Chapter 5: Stalking in the dark
- One Day before Halloween - October 30th, 1969 -

"Do you see that?" Dr. Loomis' voice carried through the room. "He's showing compassion."

"Hmm, maybe he isn't so hopeless after all. Maybe you're actually getting through to him." The second voice was Dr. Hill's.

I rested in Michael's embrace, he was warm, unnaturally calming. His thumb traced my burn, it didn't hurt so much, since Loomis took care of it. My tears slowly stopped falling and, I was able to pace my breathing. The hysterics were fading.

Pulling my wrist free, I took Michael's hand in my own. Squeezing. He returned the grip.

"Thank you…"

Time passed.

Everyone aside from Michael had been gathered and given strict orders to never mention anything about Halloween around him, and to avoid the holiday at all circumstances if possible.

There was a big feast on Thanksgiving and Christmas for those of us who didn't have families. Loomis, Hill and Grannell were all around, not really having families of their own. Loomis wanted nothing, but, the best for the children here, despite the different backgrounds we had.

Samantha regained her voice early, December. After I received the mark, she'd become rather close to me, and we even started hanging out, she started competing with Michael for my attention.

She told me, she didn't like him. As always, her accusations were vague. Samantha wouldn't give up any information. I didn't know if she had dreams about him, like I did.

And with her having such a distaste for Michael, I wasn't even sure why Wynn had even considered her, as a candidate for baring the next generation? There was no chemistry between them. Though, I didn't see why there needed to be if part of the role was being unable to resist? Maybe, if there was no bond present, I'd just ended up with the delusions Samantha suffered? Maybe, Sam had been fine before they kidnapped her? But, why else would she be in a place like this?

Chelsea and Nancy were at each other's throats for a while. But, April, 1970, Chelsea was released. Her treatment complete. Some estranged family had gotten word of her being in Smith's Grove and on her 18th birthday, came to take her home.

- 1 Month before Halloween - September 1970 -

The year was going by, well, until the start of September, like the prior year.

Dr. Loomis' behavior changed. He started looking at Michael with hatred in his eyes. Speaking harshly about him, whenever he thought that no one was listening. That he deserved to be in jail, which was true, but, seeing him turn on Michael, so suddenly was frightening. If he'd snap that easily, whose to say he wouldn't do that to any one of us.

Loomis and Michael started having intense, one-on-one time. Apparently, he'd started scrawling these strange photos on the walls of the boys' ward. Mason told everyone it was scribings of a woman, her expression was pained, and each drawing was scribbled in red.

Mason was released soon after, being returned to his parents. However, a few weeks later, I caught wind of the nurses speaking of his death. The family car had been run off the road. It was purely bad luck. But, with the coincidence of him calling attention to Michael's sketches, I wasn't so sure it had been an accident. If Michael hadn't killed him personally, maybe Wynn and his followers did?

While waiting in the main room, for Michael to be released, I overheard a conversation between James and Nancy.

"Honestly, I agree with Sam and Jen. Michael's a maniac and shouldn't be here. They should have his girlfriend transferred too. She's a psycho bitch." Nancy was holding James' hand, nestling up to him. James sighed, shaking his head. "The other doctors don't agree, at least Carpenter and Wynn don't, and since they have the last say, both of 'em are stuck with us."

She pressed her body against his. "I'm gonna miss you when you leave, you know. Are you gonna wait for me?" Her lips kissed his jawline. "Of course babe, you're my cherry, I'd be crazy not to wait for you."

"Alright love birds, break it up. You know the rules, no touching." The voice came from Wallace, he worked in security, it was rare to see him during the day.

"There is no negro, that can tell me what to do…" James muttered under his breath. He and Wallace had never gotten along from what I'd seen.

"Young man, that isn't how you talk to people, your daddy may say that it's okay, but guess what, your daddy ain't here." Wallace replied, the metallic chime of handcuffs were heard soon after.

Loomis' voice interrupted. "William, that's quite enough, you need not let the children antagonize you."

He scoffed. "Isn't that a bit hypocritical with how you've been treating Michael, lately?"

"That boy is a different case."

Wallace walked passed me, throwing his arms up. "Sure thing, Sam. But, that boy hasn't acted out of the ordinary around me."

Seeing the angry expression on Loomis' face, I didn't want anything to do with him. He'd been full of rage lately, yelling at Michael, the other doctors, he just wasn't himself, and he wasn't someone I wanted to be around.

