Frostbite

Thirteen

She found herself in the dark again, a waking nightmare that felt like an out of body experience. A moment later the dark turned into a dim grey, illuminating a few feet. She'd been here before, only this time it felt more sinister, darker. She broke into a cold sweat as, before long, she saw bald faces in the distance, their noses and ears cut off, their scaled skin a pale, almost white, grey. Her body lay stiff, paralyzed once again, as they drew closer, and that's when she saw their human chests, and the tails slithering out behind them, their legs cut off and replaced, the stiches still showing. They moved fast, surrounding her, looking over her and hissing, their forked tongues flicking out. Their eyes were just as blue as hers as they got even closer, leaning down to flick their tongues out along her, what she just now realized, naked body. Then the bites came, their fangs piercing deep into her body. The pain was unbearable as she bled from each wound. And that's when she screamed, loudly, her voice echoing in the cavernous darkness. Once more she willed herself to awaken.

When she did she was still screaming at the top of her lungs, her wails bouncing off the walls and filling her ears with deafening terror. Her body thrashed and in the distance of her hollowed out mind she heard the door open and shut, and suddenly a pair of hands were grasping her arms, holding her down. She struggled against them, continuing to cry out, until she felt an arm snake beneath her legs, lifting her and laying her out onto her bed.

"Hey, hey, hey," she heard an urgent, albeit soft voice say, "Shh... Anissa, hey..." When she finally calmed and opened her eyes, she saw none other than Leland, his expression more than concerned. She was too shaken to speak, her voice refusing to work, and in her silence Leland pulled her closer into a hug.

It was the comfort that broke her, an abundance of tears streaming down her face, and she stayed slack as she exclaimed, "I'm going to die!"

He pulled her back, stroking some hair from her face, staring intently into her luminescent eyes, "You're not going to die." His voice was urgent but sweet, calming and soothing as he brushed her hair back again, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, then speaking against it, softer now, "You're not going to die."

It was then that she pushed against him, turning her head with a pained look on her face, the kiss having been too forward. She wanted to warn against Joel, plead for Hal; tell him she couldn't, but her energy was taxed. He let go gingerly, seemingly not wanting to, then he spoke again, regretfully, "You have to go now."

Anissa nodded, wiping at her wet face as Leland stood. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and bent down to put on her heels. She expected Leland to inject her but it never came.

She was escorted to the main room. She was used to it now. As she entered the foyer it was dim, no feast this time. She barely had time to walk down the steps before Mantelbourne came out from behind the curtain on the other side. They met half way and Joel took her hand, kissing it and purring, "You look ravishing." An implication of what he wanted to do.

She pulled her hand back defiantly, "I just killed a man for you. Are you wanting me to do it again so soon? At least let me sleep on it." Her boldness surprised her, no longer feeling afraid of him. It wasn't like he would hurt her, she was too much of a liability.

He straightened up, smirking, his eyes glittering lasciviously, "No darling, I want to reward you." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to follow him, moving past the long dining table, going through the curtain, and turning left. They entered into a glamorous bedroom and Anissa immediately thought of resisting, pulling her hand from Joel's and making a run for it, but, once again, the guards kept her from doing so. The dangerously suave man took her to the bed and turned to her, letting go of her hand, his gaze fierce, "You do know you're mine." And before she had a chance to respond, to protest, he flipped her around so that she was facing away from him. His hands clasped around her shoulders as he moved closer, "Tell me how you feel, what my touch does to you," he rasped.