumanly strong. It seemed as if he had a million hands, seemed as if he were everywhere at once as he leaned over me, leering with vicious intent.
He grabbed hold of my cheeks, squeezing painfully. I winced in pain, wishing that I could slap his hand away, wishing that I could slap him. “By the time I’m done with you you’re going to be begging to die. Begging for me to kill you.”
I had no doubt that he was right as I glared at him, but he was going to get one hell of a fight before then. He grabbed hold of me, hauling me to my feet by my wounded throat. I tried to pull away from him again, but he held tight. His nails were sharp against my brutalized skin; his hand was tight in my hair as he jerked it sharply forward.
He had only dragged me forward ten feet when the low growl pierced the air. I tried to turn, tried to see where the noise had come from when I was knocked violently aside. A small cry of surprise escaped me as I bounced roughly off of one of the tables and fell to the ground. The flashlight went tumbling into the darkness. Its beam bounced around the room, flashing blindingly over the walls as it spun. I didn’t know what was going on, could barely make out anything as I blinked rapidly against the flashing brilliance. The sounds of a brutal assault were loud in the room.
I scurried away, scrambling on my hands and knees as the table next to me skittered into the blackness. I jerked back, frightened of getting hit by the heavy piece of furniture as it was kicked violently back at me. My heart pounded with fear as I searched for the door, but my vision had been compromised by the flashlight. I couldn’t make out anything within the room. My skin crawled with horror. I could hear the violent sounds of punching, the grunts and snarls of the fighters, the cracking of furniture and bones as the fighters rolled and tore at each other.
I didn’t know who my savior was, or if they were even winning, but I did know that I had to get the hell out of here, and I needed help. I had just regained my feet when I was hit from behind by one of the bodies. I staggered forward, but my leg twisted beneath me and I found myself back on my hands and knees again. Pain blasted through my palms and bruised knees. I struggled to get away but one of the fighters was still half on top of my awkwardly twisted foot.
A startled cry of terror escaped me as hands clawed at me, trying to gain purchase in my hair or ruined clothes. I fell, rolling out from underneath them as someone reared out of the night. Fury and fear pulsated within the room; whoever had been seeking me was knocked forcefully aside.
That was when I spotted the flashlight. I scurried forward, crawling swiftly across the floor as I reached for the small, gleaming torch. My hand seized hold of it as an echoing snap resounded through the room. Everything went silent. I froze, my hand wrapped around the handle of the light as I waited breathlessly in the dark. I had never heard that sound before, but I knew instinctively that it had been the sound of a breaking neck. I didn’t know who had won, I didn’t know if Ian was going to grab hold of me again. I didn’t want to move, didn’t even want to blink. I was afraid that any small movement would reveal my location and that the assault would begin anew.
Something moved within the room. My heart leapt into my throat. I couldn’t stay like this forever, I had to move. I had to know. I spun suddenly, flipping over as I aimed the beam in the direction of where I had last heard anything. I had hoped to use the flashlight to blind whoever was left with me, even if it was my savior. Instead, it revealed a horror far worse than anything I ever could have imagined. A horror that left me cold, empty. Dead inside.
Ian was on the floor, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. His dark eyes were open, but unseeing. In fact, they would never see again. His mouth was parted slightly; the right side of his face had caved beneath the force of numerous, furious blows. Blood was splattered over his face, his clothes, and the ground. Though the sight of his mutilated body was disturbing, it was nothing compared to the sight of the person sitting over him.
Cade’s shoulders were hunched, his head bowed. Blood splattered his clothes; it streaked over his hands and arms. I stared silently, breathlessly, afraid to move even an inch. There was something wild, something savage about him that frightened me. Something that I did not recognize but that instinctively terrified me.
And then he turned toward me. A small mewl of horror escaped me, my hand shook on the flashlight as I took in the sight of that blood splattered face. I didn’t recognize the eyes gleaming out at me, barely recognized the beloved face I knew so well. Because that face no longer existed. It had been replaced by the monstrous, nearly unrecognizable face before me.
Black, everything about him was black. From his entirely black eyes to the black veins standing starkly out in his face.
Primitive. Violent. Deadly. Those words screamed through my mind as I gaped in revulsion at him. Inhuman also.
I felt something inside of me breaking, splintering, and shattering into a thousand pieces as bits of my heart and soul disintegrated. His eyes narrowed. He didn’t seem to recognize me as his completely onyx gaze slid slowly over me from head to toe and then back again. He shuddered, rage blazed from him as his eyes returned to linger upon the ruined remains of my shirt. The blackness had been slowly receding from his face; it surged back to life, racing through his veins once more as his eyes found my bloody neck.
I was ashamed of the soft whimper that escaped me. Ashamed of the complete lack of control I suddenly had over my body, ashamed by the crushing sense of defeat that descended over me. His gaze came slowly back to my face; he stared at me for a long moment before the black slowly started to creep out of him again.
My heart was breaking, my body felt numb. I felt deadened and empty. I didn’t understand any of this; I just knew that there was a strange sense of finality en
closing me. A strange sense that this was the end, it was all over. That there was nothing left within me.
He rose slowly, with a strange grace that made me want to cry. That grace, that haunting beauty, those dark piercing eyes, and strange strength I had seen him exhibit were slowly, and finally, beginning to make sense to me. He hadn’t escaped from the aliens, he hadn’t broken free. They had let him go. No wonder he didn’t want to talk about what he had experienced, because he had not experienced it as a human, as a prisoner. He had no answers for us, nothing he could tell us because he had been with his kind all along. He had probably enjoyed the time he’d been with them. Probably relished in the death and brutality I was certain the captured people endured.
I’d been a fool to think he’d actually loved me. He was a monster, monsters could not love.
Thoughts scrambled and screamed through my mind. I could barely make sense of anything as he gazed at me for a long moment. I wanted to run, wanted to flee screaming into the darkness, but I found myself unable to move. And then he was rising above me like a dark avenger coming to finish what his cohort had started.
Terror drove me to my feet. I lurched awkwardly upward, desperate to get away as he came at me. I darted in between the tables, frantic for escape. My heart hammered in panic; I could barely breathe as I ran blindly forward. I had left the flashlight behind in my panic. I was never going to escape; I didn’t even know where the damn door was anymore!
Not like this, I thought franticly. Not like this. Not at the hands of Cade. I could not be killed by the only person I had ever loved.
I hadn’t made it that far, not nearly as far as I would have liked anyway, before his arms wrapped around me. He lifted me easily off the ground as he clasped my back firmly against his chest. His hand snaked around, closing tightly over my mouth as I opened it to scream. He pressed me against his chest, holding me against him as I struggled within his grasp.