So, I followed Wallace, instead. Waiting until we got a good distance away from the doctors, before allowing my footsteps to be heard, he turned, wondering who was following.

This was a technique I learned from watching Michael.

He smiled, seeing that it was only me. "Oh, Elaine, what's up, kid?"

"Can you-" I swallowed my fears, not wanting to finish my sentence. "Can you take me to Dr. Wynn?"

Wynn was my only chance to see Michael, he'd be the only one who would listen. Because his planned relied on our relationship.

"Terence? I didn't think you liked him? Are you sick or injured? I can take you to one of the other doctor's…" His voice was unsure.

I shook my head. "No, it-it has to be Dr. Wynn."

"Alright, let's go." He held out his hand, ready to lead me. Still unsure, but, not about to deny my request.

Wallace had been one of the few men I allowed to work with me. Originally it had only been Loomis, but, since Loomis started acting so strange, I'd bonded with Wallace. Talking to him and having him or Dr. Hill escort me wherever I needed.

Knocking on Dr. Wynn's office door, Wallace called out, "Terence, Elaine wants to see you." There was some rustling of papers before Wynn answered. "Let her in."

Wallace opened the door, allowing me to head inside, before closing the door and returning to his duties. Wynn eyed me suspiciously. "You haven't even glanced my way in nearly a year. I'm curious as to why you've come to me." An eyebrow was raised.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke, hoping to hide the fear in my voice. "Since, I'm giving you what you want. In return, you could give me something I want." I knew he wouldn't deny my request. He was the only one who wouldn't deny me.

His elbows were resting on his desk as his hands were folded in front of him. "And what it is that I have?"

"Access to Michael."

"Michael? Yes, Samuel has been rather paranoid lately. Hasn't he let you see him?" Wynn stood from his desk, pushing his chair aside.

I took a step back, though I knew he couldn't hurt me while everyone was present, I still had the urge to run. "No, he hasn't. Michael's barely left the ward." For being one of the administrators, Wynn didn't keep much of an eye on the place.

"I see…" He pressed a button on his desk, making a call. "Dawn, would you go down to the juvenile ward and escort Michael to one of the solitary rooms?"

"Yes, sir, right away." Her response was quick.

He moved around his desk, seeing that I had again taken a step away. His expression was still curious. "You do realize I am not going to harm you, as long as you provide me with what I want? Keep Michael's attention, and you'll be fine."

I fell silent as soon as we left his office, walking through the corridors, taking a path that avoided Loomis and Hill, so that they wouldn't ask any questions.

When we arrive at solitary, the lights were dimmed, Dawn and Mary standing outside of the room, nodding at Wynn when they saw him approaching, walking away the same second.

Wynn opened the door. "You two, can have your privacy. I'll be waiting out here. Do anything you like."

I didn't like the emphasis Wynn had put in the last part of his sentence.

Michael stood at the back of the room, facing away from the door, staring at the wall, as normal. Quickening my pace, I moved to his side, keeping my hands behind my back .
There was no way possible to sneak up on him, he always knew when someone was close. Knowing that, I still, always, gave him a few silent minutes to adjust to the change.

"Haven't seen you in a few days…" I smiled, turning my head. His stance relaxed, signifying that he was fine with me approaching him. Another thing I had learned from being around him. If his stance was stiff, he was in a foul mood and did not want to be touched, his relaxed stance wasn't too different, you had to watch his eyes and shoulders. His gaze was normally intense, whenever I was near, it seemed to be a bit more content, and his shoulders lowered slightly.

Moving, I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning into his shoulder. The times he hugged me back were rare, I'd gotten used to being the only one enjoying the closeness. At least, the only one showing the enjoyment.

We stood that way for a few minutes, before I remembered how Nancy always cuddled up to James. Michael and I weren't as old as those two were, but, I wondered if he'd like the attention? I didn't want to be like her, or take advice from her, yet, curiosity had the better of me. The worst he could do is reject my advances, push me away, or back away himself. That wasn't so bad.

"Hey, do you think it would be alright if I tried something?"

He wouldn't speak, I knew that. However, I heard his heart, beat a little faster, upon my asking. I moved slowly, standing on my tip toes, before placing my lips on his jawline, mimicking Nancy's movements.

