Snippet: Should've Listened
She'd said no.
Not once, not twice, but about a dozen times. No.
And still the man was hounding her, following her through the darkened streets. He still held his briefcase, and for some reason that struck her as ridiculous.
She glanced up at the starry night sky with a sigh. Such a wonderful moment. Such a lovely view. But what would have been a peaceful walk home was now ruined. All because of this pest tailing her.
Her heels clacked briskly on the sidewalk, bringing her closer to her destination. Keenly aware of the blood coursing through her veins, its thrum loud in her ears, she turned a corner. Not much longer now.
Her phone vibrated. The message read:
I'm waiting outside.
Satisfied, she put the phone away and threw a quick look over her shoulder. The man was still there. He'd never been intoxicated, but there was a kind of sobriety that fell over him now, and she wondered if he was preparing to run, to attack. There was nobody around. There was nobody to see. Nobody to help.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a set of keys. Finally, she turned quickly into an alleyway, and ran straight for the door of the place she had never thought she would ever return to.
She jammed the key into the lock, glancing at the mouth of the alley, expecting the man to show up any second now. The key would not turn. Desperate, she banged on the door - and then he was there, silhouetted against the moonlight, watching her from the end of the alley.
She froze. He took a step forward. Then another. Her heart hammered in her chest.
She backed away. For every step he took forward, she took another step backward, until she had been shrouded by the darkness, blending into the black shadows. Goosebumps grew on her arms and legs as she grew nearer.
Not to him.
To it.
As the unsuspecting man came closer, an eerie and determined calm coloring his movements, she sucked in a deep breath. He was only a few steps away now. She could reach out her arm and just about touch him. He was too close for comfort.
Beside her, a low, rumbling growl cut through the silence.
His head snapped towards it, alarmed.
But it was too late.
The monster lunged from the shadows, claws outstretched, jaw snapping. It pierced his flesh, ripped him to shreds, devoured him before the man could even scream.
A cold shiver ran up her spine and through her scalp as she watched the monster complete its meal. Then, with a sickening symphony of cracking bones and twisting muscles, the beastly form turned into that of a human. Its eyes, a blood red, glowed in the dark as they met hers. Almost human.
"I generally deal in willing sacrifices," it said. Its voice was the same raspy rumble that had plagued her nightmares ever since she had first met it. She gulped.
"Technically, he was willing," she said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the trembling from her voice. "Willing to come after me. Willing to take the risk."
The monster grinned, its teeth glistening in the faint moonlight. "So, what is it this time, little human?" it asked, gliding towards her. "What terrible deed will you ask of me?"
She hesitated, catching sight of the man's discarded briefcase, now covered in a thick liquid that could have only been his blood. For a moment, she almost felt bad for him. Nothing that he'd done could change the fact that she had picked him that night - had made sure he followed her. She felt somewhat guilty.
And then that moment was gone. After all, she had said no. She'd said it a dozen times. He should've listened to her. The weight of the responsibility - another death on her hands - was too large a burden for her to bear, and she'd said no.
Her eyes slid back up to the monster patiently waiting for her command.
There was no need to feel guilty. She'd said it a dozen times.
And besides - she had come this far; she wasn't about to back out now.
~⭐~
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