Page 2 of Savior
“Boo,” he said, causing her to scream. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He lied smoothly. Seeing their fear was one of his favorite parts.
“Jesus.” The word was a wheeze as she pressed a hand to her chest and slowed to a walk.
“I tried calling out to you,” he said.
Guiltily, she popped out the earbuds and wrapped the cord around her phone. Inside, he glowed with triumph. She didn’t realize it, but she just made it all that much easier for him to take what he wanted.
“Uh, hi.” She glanced around but her steps didn’t falter. She was no longer afraid . . . but she would be and he was so looking forward to it.
“I don’t mean to bother you.” He made sure to lay the reluctance on thick. “I’m new to the area. First time in Florida, actually, and I have no idea where I’m going. You’re the only one I’ve seen so far, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered you. I’m just terribly lost.”
The tension disappeared from her shoulders, and her smile brightened. “Freshman?” she teased.
He just laughed. He was surprised to find himself enjoying the buildup of it all. It was almost, almost, as enjoyable as the act itself. “Do I look like a freshman? Let me guess...you are?”
“No! I’m a senior!” She giggled, and he grinned back at her. “Where are you trying to go?”
He tried to appear repentant. “Not sure, actually. I’m trying to find a better place to stay close to campus. I’m looking at some places today, but I was hoping to find someone with more experience with the area.”
She gestured in a circle. “Pick a direction,” she said. “You can’t go wrong.”
She was, of course, very wrong. Just then the track veered to left. To the right, the forest edged up to the asphalt—a gift to start his new life.
Since he was on her left, it was simple, really. All he had to do was body check her hard enough that she was winded when she went down. He had at least fifty pounds on her, easy, so hitting her hard enough wouldn’t be a problem. He moved so fast that she didn’t even have the chance to scream before she was thrown into the protective line of closely spaced palm trees, their bases lined with the thick spread of Elephant Ear plants.
He followed after her, the trees swallowing them both. The foliage was lush and thick with vibrant palm fronds that provided excellent coverage. She tried to get up, but he backhanded her with a vicious swing, his knuckles connected with her cheek, and she cried out as blood dripped from her full, beautiful, split lip.
While she was disoriented, he took her arm and dragged her deeper into the woods by her arms. She eventually collected herself to try to resist, his favorite part, so he turned and gave her two swift kicks to the ribs.
When they were so far into the woods he couldn’t see the buildings through the trees, he threw her down on the ground and straddled her waist so he could get a better look at her. It was, without a doubt, the best seat in the house.
Her eyes were bright and wide with fear. She was breathing hysterically, and her mouth was frothing with saliva. The moment she felt his weight on top of her she went wild, thrashing and fighting him.
He let her go about it for a while, enjoying the way she screamed, but when she got too loud with it, he wrapped his big hands around her throat until all that was left was a strangled cry. He watched the brightness in her eyes fade just enough, and then he let up the pressure—he was a God giving her a gift of her own. He repeated the pressure and release until she grew to expect it, and then he did the other things that made her scream that he enjoyed.
When she was no longer moving, no longer fighting him, he grew impatient. He shook her, hoping to revive her, but she was too far gone and all she could do was moan and twitch, the life nearly drained out of her.
Eventually, she all she did was stare, which made him angry. It all happened so fast—too fast. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as he thought it would be. Angry with her, with himself, he reached out for something, anything, to expel his anger, and his fingers wrapped around a fallen tree branch that was a satisfying width.
He lifted it and then brought it down with a satisfyingthwack. He did this again and again until he was almost too tired to lift his arm.
Blood spattered the ground in a dizzying pattern and air whistled from his lungs when he managed to pull himself off of her lifeless body. When the blood stopped rushing in his ears, he detected the sounds of the slumbering school coming to life—the distant call of voices, the sound of cars against the asphalt. With slow, jerky movements, he began the final act with a knife he kept in his back pocket. He never used it on the women—knives were much too easy, but he did keep one on him for exactly this purpose.
Before he was finished, he was already fantasizing about when he could do it again.
Piper
“Ican’t believethis is happening.”
I glance up from my business admin homework at Paige, my identical twin, roommate and best friend. It’d be like looking into a mirror if we weren’t complete opposites in every way but the face we share. “You can’t believe what’s happening?”
She huffs and plops down on the side of my bed, bobbling my textbook and reams of copious notes. “Carly disappearing.” She rolls her eyes and snatches a paper, toppling a neighboring stack of flash cards. The contents make her frown, and she tosses the paper back down.
Her foot jiggles, shaking the bed and mixing my carefully organized study system. With a frown, I start lining the pages into neat stacks again. “She probably just ran off with a dude for the weekend. You know Carly.”
“Not during midterms.” Paige runs both hands through her straightened dishwater blonde hair. It took her nearly two hours to perfect, so I know she must be more frustrated than I originally thought.
I close my textbook and sit up to give her my full attention. Her face is drawn and pale beneath her tan. When her lips quiver, I take her hand, my eyes catching on the tattoo on the skin between her thumb and forefinger. A sun. I have a small moon in the same place. “Hey, I’m sure she’s fine.”