Michael seemed shocked, pushing me back, pinning me against the wall. His breathing increased, as his eyes locked with mine. I couldn't tell how he felt. I was intimidated, he towered over me.

"I'm sorry!" I squeaked, a bit panicked that I'd triggered something in him.

Michael cocked his head to the side, slowly, the pressure withdrew from my shoulders. A hand moved to my cheek, in a gentle caress. His other hand moving under my arm and behind me back as he leaned in, his lips touching mine for a brief moment, before pulling away, acting as if nothing had happened.

A warmth rose through my body. My face flushed. He was curious, just not ready, it seemed.

"Sorry…" I apologized again. "I should have told you what I wanted to do."

The door creaked open, and a smirk played on Michael's lips.

"Sorry kids, but, times up. Can't have you two missing for too long." Wynn replied, furrowing his brow when he'd seen that we'd only been standing there.

There was no sneaking up on Michael.

My breathing stopped. Lungs started to burn.
There was a darkness surrounding me, was I asleep? A strange feeling washed over me, I don't know how to describe it, aside from the fact I could feel my own energy, as if it was tangible. The sensation collected in the center of my chest resonating alongside pulse. My body dropped, consumed by the darkness.

Within the void, structure began to form below me. And I was heading into a collision.

Instead of death, I jerked awake, laying in damp grass, tall bushes surrounding either side of me, a wooden structure behind me, a deck or a porch. It took a moment to register, but, Samantha was next to me, crouched and peeking around the edge of the hedges. She glanced towards me, seeing that I was awake.

Immediately she placed a finger over her lips, telling me to keep quiet.
Slowly, and quietly, I moved into a similar crouched position.

"Is this your first time here?" Her voice, was a bit wheezy. "Do you know what to do? How to avoid him?" She probed, nervously.

"Wait, where are we? What's happening?"

There was a helpless look in her eyes. "You haven't been here before… I don't know if I'll have time to explain everything…" She glanced around the bushes again.

"Where are we?" I repeated my previous question.

"Haddonfield. Well, it's kinda like Haddonfield. A dream version of it. We're being hunted here."

I glanced around the opposite bush, trying to figure out what happened. "Hunted? By who?"

This time, Samantha looked at me sternly. "Michael…"

"Michael? Our Michael?"

She nodded. "This place, I don't know how it came to exist, but, these dreams are the most violent, vivid, dreams I have ever had. He tortures people here. For fun. He sees it as some sick, twisted game he can play, without any consequence." Another check.

"Oh, that happened to me before. Only, I was in a house."

"His house... The place where everything began.. That's where I first woke up, too. I walked down to the kitchen and was brutally stabbed, barely hanging onto life, being left , bleeding to death in the hall."

Samantha made another peak around. "We really need to move. Stay close to me, alright?" She grabbed my hand, quickly walking to the street. Multiple police cars were parked in front of a blue house, a little away. I recognized the house as his. It was the same design, despite actually being part of a town and not hidden away in the woods.

We moved several houses down, heading inside and upstairs. Samantha made sure to check each other the rooms, including closets, before stopping at the top of the stairs.

"Okay, this place should be safe for a few minutes. We should see him coming." She leaned against the wall. "If you're going to survive, you need to learn some of the tricks. The first, is that he sees us as prey, and he is the predator. We are no threat to him. None at all. So, never try to fight him directly, it will only get you killed. "

The wind rustled the shutters on the window next to us, causing her to jump, shivering afterwards. "I don't know how, but, the more he watches you, the faster he's able to move, and the easier he can predict your movements. So, if you ever see him staring at you, you need to get out of his line of sight. Never lock eyes with him. That only fuels his desire to kill you. He'll lash out even more violent than normal. And, since you're here, it's only fair to warn you that he will corner you, and let you go, only to chase you down again. Don't mistake it for mercy, or luck: He has a plan."

She paused glancing out the window, then downstairs. "If you know he's around, try and keep your breathing quiet, and listen for his own. That will give his position away, you don't want to accidentally run into him.
One last thing, only run if he's right behind you. He wants you to constantly run, to wear yourself out. But, if you don't see or hear him, just walk, mind the corners, take care of where you step, and if you have to, take your shoes off. It'll mask your steps."

