Chapter Two
Katerina swallowed, trying to force down the suffocating lump in the back of her throat. Was he watching her now? Her eyes darted left and right, even though logically he couldn't have been, her doors were locked as were all her windows. Who is he? What does he want from her? Why her? As question rolled about inside her skull, a massive headache began to form.
Why did she choose to go out when she knew what would happen if she did. She knew that tight feeling in the depths of her abdomen. A warning. What now? Rubbing her temples to try and ease the tension away, she sighed frustratedly, stood up and made her way upstairs and to her bathroom. She opened her mirror cabinet and grabbed the Tylenol bottle, popping the lid and pouring two into her palm and tossing them into her mouth.
As she swallowed the medicine, she looked at her tired reflection noting the stress etched onto her face. Her mind whirled, head pounded, clashing violently against her skull. She had no way to defend herself. No weapon. Flicking her eyes down to the razor on the back of the sink, she grabbed it and tore the blade free from the plastic and held it tightly in her hand. Couldn't hurt to have some sort of defense, just in case.
As she went to straighten out her now frizzy hair, there behind her stood a dark figure, peering at her from the dark. Katerina gasped and spun around, her heart was thudding so brutally against her chest, she could taste her blood on her tongue even though she hadn't bit her tongue. So much adrenalin was pumping through her, she could even smell her blood as her heart tried to keep up with her overwhelming emotions. As she stares in front of her, all she could see was darkness. No figure. No one. She was alone.
She gave a light chuckle feeling silly, "I'm losing my mind."
Kat shakily made her way into her bedroom and as she opened her closet, the sliding wooden panels creaking in protest, a chill fell over her. She could feel penetrating eyes on her. Trembling, she tried to ignore the paranoia creeping in and grabbed her pajamas and quickly went to the bathroom and changed.
When she came back out, her closet door was shut when she had left it open. She gasped softly, her eyes widening as fear trickled down her spine.
"This isn't happening. I'm sure I shut it before I changed and just don't remember doing it. Yeah. That's it." She felt pathetic, helpless and like a victim who needed a knight to save her. It was ludicrous. Biting her lip, Katerina debated checking in the closet. She gripped the razor in her palm, and with trembling fingers, grasped the silver handle on the closet door, but before she could pull the door open, a lock of her hair lifted up and a cool breath blew on the nape of her neck.
She spun around and lashed out with her razor blade, cutting nothing but air. She knew she wasn't imagining it now. There was too much happening for it to be a stress-induced delusion. How could she fight something that was there one minute and gone the next? People don't just appear and disappear.
She bristled and summoned up the courage to call out whatever it may be. Was it a ghost of her imagination? Or was it something more sinister?
"Enough with the mind games. I don't know who you are or what you want, but you have five seconds to get the hell out of my house, or be prepared to be cut open."
She narrowed her eyes peering into the shadows of her room, trying to act as if she was tough and even adding authority in her tone, while on the inside, she was a chaotic mess. You'd think she would've known better than to call out "who or whatever" it was that was lingering in her bedroom with all the horror movies she's watched. The ones who call out the psychos always die first. She needed to think rationally. She couldn't do what she thought was right, because the bimbos who usually run, end up dying a brutal death.
Okay. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. She took in much needed oxygen and that's when she stilled...a malevolent chuckle drifted behind her, coming from her closet. It felt as if she was frozen with fear, unable to move her body. She eyed the closet out of her periphery vision and saw nothing. Was it coming from inside? She couldn't breathe. She felt a heavy pressure on her chest, her nerves were shot and it was taking every ounce of energy she could muster just to breathe properly. Her heart was racing, her lungs felt like they were collapsing in on her, she tried to swallow and take long deep breathes to clear away the fog of her sudden on-set panic and finally, turned to the closet. She could do it. Reach, pull, stab.
Shakily, Katerina swiftly pulled the closet open, and stabbed into her clothing. After all, life is more important then possessions. She frowned when nothing stood in front of her. Rubbing her face, she twisted back around, her eyes falling shut momentarily trying to force out the feeling of dread. Something was going to happen. She could feel it. She was always so intuitive when it came to certain things. This was no different.
Inching towards her bed, she looked around wary, uncertain of everything. She was beginning to think she was mad, but then another chuckle echoed around her. She couldn't take it any longer, she turned and did what her instincts told her to do.
Run.
Dashing out of her bedroom and down the stairs as fast as she could, she reach the front door and went to grab the door knob but paused as it began to twist on its own accord. It was late, too late for company. She knew it had to be her mystery stalker.
Uh oh. She began hyperventilating. She was going to pass out and just as the door creaked open ever-so-slowly, she hit the floor hard, her vision swam before darkening completely. Katerina was passed out cold on the floor. Moments after she hit, she was somehow looking down at her body. No one was around her, but the door was still cracked open. Was this some sort of outer-body experience? Frowning, she looked around baffled.
That's when she heard him. His voice was deep, dark and sent a chill down her back.
"Come."
She sprinted back up to her bedroom, not knowing what else to do. Who was coming? What was happening? She was so horrified and all she could do to keep from screaming was crawl under her king sized bed and wait it out. But that was where she was wrong. So very wrong.
