The Monster's Love

*Chapter 3: Fear

Chapter 3:

Fear

            Slowly he turned, the man holding her father’s decapitated head by its shaggy black hair, with icy blue eyes landing on her frame that stood completely still. It was so dark yet there were three things that stuck out amongst the void; those piercing eyes, her father’s head, and the blood dripping from long, sharp, fangs fixed in the mouth of the monster before her. There was so much blood, more than she had ever seen before in her life and knowing that it belonged to her father, and possibly her mother as well, caused her to heave.

            While her body jerked in its attempts to expel the contents of her stomach the figure dropped the head in his hand and began walking towards her. She was frozen, solid as a rock, with her eyes as wide as an innocent doe caught in the headlights of a speeding sixteen wheeler. Shadowy nails dripping crimson reached out to her as she shakily took a step back away and, her body finally breaking free from fear’s grasp, took off running as if the devil himself were on her heals. She could hear foot steps behind her plowing through what sounded like snow and could feel the light touch of those bloodied hands at her back. She screamed in terror pushing herself to run faster only to be greeted with more darkness.

~*~

            She shot up in bed like a rocket heading towards space, her breaths coming in shallow gasps and her body shaking. Her eyes darted around her room searching for a dark figure with piercing blue eyes and blood dripping from its finger tips. When her search came up empty she grasped her matted bed head with quaking hands and tried to calm herself.

            “C-Calm down,” she tried to command herself as her knees pulled closer to her chest and her eyes clamped close. “It was a dream, a dream Eva. Nothing is gonna hurt you. There’re no vampires here.” Her words right away awakened her memories of her fanged company from the previous night and once again her breaths came in sharp and shallow gasps. “Oh my god…” she gasped, her voice so soft with fear not even a vampire’s ears would have been able to hear the terrified words as they left her chapped lips. “He found me.”

            Right away her mind conjured images of blood, pools of it, seemed into the snow covered forest floor. Hunks of flesh and piles of innards lay splayed across the once white clearing. She could feel her chest burn as breathing became even harder as her eyes focused in on a severed hand that was adorned with a diamond ring, a wedding ring she knew very well. The knocks at her front door brought a scream that had been lying in wait erupting from her mouth. She took a couple more deep breaths before finally allow her frantic eyes to land on the front door she could see through her open bedroom door.

            “Eva? Eva!” Penny’s voice exclaimed in worry from the other side of the door, louder bangs and pounding upon the door following after.

            Eva darted from her bed and ran to the front door. Her arms flung it open as hard as they could and she launched herself at her friend. She wrapped her arms around the shocked young woman as Penny lowered her hand, which was frozen in mid knock, and wrapped it around the shuddering frame of her friend as she sobbed into her hot pink t-shirt.

            “Eva, what the hell’s wrong?!” Penny demanded in concern. Her hands reached down and pulled her friend’s face from her chest so she could look the terrified girl in the eyes as she spoke. This only made her worry grow for she could now see the fear in the native girl’s eyes. “Oh my god Eva.”

            “P-Penny!” Eva sobbed the other girl’s name it being the only thing she could say at the moment.

            “Eva calm down and breathe slowly,” Penny instructed as she held her friend’s face gently in her hands. “Deep breaths baby girl.” She did as instructed which made her racing heart slow and her shaking form steady. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”