Glass shattered downstairs, an object was thrown through the window. The object started moving frantically, desperate to live, squawking and crying out in pain. It was a bird. "Shit…" Samantha muttered under her breath. "He's here, he knows we're here... We need to leave."

Michael walked up to the front door, wearing that mask from before, knife in hand, staring at us. Samantha grabbed my hand, running into the bedroom next to us, locking the door. "Like I said, do not let him look at you for long." She hurried over to the window, unlocking and opening it. "Oh, and, don't try to leave this street. You can't, he won't let you."

The handle of the door rattled. "How long do we have to run from him?"

Samantha gave me a look of doom. "Until we wake up." She hopped out the window and onto the roof, offering her hand to help me over the window sill.

"Dying doesn't mean anything here, I tried just letting him kill me, hoping that I'd wake up faster, but, that only worked for a little while. Eventually, I just started waking up on a different part of this street. Sometimes, he already knows where I am. "

Walking over to the edge of the roof, I looked down. It was only a one story drop, nothing ridiculous. Samantha jumped down rather quickly, motioning me to follow her. I did, landing hard.

"It gets easier" She reassured me for, breaking into a light job, headed down the street, towards the police lights, ducking behind one of the cars. I followed a bit slower, checking behind me to see if I could see, Michael. I did.

He was just standing on the sidewalk, staring at me. I needed to get out of his line of sight and I didn't want to lead him to Samantha, so I quickly headed up the steps to another house, opening the door and heading inside. It would be dumb to head upstairs, if I jumped off the roof and hurt myself, he'd find me, and kill me. I made my way through the house looking for a backdoor. Breathing a sigh of relief when I found it.

Opening the door, I planned to loop around and hopefully meet up with Samantha. However, Michael had different plans. As soon as I stepped foot out the door, his arm swung out, knife digging deep into my chest. The air left my lungs from the surprise, and a metallic taste formed in my mouth.

Michael moved in front of me, pulling the knife from my chest. Gripping my shoulder with one hand, drawing back his knife, ready for another stab. Somehow, I had just enough energy to catch his arm before he could bring the blade down. He wasn't putting any effort forward, there was no resistance against my arm, Michael was only watching me. Judging my movements.

He let me go seconds later, watching me fall to the ground, before heading out the back door.

Samantha ran up to me from the front. "You're going to bleed out… You should have let him stab you… It would have been mercy compared to this…"

The familiar burning returned. I struggled to bring in air. "Don't worry, I'll find you before he can."

He'd come back in, through the front door, my eyes went wide. This had been a trap for Sam. He knew she was waiting, to see how fatal my wounds were. Hoping she could save me.

"R-run…" I warned, my voice barely a whisper. She looked behind her, Michael only inches away.

"I should've known." She chastised herself, getting to her feet, but, not without suffering a slash across her back. At least she made it out the door.

Again, Michael stared at me, coming closer, dropping to his knees, pinning my shoulder to the floor, his knife sinking into my gut, the blade aimed upwards. I let out a cry, trying my best to kick him off, I didn't have the strength to keep my leg up and it slid back to the floor. Again, he pulled the blade out, examining my blood, coating the knife, dripping off.

I didn't have long, he knew it and moved to continuing to chase Sam. She needed more time. My hand loosely clenched his shirt, his attention turned back to, sliding the knife across my wrist, forcing me to let go and causing me to cry out in pain again.

Darkness.

Once again, I awoke, between the same bushes, next to Sam. The gash visible on her back, it wasn't nearly as deep as I originally thought. "This time, if you run through a house, you need to make sure he's inside before you try and exit. I tried to make it over to warn you.. I watched him walk around."

Making my way to a crouched position again, I instinctively ran my hand across where my wound had been. "So, if I pass the place I died, and step on the symbol, I'm going to feel all the pain again, and that's how he's going to attack me, right?"

She looked at me confused. "What? No, the Thorn symbols shouldn't harm you. They only mark where someone has died."

I'd seen so many marks my first time in this place. I wonder if they were Samantha's? Or, if others were here?

Our reunion was cut short, when Michael's kitchen knife was thrown into the grass before us. The two of us looked up, seeing him casually leaning against the porch railing. Avoiding all eye contact. How long had he been listening? Why didn't he want me to question the symbols?

Sam grabbed my hand again, pulling me up, before she took off down the street, figuring I was smart enough to run with her. I backed up slowly, bending down when I reached the knife. Finally, he looked down at me. With the knife firmly grasped in my hand, I continued to back away slowly.

