Five Things That Never Happened to Hannibal King
I
He wakes up with one hand clawed into her hair and the other clutching at her limp body. His mouth tastes like blood, and there is blood everywhere, and it makes him hungry. He doesn't think, he screams and scrambles away as far as he can go.
There is a shining trail that leads away from the body to his corner by the bars. Red, it's smeared over his body, drying into darker powder stains. She lies discarded on one side, glassy eyes staring at him.
She's staring at him!
Hannibal retches violently, but only makes another pool of blood.
II
Abigail smiles when Hannibal walks in wearing nothing except a baseball cap. She watches him, amused, sipping coffee in her terrycloth robe.
"Nice look," she remarks as he continues as if nothing was different.
"I'm thinking about becoming a life drawing model. All those young, impressionable, art types..." he puts two slices of bread into the toaster and pours himself a coffee. He sits down opposite his fiancée, smiling.
"Don't forget, we're having dinner with my parents tonight," she tells him.
"That's always fun." He kisses her forehead.
"Liar."
They make love that night, and he kisses Abby's swollen stomach.
III
He's pretty sure they don't do it for the intelligent conversation, the biting wit and the cuddles that come afterwards.
He knows why Danica does (because she's a sex-crazed vampire who has control issues) and he knows why Asher does (because he's secretly gay, and Danica's his alibi) but he isn't sure why he stays. (He used to think it was because of a tattoo on his lower abdomen, but that's the worst excuse since "the dog ate my homework".)
Hell, he doesn't even like them.
But (she's licking here and he's touching there), he finds he doesn't care.
IV
The shot is like fire and ice, hot and cold at the same. He crumbles, and is vaguely aware that Blade is chasing Drake, but Abigail is still here and squeezing his hand.
"You're going to be okay," in measured tones that means he's going to be anything but.
Everything hurts.
She's in and out of focus now, and sometimes he sees Danica instead. The blood... is it possible to have this much blood? It just keeps coming and coming out of this tiny hole...
"Stay with me, King."
He can't see... her.
"Fuck!"
He's surprised when
He stops
Breathing.
V
"Who's she?"
Danica sneers. She does it a lot. "A Nightstalker. I thought you might like something different."
She's unconscious and chained to the floor. Her face and body are bloody – clearly damaged goods – but he can tell that she's unusually pretty. "That's sweet... I had no idea you felt that way. I've always wanted an autumn wedding, and you?"
She's barely breathing when he picks her up, and her body is surprisingly hard when he props it against his own. He pushes away the blood-matted hair, holding her like a lover.
He finds the jugular with closed eyes.