Coloured Hearts

Chapter 2

Shorter chapter this time, but more action - hope you enjoy!

Last chapter end:

Just as I can make out the corner that signifies I'm half way down the alley I look around to satisfy my paranoia, only to see a figure turning into the street, immediately I quicken my pace, telling myself everything will be fine, it's just an innocent stranger taking the same short cut as you, nothing sinister there.

I turn the corner and breath a sigh of relief, something about being out of their range of sight comforting me. Only then do I look at the alley in front of me, and my feeling of comfort vanishes.

~~~

A huge creature is barrelling towards me out of darkness snarling loudly, something in my brain snaps and I jump out of the creatures path pressing my body into the wall of the alley, my shopping bags slipping out of my grip and falling to the ground. It's a long shot, but it works, the thing carries on galloping past, and I look behind me remembering the stranger who had been coming up behind me.

"Oh shit." I whisper, what can I do? The thought just crosses my mind when the beast comes to a stop and looks around, its black eyes glinting in the moonlight, as if it's looking for something, thankfully it doesn't look in my direction, maybe it didn't see me before. 

Suddenly the stranger from before drops seemingly out of the sky and lands on the creatures back, attempting to tackle it. Surely an impossible task for an ordinary man against such a massive, hulking thing. But somehow the man manages to get the upper hand, even as the beast is trying to throw him off its back, and throws the animal further than humanly possible down the alley, in my direction, still plastered against the wall I watch the beast skid and roll across the tarmac and into a patch of light cast by the moon. I gasp as I make out the shape of it, like a giant wolf, but we don't get wolves here - is it some kind of mutant dog? It's as if this question breaks a dam and a flood of other questions enter my mind, as I realise the impossibility of this whole situation.

Maybe I'm hallucinating, maybe I hit my head on something and this isn't real, but I need to leave, if I can just get home I can figure out the rest. With my decision comes clarity, and my eyes focus back on the brawl occurring before me, between man and dog. This is it. I try to edge my way away from them, keeping in the shadows, but, damn my luck, I forgot about my grocery bags that I'd dropped on site of the creature, and I trip over them, falling flat on my face and not quietly either. 

Two heads instantly turn towards me. The man who had been standing over the wolf with his hands round its neck stood up and released it, his mouth was moving and I realised he was talking.

"...got company, dog." He said the word dog as if it was an insult, and I realised he wasn't talking to me but the animal.

"And I was beginning to feel thirsty from our little game." He takes a step towards me with a scary smile on his face and a crazed look in his eyes, the animal growls fiercely at him, but he laughs at it

"I think we both know you don't stand a chance, but your welcome to challenge me - of course then I'd kill you and the girl if you lost. Your choice, try to save the girl and die, or return to your little pack with only the injuries you have now." Whilst he was talking I was trying to make my escape, crawling away from him, no doubt is in my mind now that he has sinister plans. But suddenly the man is in front of me and before I can register what's happening his hand is round my neck and he's pulling me up to a standing position, facing the beast.

This guy is truly crazy, talking to an animal like it can understand him, I look more carefully at the wolfish creature, and watch as it bows it's head down, and whines almost in an apologetic way, wow I must be seriously delusional right now. It then turns around and runs off into the darkness, leaving me with old Crazy holding me up by my neck, which is, to put it lightly, painful.

"Well looks like it's just you and me now darling, your saviour appears to have gotten cold feet." The man is facing me as he speaks, he has eerily beautiful features, chiselled cheekbones and ivory skin, and deep dark eyes that I feel myself falling into, like Alice in her rabbit hole.

"Now about that drink..." He opens his mouth baring his teeth and I watch paralysed, half fascinated half horrified as a pair of fangs extend from his gums and his mouth moves towards my neck, I have just a second to register what he's doing before the most excruciating pain that I've ever felt erupts from my neck. It spreads like molten lava in my veins around my body, I hear screaming faintly in the distance and my vision blots out as my mind shuts down and I fall into nothingness.

~~~

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