Red Glow

Red Glow

As soon as the icicle of fear slid down the back of her neck she knew she wasn’t alone. The house was silent and the only light source was the pale red glow from her monitor. Another icy finger traced its way from the nape of her neck to the small of her back, alighting on each individual vertebrae sending ripples of excitement mixed with fear coursing through every nerve in her body. She shivered. Being home alone always did that to her – every imagined fear showed itself on a catwalk of improbability. She shook her head and turned back to the screen. ‘I’m starting to lose it’ she muttered to herself.
For three hours she had been sitting at the computer, looking. For what she didn’t exactly know but the feeling of urgency was persistent. She had been restless all day, her mind wandering from her work causing her colleagues to think she was going crazy. Well, maybe she was. Surely it was crazy to sit at home on a Friday night glued to her computer looking for….she gazed out the window seeing nothing but darkness. For Him. It finally occurred to her that she wasn’t looking for something but someone. The fear started again, its clammy hands caressing her neck, sweeping the disheveled hair to one side and breathing icily in her ear. Mia. That one tiny word that she had heard a thousand times calling her, berating her, moaning for her. Never had it filled her with such fear and excitement, a potent combination that made her feel dizzy. The breathy voice filled her again. Mia. She whipped around, certain someone was in the room with her. The darkened room seemed to mock her and she turned warily back to the screen. A small flashing light blinked at the bottom of her screen. She clicked on it and an instant message box appeared. ‘Mia’ was all that was there. She had no idea who it was from or what they wanted. Slowly she typed a cautious hello. She was wary talking to strangers online, there were just too many weirdo’s out there. ‘I have been waiting for you’ came the reply. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Another one of those! Before she could think up a witty reply another line of text appeared. ‘And I especially like those cute little pajamas you are wearing’. This time she wasted no time in typing back ‘Oh, very clever. Not hard to pick that someone would be wearing pajamas at this time if night!’.
‘True’ came the prompt reply, ‘But I just can’t resist a girl in checked flannelette’.
Mia gasped and quickly looked out the window. Nothing. She got up and peered harder out of the window trying to spot the creep that was spying on her. Nothing but the inky night. She slowly sat down again suddenly fearful to see what would be on the screen next. But no words were there only a link to download a picture. She clicked on it, scared but intensely curious as to what it could be. When it finally loaded she screamed. The image was crystal clear even though it was obviously taken though a window. She saw herself hunched over her computer her long hair hiding most of her face. The date stamp revealed it was taken at 11.48, 10 minutes ago. She jumped to her feet and ran though the house locking doors and windows. She considered calling the police but hesitated dreading the look of pity the policeman was sure to give her. She sat down again, her hands shaking she slowly typed. ‘What do you want?’
A velvety smooth voice laughed softly behind her. “Why you of course” it said and she felt a hand (but it couldn’t be a hand could it? No human could be that cold and still alive!) clamp down on her shoulder, dragging her back off the chair and into his arms. She tried to scream but his other hand smothered her face, goose bumps rippling down her neck. Frozen in terror she could only gaze into the burning red eyes of her captor, wanting to scream, fight, kick, scratch, anything to get out of his grip. But she was caught, he didn’t even need to hold her, his intense glare enough to keep her immobile. He glided across the floor of her tiny apartment, carrying her like she weighed no more than a feather. Laying her tenderly down onto her bed he smiled. Mia’s eyes widened in sheer terror as she saw the extended eye teeth protrude down over his lower lip. That smile, so dazzling, so captivating, so deadly. A smile that had stilled a thousand hearts. Only this was one heart he didn’t want stopped. For he had been looking for her, as fiercely as she had been looking for him. ‘Mia’ he whispered as he bent down so slowly, his lips tenderly grazing her own. A current of electricity passed between them and Mia knew then that her heart had stopped. When he raised his head and looked at her again, she felt its reluctant beat. And it was at that instant she knew she was his, irrevocably eternally his, to do with as he wished, to love, to hate, to dispose of as he saw fit.
He bent his head again this time whispering in her ear. “Yes” he breathed sending shivers through her soul. “Tonight will be the hardest but afterwards – heaven” He sighed, tightening his grip on her until she cried out, her fragile bones squeezing together painfully. She tried to speak, to protest, to say anything! But her voice was locked in her throat and all she could do was stare up at him. She was so tiny, so vulnerable it hurt his own blackened heart just to look at her. From the long black hair that fell in a messy halo around her head to the emerald green of her eyes, she was exquisite. His vampiric eyes saw what most humans missed, the tender fragility, the sweet innocence, the passion hiding, lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be let out. As he bent his head to kiss her he heard her breathing quicken, felt her heartbeat racing until it seemed that her heart would leap out of her chest. She finally started to struggle against him, her movements tiny and ineffectual. Her hot breath was torture on his icy skin and he raised his head fractionally to feel her better. His hands roamed freely over her body now, lust mingling with the thirst that threatened to claim them both. Mia fought with all her might, making little progress, feeling his cold hands on her breasts, her thighs, parting her legs, his teeth dragging across her skin, his tongue tasting every inch of her. Her blood pounded in her ears, deafening her, every sense filled with him until she finally screamed, the sound tearing from her lips, echoing through the apartment, stopping him cold…….

“Cyrus!!”