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She knew she had gone too far this time. There was no coming back from the things she’d said, the hearts she’d broken. She’d stalked from the house and into the woods, grabbing only a jacket and her handgun. She’d been in there for four hours now, eating the wild blueberries and raspberries she’d come across. The air was cool and heavy with the scent of decaying leaves and pollen.
The girl sneezed, her eyes staying shut just a fraction of a second too long. She opened them and found herself in a long forgotten graveyard. The various headstones decayed and crumbled, many simply an indication that there was once a gravemarker. Leaves crunched beneath her boots as she slowly turned and swore at what she saw.
The granite obelisk was in perfect condition besides the decades of lichen and moss coating it. The inscription was nearly unreadable, but she knew there was a name, a year, and a cause of death, she’d done enough research to know this. She stumbled back, her hand flying to her gun, drawing the pistol from her waistband and clicking the safety off. Her arms shook like reeds in the wind as she studied the obelisk, eyes darting across the filthy surface. The lichen was fully obscuring the date, but there was an indication of a name.
The name she read echoed through her now silent mind, horror slowly spread like ink in water; she knew him. She had to know more, her fingers trembled as she reached for the stone, aching to brush aside the moss to uncover the date. As her fingers met the stone, a cool, gentle breeze lifted her silvery blonde hair away from her face, exposing the side of her neck. Goosebumps arose along her skin as she leaned closer. The lichen crumbled away under her fingers and her stomach bottomed out. “Born: 1792. Died 1812.”
That would have made him 20 years old when he died. He claimed to be 20 when they first met, that had been four years ago, but now that she thought about it, he hadn’t changed. She was 21, and he still looked 20. She was about to leave when a thought popped into her head. She reached in again, searching for a cause of death. “Absent.” That meant missing, there was never a body, she shouldn’t be here, she had to run.
A hand trailed across the skin of her throat, a featherlight touch, a threat and a promise of violence should she protest. A breathy laugh tickled her right ear, a solitary tear slid down her cheek as she weighed her options. Attempt to get loose, likely death with a slim chance of survival. Do as she was told, potentially become someone’s pet, their slave.
“Oh Kyle,-” It was him. “-you weren’t supposed to find this.”
The hand around her throat tightened, squeezing gently, but firm enough to know that he could easily kill her with little effort. She had to be careful if she wanted to get away with her life.
“How did you get here?” His voice was cold, devoid of all emotion and care for her, so at odds with the boy she had danced with at prom all those years ago, the boy who had told her he loved her.
“I don’t know, I just left my house and walked into the woods and all of a sudden I was here.” Her voice was high, uneven, panicked. He scoffed, not believing her.
“How did you find this place?”
“I swear I don’t know.”
“You know how you got here, tell me, NOW!” She grabbed his wrist in both of her hands, futility tugging at it as the panic once again washed over her.
“I just ran into the woods and sneezed and suddenly I was here. I don’t know what happened, I promise. Alex, Plea—”
He snarled, more animal than human, and twisted. His hand on her neck lost its grip at the sudden motion, and sent her flying. She screamed as she was hurled across the clearing, as if she were little more than a ragdoll. For a heartbeat she could see him clearly, his open mouth, his wide golden eyes, the pale hand that reached for hers. The image of him shattered as she collided with one of the massive trees in the clearing. She gasped at the impact, as the distinct sound of snapping bones sounded in her ears. She tumbled to the ground, terror gave way to horror as tears streaked down her face as she tried and failed to get her legs to respond.
The forest was silent except for the sound of leaves crunching as Alex scrambled to her side. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to relax despite the fear roiling in her stomach. His fingers slid along her cheek and she fought a shudder.
“What have I done?” His voice was soft, a barely audible whisper, thick with tears. His hands traced along her body, feeling for whatever had snapped within her. His fingers felt along her spine, muttering as he found the break, it was about halfway down her back, no wonder her legs weren’t working. She was out of options, her spine was broken and he was the only one who could help her.
He continued his tentative exam of her body, finding what must’ve been a few cuts and scrapes based on his reaction, but since she couldn’t feel them she didn’t particularly care. A hand rested on her waist, right on the border of the numbness, and he softly swore, which was unusual, as she hadn’t heard him swear once in their two years of dating and the messy breakup that followed.
His hand vanished and the cool evening air sent goosebumps down her arms and she inhaled sharply, or tried to, it came out as more of a wheeze, which drew Alex’s attention. He held a hand in front of her mouth, testing for her breathing, murmuring pleas to gods she had never heard of. She sighed softly, knowing it would satisfy him, and whimpered as he pulled his hand away, seemingly grateful he hadn’t killed her.
