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She was shaking, whether from the cold or the wintry blue eyes that bore into her own, it was hard to discern. All her thoughts had come to a screeching halt. She didn't wonder why she had not yet attempted to run away from this man- whose threatening glare pumped adrenaline into her blood. The curious disappearance of Elliot and the others were blown from her mind. His gaze portrayed a powerful, unwavering aura that she figured could very well be the cause of her trembling. She felt like she was in a dream; it was a scene from a thriller movie, a mystery book. It gave her a detached, heady feeling, as if she were watching her figure stand frozen to the ground and the other, a black hole in the dripping grayness around them, from afar. As if this wasn't really happening. But it was. The icy, numbness on her cheeks told her it was real. It was real.
And suddenly, everything snapped back. She was within herself again, looking through her own eyes. Her skin tingled, her heart leapt up in her chest, bouncing against her rib cage, and her lungs opened up, sucking the cool air into her burning body. Yet her wide eyes did not stray from this man's, this being's. Even as she began to back away, her voice searching for a holding, for the biggest yell she could manage, her eyes did not wander from the hard, chilled glare before her. She continued backwards, the man making no move of his own- she couldn't tell if he was even breathing- until the back of her heel met something behind her with a small thump.
Her shuffling stopped short. Her breathing increased. The body. The roaring of blood in her ears was an ocean. She had almost forgotten about him. Is he dead? she thought, distantly. It would certainly be easier for her if he was alive, seeing as she didn't particularly want to stick around this place any longer and a dead body was a hard thing to move. But the thought of leaving him here... with... A shiver caused her trembling to escalate as the piercing eyes narrowed, glaring still. No. Hopefully he was alive.
Stumbling slightly, she maneuvered herself to the side of the large, torn boot she had bumped into. Then she backed up slowly, keeping the body in her peripheral vision while she kept the man's eyes at the forefront. There was a deep fear within her that whispered terrible tales about what might happen- if she looked away. So she almost didn't notice, her eyes so keenly locked on the other's. But the farther she shambled past the body, the stranger it looked. It took her muddled mind a moment, but realization came to her soon enough. The pant legs lay shredded, flat on the ground. As she continued up, she saw that the ripped sweater the man had been wearing lay empty. The man was gone. Or if he was still here, he was absent of clothes. It was then that the buzzing met her ears. It came in short, angry spurts. It came from the twitching lump that lay in the vanished man's deflated shirt.
She made a mistake. Her eyes automatically went to the source of the buzzing. Realizing what she had done, she glanced back, her green eyes wide, expecting pain, horror, death, a multitude of frightful things. But the man still stared, did not move an inch. Her thoughts were torn between relief and fear. She should leave. She should run, clearly this man meant her no good will. She didn't move. Carefully, hesitantly, with shaking hands, she bent down and lifted the neck of the torn sweater. Quick as lightning, the buzzing grew louder and a small, dark mass flung itself at her face from inside the shirt. As if branches or thorns, things scrapped at her face. The buzzing was accompanied by a quick, tittering tongue. She threw her arms around her head to protect herself. The buzzing flapped against her hands like the wings of an insect. A very large insect.
A strange, guttural bark sounded from behind- her mind immediately went to the threatening man- and the tapping ceased, the buzzing retreating.
One, Mississippi. Two, Mississippi.
Three, Mississippi.
Slowly, she lowered her arms, peaking carefully above and around her. When no buzzing mass went to tear at her face, her eyes travelled to the dark man. Her heart gave itself a running start before jumping up her throat. There at the corner of his mouth was a little, twisted, malicious smile. She found she preferred the cold glare.
"Persephone." he said.
Hiya. I'm sorry for the wait. It's been a loooong couple months for me. How did you like it? This is one of my favorite bits that I've written so far. Partly because it has a chunk of my dream from so long ago in it, but I also found that I really enjoyed writing it. Anyways, I hope everyone's holidays were good and that you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews motivate! ;)_
