Page 52 of Stained

The woman moaned, hands slapping against her forehead, curls spilling between her fingers.I’ve gotta get out of here.Alicia reached for the handle again.

“He got to you! He got to you already!” Bright, blazing ambers swirled before Alicia.

As it turned out, Alicia had it all wrong. Danica hadn’t inherited her eyes from her father.

“You’re…”

“Run!” Danica Moreau’s mother growled. “Run far, far away from those monsters. They only want to destroy you!”

Alicia shook her head. “You’re scaring me.”

“Good.” The woman’s chapped lips were mere inches away from Alicia’s nose. Those eyes? Filled with their own fears, traumas, and terrible memories coming to the forefront.Don’t look into them. Look away!Fire. Fire burned in the ex-Mrs. Moreau’s eyes. The fire that burned her? Alicia was afraid to ask. “You should fear for your life. Get out while you can!”

Something stirred outside the limo. The woman jerked to the other side, hastily opening the door and flying out – straight into traffic.

Horns honked. Cab drivers screamed into the void. A cyclist fell over, protected by his helmet and pads, but still scraped up. The limo driver hopped into the front seat and turned to Alicia.

“What was that all about?”

Alicia couldn’t find the words. Or the breath. Or the wits to understand.

“Dunno. Some crazy woman, I guess.”

The driver started the car. Soon enough, he and Alicia pulled away from the curb, heading toward her neighborhood.

Beside her, a cell phone blinked to life with a text message.

“I look forward to our future together, Alicia,”it read.“I’ll make sure it’s the most memorable moments of your life.”

Sounded like another threat to her.

END OF PART 1