Death is inevitable. Maci Hughes knew this from the beginning.
Now it's too late.
The night had drifted from shades of pink and into darkened purples, casting all hints of light away until morning. Oh, what a tragedy.
Maci brushed her fingers over the cotton sheets and sighed contently, watching the curtains billow against the breeze let in by the opening window. She closed her eyes as the warm air caressed her bare back. The night had been...perfect. Her first time had been perfect.
Should she feel guilty? She had given into the one promise she swore she'd keep until the time came, but now with her purity ring lying on the side table, it all seemed so far in the past to worry about anymore. She was twenty and it was time she began to live her own life, jump off the deep end.
Would she regret it?
Her heart skipped a beat when the floorboards creaked. Maci rolled over, watching Dustin get to his feet and pull his boxers back on. Was he leaving already? She furrowed her brows and let out a soft sigh, her head propped up by her elbow.
"Not even a word?" she asked, watching him intently.
He paused and stared straight ahead silently, making Maci feel immediately uneasy.
"Dustin?" she asked warily, sitting up a little more.
He didn't move.
"Dustin?" She repeated, pulling the sheets up close to her neck, suddenly feeling horribly vulnerable.
"I'm sorry..." he murmured in a quiet voice, a voice that held so much grief she'd have thought he'd just committed a crime. Maybe he had. "It was the only way, but you have to know..."
Ice shivered down Maci's spine, his words elevating her fear.
"Know what?" Her voice shook.
Slowly, he turned to look at her, his eyes sullen. "It will come for you, just like it came for me."
"What will?" she asked quickly, eyes widening in panic. "You're really starting to freak me out, it's not funny..."
"No, it isn't funny. It's not funny...it will always find you. No matter how far you run or how well you hide, it will find you, and when it does...it will kill you." Maci's breathing began to quicken as he continued. "You can outrun it, but you will never get rid of it until you pass it on to someone else. If it kills them it's back to you and if it kills you it's back to me. That's how it works...so don't die."
"What the he** are you talking about!"
"I'm sorry..." he repeated as he pulled on a shirt and turned to leave, glancing over his shoulder once more before disappearing down the dark hall of the motel. It would be the last time she'd ever see him and the start of a nightmarish adventure that would drive her to near insanity.
If only she knew what was to come.