"What makes me different?"

A devious smirk played on his lips. I'd have to figure that out myself.

I broke into a run, catching up with Samantha down the street, hiding between someones shed and a fence.

"You took his knife? It's not like we can fight him with it. Or like he can't kill us without it."

"Yes…" I turned my back to her, looking to see if Michael was anywhere around. "But, I think knives are his preferred method. So, maybe it'll take him longer to reach us."

"If he can't just materialize them."

We kept moving, knowing not to stay in one place too long and we'd been spooked with him being so close to us, and we were none the wiser. We moved, hiding between a house and some bushes, it wasn't the safest place, but, it sufficed.

"Hey… Do you have the mark?" I asked, peaking around the house. Still no sign of him.

Sam had climbed some rubble next to the house, looking over the shrubs. "The mark? You mean Thorn?" She hopped back down, rolling up the sleeve of her shirt. "Yeah, I do." Her mark wasn't placed on her wrist, like Michael and my own. It was farther up her arm, close to the inner curve of her elbow. "The head prick, thought it would be a good idea to place it somewhere easily hidden. Dr. Loomis still found it though. He was convinced Michael had done it, since I received my mark just a day after his own. "

An arm reached through the shrub, narrowly missing Samantha.

We quickly jumped into the house, from an open window and ran through the side door, headed back towards Michael's house again. The police lights weren't on, leaving the streets rather dark.

"He plans on toying with us…"

Approaching the car, in order to investigate if the lights could be turned back on, we noticed that Thorn had been etched into the window. "Great…" Sam muttered. "Maybe that knife will come in handy. Last minute escape method. Jam the blade into his neck, for a change. "

"Has Michael ever spoken to you?" I asked as we walked around the car, headed for a house that had a porch light lit. It seemed like a trap, but, at least we could see what was coming.

Sam shook her head. "The kid can't talk."

I stopped, looking behind me. I didn't see him. "Yes he can." She turned around facing me. "What did he say?" A sigh left, as I started to walk once again. "I asked a yes or no question. He said yes, that's all."

"Wow…." Sam crouched down, looking for any signs of Michael already being at the house. "Has he done anything else surprising?"

"He kissed me today…" I confessed, glancing to the side. She looked at me, her eyes wide. "And now he's trying to kill you. I guess romance isn't dead, but, you will be if you keep getting that close to him."

"I can't help it.. It's like I'm drawn to him. " We made it to the porch, opening the door slowly, before heading inside. The electricity worked.
It would be hard for him to sneak up on us now.

Samantha again made sure the closet was empty, before even thinking about resting. "Michael has always had that influence on people. People either take an interest in him, or they want to taunt him. Like Tony, not to be confused with Anthony. He was moved to a permanent, private cell, because he attacked Michael. Michael logged a crayon in his eye. Roger took the blame for it."

"But, if you know that Roger didn't do it, didn't the doctors believe you?"

"You don't understand. Dr. Wynn, he controls everything. He's the reason Michael is able to get away with everything. He has Carpender under his thumb. Nothing, that anyone says about Michael will make a difference if those two don't agree."

It was nice to be in the light, able to see any movement, Michael loosing the element of surprise. The lights may have also taken away our ability to surprise him, but, the gain was better than the loss.

We moved to the kitchen, I still had his knife in hand. "Have you ever tried to kill him?" I examined the knife, looking up to Samantha for an answer. "Of course. I didn't want to just be some helpless damsel. Being trapped in such a small area, there's only so many places you can run, each time he finds a hiding spot, you can't expect to use it again. He's too smart for that."

"So...What did you do?"

She leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "I stabbed him. In his chest, in his side, in his back. Once, I managed to knock him down, and I stabbed him repeatedly. His eyes closed and his breathing stopped. I thought I'd finally got him. That it was over. I'd wake up and hell, maybe he'd actually be dead." Samantha's gaze dropped, she sighed. "I knew I should have run, but, I backed up against the door, letting myself drop, keeping my eyes on him, while waiting to wake up. He started breathing again. I watched him get back up, like he always did. I just gave up. I didn't resist when he killed me that time. There was no point."

"It's not that hard to believe that he got up. I mean, when we die, we wake up…"

"I don't think he'll ever die. In here or out there."

