Dark Desire

11

Theme song: In This Moment - Beast Within

11

"Oh God!" A shrill feminine voice through the howl of the wind and the whipping rain. A large storm had blown in from seemingly nowhere, blanketing Derry in harsh conditions that made for poor visibility. "Help me!"

Greg; all six foot two of his muscle bound form, had heard her, even over the high volume of the television. He had been able to rent the three bedroom home last minute thanks to Sterling's connections. He wasn't sure how the man got his money, but he was grateful. Having heard the screams, he jumped off of the couch, socks sliding against the wood floor in his haste to get to the front door. He whipped the front door open just as the small shadow of a woman collapsed onto the front porch in a soaking wet heap.

"Oh God, please help me!" Her voice quivered with fear as she heaved in deep breaths. She was drenched to the bone, dripping sheets of water down her face. Her clothes clung to her petite frame. As he knelt down to help her up, her skin was ice cold and nearly blue.

"Jesus. What happened to you?" He inquired, tucking her much smaller frame beneath his arm as he helped her shaking form into the warmth of the house.

"S-something attacked me. I-I didn't get a good look at it, but I swear to God it was dressed like a clown."

Despite Greg's lack of brain cells, alarm bells started ringing in his head.

"Ray! Get your ass down here!" At his loud bellow, curses and a large crash could be heard from upstairs. Within seconds, a muscle bound brute nearly came tumbling down the stairs.

"Christ, Greg, what's got your nuts in a twi-" He stopped short when he caught sight of the fragile and soaked woman beneath his friend's arm. "What happened?"

"She said she was attacked by something dressed like a clown."

A look passed between the two that didn't go unnoticed by her as she watched them through the curtain of her drenched black hair. Ray's gaze immediately swept over her and noticed that dark stain that still clung to the side of her sweatshirt.

"Are you hurt, darlin'?"

She nodded her head once. "It got a good swipe at me. I-I think it had claws."

"Let me get the med kit and we will patch you up. With this storm I doubt we would be able to get you to a hospital."

"It's alright. I am not a fan of hospitals." She replied, still trembling.

"I doubt we would have anything that would fit you, but we can certainly try to dig something up." Greg interjected, grabbing a hold of the blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapping it around her. "As soon as I get something for you to wear, we will get you patched up and in a hot shower. That should help ward off the chill."

The woman gave a grateful sigh, a tension in her shoulders easing visibly. "Thank you both so much. I am pretty sure I lost it. I don't think it followed me."

"We will keep a look out anyway, just in case."

She gave a faint nod and pushed the curtain of her hair away from her face. The first thin that struck Greg was the allure of her chocolate brown eyes. They seemed to immediately pull him in. He blushed faintly before dropping his hands from her arms. Without a word he turned and left to gather clothes for her while he let Ray search for the med kit. It didn't take either of them long, and they both returned almost as the same time. Greg held a pair of thick drawstring sweats and a hooded sweatshirt folded neatly in his arms. Ray held a large black plastic case that he motioned towards her with.