Page 1 of Savior
He would start over. A kind of rebirth, he figured. A new place, a new life, a new name.
He’d do it right this time. Be more careful.
The Sunshine State was the perfect place. It was far enough away from his mistakes that no one would know him, and close enough to bright landscape that were full of opportunities. Miami itself was awash with life and color, vibrant. Life begging to be taken, possessed.
He follows the crowd out of the airport and slips into the back of the first cab he reaches. He’s already sticky with sweat from the heat, and the cabbie has his air conditioning blasting, which doesn’t do much to cut the humidity.
“Afternoon.” The cabbie looked back over his shoulder with a weary, but friendly, smile. “Where to?”
“Southern University. Thanks.”
Palm trees flashed through the side window and the air was fragrant with the scent of spicy food. He had no concrete plans other than to get as far away as he could. No place could be farther than the southernmost state in the country.
Traffic was hell, and normally it would test his patience, but nothing could shake his good mood. It took more than an hour to get close to the campus, and by then the fare was well over fifty dollars, but he was too elated to care. It was better than he imagined, so fuck the money. He’d figure something out. Didn’t he always?
“Anywhere specific?”
He’s silent, his voice lost beneath the pressure squeezing at his chest, exhilaration caused his hands to grip the leather seats until his knuckles ached. The cabbie repeated his question, and he had to grit his teeth to keep from biting back in impatience.
“First motel you see.”
“All right,” the cabbie replied in a lazy drawl.
The sprawling campus boasted an excellent, and very sought after, curriculum. Students from all over the country flocked to Miami in droves come the start of term, which made his choice even more appropriate. July was just shaking off its last few days, and with August, the swarm of new co-eds would arrive. He’d be able to lose himself in the crowd.
After another half hour of fighting with traffic, the cabbie pulled into a near-vacant lot in front of a dilapidated motel, a far cry from the posh hotels lining Collins Avenue.
He paid the fair with a slight wince, stepped out into the soup-like air, and let his bag dangle from one hand. The cab took off, and a barrage of beeps sounded from the fifteen or so other cars he cut off in his rush to get back to the airport. He didn’t turn to look, though, he was too focused on what was in front of him.
The weekly hotel wasn’t as nice as he’d liked, but he tried not to let the peeling paint or burnt-orange carpet bother him too much. It wouldn’t be long before he found a job, made some money, and rented an apartment closer to campus. He wanted to be right in the heart of it all. He wanted to suck the life right out of the heart of the quaint little college.
There was something powerful about being the dark spot in a world of bright. The shadow, he thought, as he laid down on the damp bed to stare at the ceiling and plan. The darkness who taints everything.
He could barely wait.
The next morning, he was up and out of bed by six, too eager to explore his new life to sleep any longer. The sun wasn’t even over the tops of the towering palm trees, and the campus hadn’t yet woken. The absence of other people made him feel powerful, as if he owned it all.
Blood thrummed through his veins, causing his black heart to beat faster in his chest. He feels strong. Capable.Violent. Coming down here was the right decision. He wasn’t certain at first, but all doubts have melted away.
He’s near the south end of the campus when he comes across the first person. A woman—beautiful and in her early twenties, jogging along the track alone. The sight of another person interrupting the stillness of the morning wasn’t what stopped him in his tracks, though. It was her hair. The long, golden trail of it bobbing behind her back as she ran in the opposite direction.
It called to him like a siren, and he found himself walking toward her, nearly running so he didn’t lose sight of her. All the tension that had been growing since he decided to move to Florida...all the excitement and eagerness builds to a near painful crescendo.
Maybe he’ll go say hi to her. Introduce himself. See if he could get her to talk to him. Hell, maybe she would even give him the grand tour of the campus. Women loved that shit. They loved helping a wounded man, and he learned very quickly how to play wounded when it suited him.
If she said no, then he would just have to be convincing.
The faster she ran away from him, the more the hunter inside of him told him to chase. It’s not really his fault. All men had an instinctual drive to chase women inside them. His was just...stronger than most. There was no way she would say no to him. It was almost fate that they crossed paths that morning. She wouldn’t be here if she weren’t meant for him.
He increases his speed to catch up with her. The resulting rush of endorphins buoys his mood even higher. He was invincible.
“Hey,” he called out once he got close enough for her to hear.
When she didn’t answer, he ran faster. A few more steps and he could see the earbuds and hear the blasting music. A feral grin stretched across his lips. She couldn’t hear him.
Even better.
He glanced around once more to be sure, but it’s still too early for anyone to be on campus. Convinced she was put here for him to take, a gift, he moved up until he was right beside her. With her eyes still on the track in front of her, she didn’t notice him until he leaned over and pulled out an earbud.