Black.
She opened her eyes wider and couldn't make out a thing of her surroundings aside from just black. She didn't like the dark.
Bad things always seemed to happen in the dark.
Anita stood herself up and gave herself a blind once over, mainly consisting of a reaction game.
No blood, she said to herself. That's a plus.
The top of her left arm was tender to the touch. Her legs were shaky, but stable. She attempted a few quick steps before falling into the vast emptiness, reaching out helplessly. Her hands found something to grab ahold of, stopping her fall.
Bars.
It all came flooding back.
Richard's apartment.
The smell of woods and flesh.
The rage in his eyes.
This is not the man she was once in love with.
Remembering his face made her instinctively reach for her Browning, but it's gone. She begins checking herself over more thoroughly, not for injuries this time. For her weapons.
Fuck, she growls to herself. Gone. They're all gone. I'm stuck in some sort of cell, in the dark, defenseless. Unless…
In one quick thought, she tears down the metaphysical walls she built between herself, Richard, and Jean-Claude. But there's no one there to see her, hear her, feel her.
Just emptiness.
What is going on?
A sound breaks the silence, but the darkness is still all around her.
Steps. Someone's coming.
She leans herself closer to the bars she suddenly had a death grip on, pressing her face between them, trying to find something to focus her eyes on. Anything.
"Boo." It was a low, deep voice that had a growl to it, almost a bite. It shook every bone in her body.
She looked frantically around her, but could still see nothing.
"Oh, Anita. If you could only see yourself."
She knew the voice. It made her chest ache.
"Richard." The name escaped her lips as almost a breath. "What's going on?"
"Wasn't it you who told me I had to embrace my beast?" He almost chuckled. It sounded very much like an animal ready to pounce at their prey. "Wasn't it YOU who told me you'd love me despite my inner animal? And then, wasn't it YOU who ran for it?" She could smell, almost taste, his warm breath.
"Richard, I-I don't know what to say." She didn't know what to do. She didn't like being unarmed. She was starting to get mad. "When I told you to embrace your beast, I didn't think.."
"Yeah. You didn't think." He growled. "Do you ever think? About anything?"
Screw mad. She was pissed.
"You know me better than that. Now where the Hell are my weapons?" She didn't let her voice shake. Point for her, she thought.
"I know where you keep your shit, Anita. I've held your body enough times to be able to read you like a map." Dammit.
"Where am I?" Her voice was quiet.
"Where you are doesn't matter. All that matters now is you know that I've decided to listen to you for once. I'm embracing my beast, and now you have to deal with the consequences."
At once, light illuminated the cell. She could see where the door was, and that it was unlocked and opened. It was a tease.
"I have a proposition for you," Richard said gruffly, while stripping. "If you can find a way out of here, you're free to go. I will leave you alone."
"What about the triumvirate?" She asked, her voice quieter than before.
"That silly thing?" Richard laughed. "I broke the ties when I killed that blood sucking bastard you're head over heels for."
The shock was very evident on her face. She couldn't help it. Richard had snapped.
"But you and I, we're still alive. This can't happen." Her voice was frantic, growing a bit louder.
"That's only what he wanted us to think. He just wanted the power." Richard removed his pants. He was down to his boxers. She had forgotten how great his body looked.
She shook her head. No, she said to herself. No. He killed Jean-Claude. He's gone mental. No.
"So," she said, trying to steady her voice. "What if I don't make it out of here?"
"Then I have you," Richard said. "I have you in any way I want. And when I'm done with you, the world is, too."
Her heart sank. Everything hit her like a brick.
She would have to find a way to kill Richard if she wanted to live.
Richard suddenly appeared, naked, at the open door.
"Come on. Let's get this show going." He smiled at her, and it was not a kind smile. It was a dare.
He stepped back into the darkness that surrounded the cell and light suddenly flooded the entirety of the space. It looked like it was someone's unfinished basement. There was a table behind Richard filled with items.
Items to kill.
Her weapons.
He caught her looking at them.
"Don't get too excited." He warned. "You have to make it past me before you can get to them."
Like they'll really help me out anyway, she thought to herself. That's just my vampire hunting gear. FUCK.
But then she saw it.
A silver stake.
It was her only shot of getting out alive.
"Don't make me wait, Anita." Richard chided. "The anticipation only makes me want to rip your body apart SO much more."
The entire area began to get warmer. She could see ripples of heat coming off of Richard's body. She knew if she wanted to make a move, it would have to be quick, while he was about to change. Lucky for her, she was small. She could dive, roll, and keep as low to the ground as possible.
She took her chance.
Richard didn't see it coming. Anita ran from her cell. Richard tried swiping a claw growing hand at her, but she hit the floor just as he was about to make contact. She slid on her belly right to the table and grabbed the stake. She wouldn't try for anything else. They would be pointless.
Richard turned and saw her, his body changing more and more each second.
"Things are getting interesting," he growled. He began to laugh, a crazy, manic sound. It quickly turned into a howl. Richard was no longer a human. Anita had to fight this werewolf with just one silver stake and her heart broken. Tears began to fill her eyes.
NO, she yelled at herself, blinking the tears away. YOU HAVE TO DO THIS. FIGHT FOR YOURSELF!
Richard lunged at her, and Anita hit the ground, flat on her back, to avoid the blow.
Richard jumped onto his hind legs and began swiping. Anita barely made it away.
She stood up, determined to get out of this place alive. She just had to keep telling herself that this wasn't Richard. This was a monster.
The monster jumped at her again. She positioned herself flat on her back again, but this time made sure she was right in front of his heart.
She drove the stake into his chest. A red, copper smelling liquid began flowing over her.
The beast howled, but the howling slowly grew to a scream. The fur began to disappear. The claws were gone. Richard, the human, fell into a heap on top of Anita.
"Anita," he breathed, "Oh, Anita." He began panting. His breath was weak.
"Richard?" She didn't know who he was anymore.
"Anita." He looked deep into her eyes.
It wasn't a monster anymore.
It was Richard. The man she was willing to live her life forever with. The man she once loved.
"Oh, RICHARD!" Anita couldn't help it. The tears she'd been fighting began escaping her eyes.
Richard began panting heavier.
"Anita," he coughed. "Thank you."
With one final breath, Richard's lifeless body completely collapsed over Anita.
Anita, unaware what to do, simply lay there. She was covered head to toe in clear slime and blood. Her body was weak from the emotional Hell she had just been put through in a matter of seconds. She did the only thing she could do.
She cried.
"ANITA!" It was Richard's voice. But how-?
"ANITA! WAKE UP!"
Anita opened her eyes to Richard's loving eyes and soft face. She couldn't keep the shock from showing.
"But Richard…", she stroked his cheek tenderly. "How? What?"
"Anita, it was just a nightmare." Richard moved Anita's hair from her tear stained face. "It was nothing. It's gone now." He gently kissed her forehead and brought her into a calm embrace. "I knew you've been working too much. Go back to sleep."
Anita rolled over, away from Richard, and clutched her beloved penguin. As she drifted back to sleep, she could almost smell a hint of lavender in the air.