There was a loud pop in the living room, followed by the sound of glass shattering. The room went dark. Samantha immediately moved to the back door. "The door's locked!" She shrieked.

"Can't you just unlock it?" I offered, walking closer to her. "No, it's locked from the other side." She moved to the basement door, the knob broke off.

"We walked right into his trap."

I looked at the knife again. "We can fight him."

Sam scoffed. "He'll just get back up."

"Yeah, but, if we knock him down, we can at least run."

The kitchen was rather open. Whichever one of us he decided to go after, the other could maneuver around him, taking the opening to stab him. As soon as he was down, we'd bolt to the front door.

A stone flew across the dining room, crashing with the light, causing that room to go dark. We had no choice but, to let him watch us, while he approached the kitchen. His hand flipped the light switch down, this room was dark now too. Michael dug his fingers behind the switch, tearing the cover off, and with a spark, cutting the wires with his knew knife.

We were lured into a false sense of security.

He looked directly at me. I had his old knife, and was the only threat. Making me his target. He walked towards me, Samantha moved, ready to slip out behind him, but, he changed his course, easily closing the distance between Sam and himself, grabbing her shirt and throwing her against the fridge, he lifted his knife, ready to end her. But, I couldn't let it happen.

"Michael!" I called, grabbing his shoulder, when he turned, I plunged the knife into his neck. He let out a gasp, shoving me against the table, and slamming his knife into the wood, just inches away from my head. His mouth curved into a frown. Effortlessly taking the knife from his neck, gripping the blade tightly.

Sam tried to get up, just to have Michael turn, grab and throwing her against the fridge again.

My hand slid over the knife, searching for the handle; apparently stabbing him multiple times over and over again was the only way.
As soon as I grasped it, he turned back around, seeing my hand in the air. That devious smirk played across his lips again as he wrapped his hand around my wrist, pushing me passed him, but keeping his grasp on me, tightly holding my free hand, keeping me from struggling too much. His other hand wrapped around my grip on the knife, securing the blade, I couldn't drop it. He nudged me forward again.

"Michael, no…" I gasped, realizing his plan. Samantha coward against the fridge, cornered. Her eyes were wide, as I bet my own were. My entire body was trembling, I struggled, trying to find any room to wiggle out of his grip. My breath struggled to keep up with my thrashing, as I frantically tried to do anything. Escape his grasp, drop the knife, anything.

Samantha tried to run, he let go of my free hand, catching her and again effortlessly tossing her back into the corner. I tried to pry his grip away from my other hand, he was too strong. He seemed to find enjoyment in my feeble attempts. My last attempt was trying to manipulate his arm, into either stabbing me, or himself. He toyed with me, giving me a few inches, making me think that for a second I could beat him.

He grabbed my arm again, bringing me back to him. His hand closed around my other wrist, using his strength to keep me from escaping and pinning Sam to the fridge with my hand.

She hadn't said a word. I could only imagine how afraid she was. Michael was going to kill her once again, but, he was using her friend to do so. He reeled our hands back, plunging the knife into her shoulder. Her shriek hurt me, tears stung my eyes. "Sam,... I'm sorry." My apology was quiet. I wasn't sure if she'd even heard it as Michael struck her again, cutting across her arms as she tried to defend herself. He struck her again and again, 11 times in total.

As soon as her body went limp, lifeless, he turned his attack on me, pinning me against the back door. His body was uncomfortably close to mine. "You don't have to do this…." I wasn't sure why I was still trying to reason with him.

He didn't waste any time in stabbing me in the throat, exactly where I stabbed him. The metallic taste returned, I gasped, hand clenching the fabric of his clothes. "Why?" I begged, desperate for an answer. There had to be one. Why did he find so much enjoyment in such a horrid action.

There was never an answer.

Michael reached up, taking his mask off, tossing it onto the table. His face showed his twisted excitement, and the excitement was mirror in his breathing, which had grown heavier.

Michael was examining me, watching the blood spill from around the knife, and dripping from my mouth.

It was taking me way too long to die. I should have blacked out by now, but, here I was, wide-eyed, gazing into the chilling blue eyes of my killer.

"What makes me different?" I repeated my question from earlier, in a surprisingly clear voice. "Why am I special?"

His lips connected with my own, not minding the blood.

Only then was I allowed to fall back into the darkness.

To be continued…