He slid his hands under her, cradling her against his chest, careful to hold her in a way so that her spine wouldn’t sustain any further damage. He straightened, lifting her as if she were nothing. Her head swam with the sudden height change and she could’ve sworn she heard something dripping as he surveyed the graveyard. There was a metallic click and she forced her eyes open, fighting against the swirling unconsciousness threatening to drag her under, and caught a glimpse of what she thought was her gun flying to Alex’s hand, seemingly of its own volition.
“I’m so sorry Kyle, I hope you’ll forgive me for this.” With that, a black smoke curled around them and blood bubbled from her lips as she coughed before she lost her grip on consciousness and fell into the sweet embrace of oblivion.
Kyle awoke in a dark room, tucked into a soft, warm bed. The room smelled of green tea and antiseptic, the former scent soothing enough that she nearly slipped back into sleep, the latter made her head clear a little, just enough to stay awake. Footsteps sounded from the hallway, her body attempting to lock up, but she couldn’t feel her legs, she still was completely at his mercy. The door swung open and Alex stalked in, his eyes sweeping over her blanket covered body, and yet she felt completely naked.
He was carrying a tray with a steaming bowl, some bread, and a mug of the aforementioned tea. The bowl rattled, the spoon clinking against the rim. His face was gaunt, pale, and more hollow than she had ever seen. “Thank the gods you’re awake. You’ve been out for four and a half days, I didn’t know if you were going to make it.” Alex’s voice was soft, concerned. His brown hair was mussed, as if he hadn’t bothered to wash it or neaten it in all that time. The dark circles under his eyes told her he hadn’t slept either.
She stared at him, panic rising in her chest as she frantically glanced around the room looking for anything she could use to protect herself. She found nothing, and tears streamed down her face as she remembered that he had her gun. She balled her hands in the sheets, twisting them as she wrung her hands in her lap as he approached.
“Please don’t hurt me.” Her words were meek and quiet and her voice shook. His eyes softened and set the tray on the desk across the large bedroom. He continued walking towards her and she grew frantic, attempting to free herself from the blankets, clawing at the fabric until it came loose from where it was tucked into the bedframe. In the corner of her vision she could see him raise his hands.
“Kyle please, I’m not going to hurt you. Please calm down.” His tone was gentle, but firm, but it did nothing to comfort her. She didn’t stop in her desperate attempt to get as far from him as she could manage, the muscles in her arms straining as she dragged herself to the edge of the mattress, her legs deadweight behind her. “Stop, you’re going to fal—”
Before Alex could even finish his sentence she tumbled from the bed, landing hard on her forearm. As soon as she righted herself, she began dragging her body towards the window, which had been left cracked open. Alex’s boots clicked on the floor as he made his way to her and she struggled harder, her fingernails cracking as she tried to pick up her pace.
“I’m sorry for this.” His words sounded from right above her and she opened her mouth, preparing to start begging when an arm slid under her, wrapping around her waist and suddenly she was back on the bed. She let out a desperate sob as he tucked her back in, the covers tighter than before. He stood and walked to the desk, grabbing the tray before returning and setting it on her lap. He lifted a hand to her cheek; his thumb brushed her tears away. “If you can promise you’ll stay put, I’ll leave the room so you can eat and calm down a little. Can you do that for me?”
She blinked before dipping her chin slightly, her crying having subsided to silence. “You know better than to try to lie to me Kyle. I know you can’t promise that, and I know the instant I close that-” he gestured to the door he’d entered through, “- door, you’re going to pull that same stunt and hurt yourself.”
He was right, of course. Every instinct was telling her to run, to get out. She shifted, using her arm to prop herself up, and yelped. Instantly Alex was reaching for her and she shrunk back. He gave her a pleading look, one full of regret, and she offered her arm. He took it and, after a few quick pokes, shook his head.
“I told you that you were going to fall.” She looked away, shame burning on her face. The sheets rustled as Alex settled fully onto the bed. “Come here.”
She whipped her head towards him, her eyes wide and mouth open to start protesting, but she found his face to be hard and uncompromising. Her pleas died on her lips as he sidled up beside her and began wrapping her wrist in a bandage.