A putrid stench hit her nostrils. Sulfur? Fire? Soot? It was like a combination of all three and that confused her all the more. Kat bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut tightly, praying to god that this would all end. This was all a horrible nightmare. If it was a nightmare, it was the most surreal one, she had ever had and if it wasn't a nightmare, then she was most definitely losing touch with reality.
She heard the boot steps on the stairs creeping closer. Closer. Closer. Her pulse was beating so hard in her ears she couldn't hear anything but the sound of her frantic heart. The foot falls faded, but a new sound in front of her is what her placing a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
A snort from what sounded like a dog came from directly in front of her, but there wasn't anything there she could see. It's rotten breath blew back in her face, causing a wave of nausea to roll over her. She felt sick. Where was that smell coming from? She couldn't see anything. That's when she felt another breath hit her feet causing her to quietly curl up in on herself.
She was trapped. And she didn't even know by what, but she felt it was evil. It felt dark and uncontrolling. She needed to crawl out and run. But with two invisible forces trapping her, what could she do? Was she losing touch with reality? Was there really something in front and behind her? She could risk it. She could try and kick out and make her way out. What consequences would follow if this were real?
Kat was warring with 'what is the right thing to do' and 'what if something happens.' She took a deep breath and decided to make her escape. It was either that, or most likely die by the hands of whatever or whoever was there. It was now or never. Shakily, she inhaled and kicked out with her bare foot, the heel collided with something hard and then sliced the middle of her foot on something sharp.
"Ouch!" She hissed then scrambled out as hastily as she could and then went for the door, leaving bloody footprints behind her. She didn't make it though. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her actual body laying on the bed. The body laid so still, so ominously on the green and black striped comforter. She wanted to approach her body but was uncertain that if she were to do that, just what exactly would happen?
Curiosity was getting the better of her. She felt her body inch forward, again and again until she was standing directly beside her still form. If she was going to die, then she would die fighting like shield maidens back in the olden days. She would give it her all.
She frowned as she tried to reach out and touch her body, unable to do so. Why couldn't she move now? She was moving just seconds before, but now she seemed frozen in place against her will. There was a certain chill in the atmosphere, it didn't feel right. It felt so...cold, malevolent. Was she experiencing some sort of twisted delusion brought on by stress? Or was this simply a really vivid dream?
Kat's eyes darted around the dark room, shadows seeming to move and reach out trying to claw at her. She could feel the whimper threatening to spill from her lips, it bubbled up from within her chest and slid up her throat, but she swallowed, forcing it down. She couldn't give up yet. Not yet. She needed to prove she was not intimidated by this presence. She needed to force her trepidation, her paranoia, her constant doubting down and stand tall and give it everything she had.
"Come on then! Show yourself you coward!"
What the hell was she doing!? She would die for sure now. Least, that's what happens to the bimbos in horror movies. Was she really going to be like them? Well, it was too late to back out now.
A dark chuckle echoed around the room, erupting goosebumps over her skin. It was so unnatural. So...promising. What has she done. Just as the chuckle stopped, she seen two imprints on the bed on either side of her body on the bed, the bed sinking under the weight of whatever had crawled onto the mattress.
Katerina studied the prints closely, uncertain of what she could do to stop what she knew would take place. Her death. She couldn't move to do anything. The dips in the bed crept closer and closer to her body on the bed until they both paused on either side of her head. A wicked snarl sounded, the Kat on the bed never moving or making a sound. Was she sleeping or unconscious? Kat tried wiggling herself free from the spot, but it was futile. It was like being tied down with a ball and chain along with an anchor.
Frigid wind violently whipped through the room, scattering paper and blowing her hair back as if she were near a tornado. That's when it suddenly stopped and the first scream sounded from the bed. The Kat on the bed had a big chunk of flesh missing from her neck, blood sprayed across the bed and onto the floor. She was gasping, trying to put pressure on the wound before another chunk was tore from the opposite side of her throat. Her body writhed, pain and trepidation washing over her features. All Katerina could do was watch in horror as the entities kept tearing bits from her body until she was nothing but a bloody skeleton with hair.
Tears slid down her face, she sniffled and whimpered before closing her eyes and trying to force herself to wake up from this nightmare. When it didn't work, she opened her glossy eyes to find a bloody message written on the wall.
"Paint it red,
Taste the fear,
Darkness rising,
Heart rate climbing,
Bloody and maimed,
Let the games begin,
I am all things sin.
You ask why me? I'll tell you. I want to hear you scream, I want to taste your fear, I want what's mine, I want you to beg to die"
After reading it, Katerina awoke on her bed, her fingers gingerly touching the sensitive flesh on her throat and winced as her finger tips trailed over bite wounds. It was a dream, so how did she get the wounds? What was going on? She felt as if she were going insane. This couldn't be real.
Sliding off the bed, her head pounded, she gripped her head and went to the bathroom to grab her pain killers but when she glanced into the mirror, a pale face stared back at her, purple bags lined under her eyes and two, five razor teeth like bite marks dotted her throat on either side, with a mixture of crusted blood and some black substance circling each mark. Katerina frowned, her brows punching together in confusion then turned away and traipsed back to her bed. She didn't want to think about it any more. She felt absolutely drained—exhausted. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift back off, hoping another replay of the night didn't reoccur. His words drifted into her subconscious, sending her into darkness once more.