The Kind

Chapter Three

Sarah slipped the handwritten note into her pocket just as the first of the police officers arrived in front of them. What followed next was a half hour of pointless interrogation regarding a situation they knew absolutely nothing about. Viktor, as usual, made a show of responding to each question just a few seconds too soon. Sarah waited until the lead investigator looked as though he was reaching for his handcuffs before making the crude noise that had come to mean ‘you’re doing it again.’ Viktor responded with a cough and a grateful wink.
“I’ll see you at home,” he said, after the interview ended. “I have to check something out.”
Sarah felt the air pass through her fallen jaw as she stood at the door to the car. “You’re kidding right? After all this,” she waved at the wrecked gym-front, “what could you possibly be checking out?”
“Just trust me on this one, please.” Whatever the situation was encouraging, it wasn’t trust.
“This is about that note, isn’t it?” she asked, willing her voice to sound stronger than she felt at the moment.
“I’ll explain everything tonight, I promise.” She would hold him to that if it killed her.

The first thing Sarah thought as she passed through the door was the possibility of going back to bed. It was, after all, her day off; and she had been rudely awakened. It was a temptation that shattered into millions of pieces at the sound that greeted her next.
“Hello, Sarah.” The icy voice belonged to the woman standing in her living room.
Sarah froze, her hand clenched and suspended over the bowl of keys. All logical thought was similarly paralysed, save for the thought that the door was locked when she’d arrived home. The strange woman took a step towards her.
“Don’t be alarmed, Sarah. I wanted so badly to meet you, ever since they told me he’d settled down.” The words were thick and heavy: evil. “They wouldn’t let me visit you before, but now, well, things are moving forward.” 
Anger was slowly replacing fear as the dominating emotion in Sarah’s brain; anger at the idea that some woman was going to let herself into her home, and then just keep talking.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I want you out of my house.” Inside, some part of her was proud of the confidence that had found its way into her voice. She’d have to congratulate herself later.
The woman took another step forward, and grinned. If her talking had angered Sarah before, that grin made her absolutely furious. The keys fell into their rightful place as Sarah brought her fists around in front of her: the all purpose fight-starting pose.
“You think this is funny? I said get out of here.” Another step. Sarah wasn’t going to be backed into a corner. She took a step of her own towards the stranger. “Last chance,” she warned. This was the situation she had always been training for, but had sincerely hoped to avoid.
She couldn’t remember who attacked first, and in the end, it didn’t matter. The woman’s grin faded as she swung around with her right arm. Sarah ducked and scanned for the opening. She bent low and went for it with a right of her own, only to feel the rush of pure air as the woman swung backwards. Sarah waited for the blow to the back of her neck but nothing happened. Instead she stumbled to stay on her feet, then turned to face that hideous grin again.
“I can see why he likes you,” said the woman. Sarah fought the urge to scream as she launched her right foot towards her face, aimed directly at the teeth that were showing through. The woman’s forearm came up to meet her, faster than she’d ever seen anyone move. The impact felt like it was going to break her ankle. She hobbled backwards, paining shooting up her leg, scanning for the tell-tale outline of armour plates beneath the woman’s sleeves. How can she move that fast wearing something like that?
Something caught her foot as she moved back, pulling her eyes off her opponent for a second. When she looked back the woman was standing right in front of her, close enough she couldn’t even see her arm before her fist collided with her chest, sending her crashing into the wall. Sarah fell to the ground, conscious but defeated. The pain in her leg was being silenced by the pain in her chest, which indicated the chance of a fractured rib or two. There was also the concerning matter of something warm trickling down the back of her neck. She didn’t need to reach up to know she was bleeding.
Strong fingers took hold of her hair at the base of her skull, which preceded a strong pull that dragged her to her feet. She tried to speak, but the diminished abilities of both her brain and her voice prevented it. The stranger fixed a pair of shallow eyes on her as she held her to her feet by her hair.
“He really hasn’t told you anything, has he?” There were undertones of amusement in her voice. “I guess he was true to his word then. A pity no one believed he could do it.”
Sarah felt her eyes growing heavy, and every part of her remaining consciousness compelling her to sleep. Reality was blurring with delusion as she watched the woman raise her fist again for another – and presumably final – strike.
“You have to believe me when I say, it’s nothing personal. I’d have to kill you even if I did like you.” Sarah had long since given up the faculty to care what this woman was telling her. At the last moment a distant part of her mind chimed in: At least she isn’t grinning anymore.