Despite how gentle he was handling her, she couldn’t help but wait for the second shoe to drop. She was completely helpless and didn’t have a single idea where she could be. From what she could see out the window, she was in the middle of the woods, several stories off the ground, which made no sense because there were no buildings in the woods near her old neighborhood. Then again, there shouldn’t have been a graveyard there either. Tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks. She never should have left her parents house, she should have just accepted the damn proposal. An arranged marriage would have been better than this.
“Now now darling, don’t cry. I’m here, I’ve got you, you’re safe.” She only wept harder, the silent crying turning to hurried, uneven breaths as a fresh wave of tears welled up and overflowed. He finished wrapping her wrist and laid an arm across her shoulders, drawing her against his side. She tried to move, to put some distance between them, but his hand gripped her shoulder, tight enough to hurt.
“You’re not going anywhere, love. You have to eat first.” Alex reached for the tray on her lap, sliding it towards them. She stared at it, her hands still braced on the mattress. “I can hear your stomach growling, so if you can’t or won’t eat on your own, I’ll feed you myself.” Kyle hadn’t noticed her stomach, but since he mentioned it, she felt a strong pang of hunger. She merely looked at him, still not moving her arms. Annoyance flashed on his face for a heartbeat before he smothered it, and dread replaced the hunger lodged in her gut. She quickly reached for the spoon with her injured arm, but his arm came down, pinning her hand to the bed. She lifted her eyes to his and whimpered, begging for permission to eat.
“Oh sweetheart, you get to eat, I’m not going to stop you, but please let me feed you. You’re weak enough as it is, I don’t want you overexerting yourself right after waking.”
She pondered it for a moment before dipping her chin in acceptance. He sighed and thanked her before ripping a small chunk of bread off the loaf and dipping it in what seemed to be tomato soup. He lifted it to her mouth, and she opened it and he gingerly helped her take a bite.
“Is it too hot?” Alex’s voice startled her. She gazed at him, tilting her head in question, not having the energy to speak. He repeated his question and she shook her head slightly. He sighed and offered her another bite. They repeated this until the bowl was empty, the bread gone, and the mug of tea no longer steamed. Despite the terror still coursing through her veins, her eyelids grew heavy and the controls to her body became distant. Her head rested against Alex’s shoulder and she fought against the exhaustion threatening to drag her under.
“Sleep now little one,” he purred, “I have a lot of things I want to do with you.”
Panic flared in her chest, but it was too late, the drugs Alex had laced her food with had already pulled her into a deep sleep.
She jolted awake, still tucked firmly beneath the blankets. Her head pounded, those drugs had never mixed well with her; Kyle shook her head in a vain attempt to clear the fogginess they left behind. Alex glanced over at her from where he sat at his desk and a smile came across his face.
“Morning sunshine,” he chirped, standing from the chair and striding over.
“You drugged me.” Her voice trembled and she balled her hands into fists, curling her fingers around the blankets beside her.
“You wouldn’t have let me change the bandages on your thigh if you had been awake.” She furrowed her brow, face scrunching in confusion. She didn’t remember cutting her thigh, but she wouldn’t have known anyway because of her broken spine. Fury rose in her, the confusion on her face evaporated like dew in sunlight, giving way to hatred and disgust.
“You could have at least asked,” she spat, unclenching her fingers and throwing her arms up. “After all you’re the one who did this to me.”
“I could have left you in my graveyard to bleed out. I could have buried your body where no one would have ever found it.” He paused, a smirk crossing his face. “I wouldn’t even have had to bury it, I could have just left your corpse to rot and no one would even have cared enough to look for you.”
Alex reached her side and her confidence faltered, his final words hitting home. He laughed, sitting beside her on the bed.
“Oh, what? No more fight in you?” She looked away and he grabbed her face in one hand, forcing her to look at him. She grabbed his wrist in both her hands, trying to pull it away.
“Please,” Kyle whispered, “Please let me go.”
“You want to go?” His hand slipped to her cheek, cupping it in his palm, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone. Alex’s eyes softened and her’s lit up, flaring with hope. He pulled his legs onto the bed, curling them beneath him. His second hand drifted to her other cheek. “Fine, I’ll let you go.”
She realized what he was doing a second too late. The sound of her neck snapping echoed in her ears as she died. One second she was full of hope, the next she was full of terror, and the next she was dead.
She stared at Alex through unseeing eyes, wondering how exactly she was able to see. Kyle stepped from her body, marveling at her now translucent form. She looked to where Alex knelt, his hands still lingered on her face, and laughed a dead laugh. “Right, that’s why we broke up. I knew he would kill me one day.”