CHAPTER 2

I fucked up! Fucked up BAD! And now a hunter has finally caught up to me! Thinking I could hide from hunters was unbelievably naive. I should have known better. It was my mother all over again! I guess stupidity was hereditary.

So, this was it! The end! I would die by the hands of this hunter who was, at the moment, sitting on top of me with one hand over my mouth and the other holding a knife to my throat. A small part of me was actually relieved that I wouldn't have to hide anymore. Wouldn't be so lonely anymore. But that small part was overshadowed by the much bigger part of me that screamed 'PROTECT MOLLY!' But I wasn't sure how to do that. Should I be still? Wait? Or should I put up a fight and hope to over power him or catch him off guard? I was too terrified to think straight!

"Now...", the hunter growled softly. "I'm gonna take my hand off of your mouth and you're gonna be a good little monster and not scream, right?" I nodded frantically, staring at the black hole where his face should be. He chuckled as he slowly lifted his hand, but kept the blade pressed against my throat. "Good girl."

"Please...!", I started to sob and he pressed his finger to my lips this time to shush me.

"Ah, ah, ah...", he cooed at me, shifting his weight so that he was bent over my face again. "None of that now. Wouldn't want to wake the little one, would we?" I stopped breathing for a second when he mentioned my sister and then my heart started to pound in my chest. I had to take deep breaths through my nose to calm myself before I could speak without getting hysterical again.

"Are... are you gonna k-kill me?", I stammered weakly, trying not to come apart.

"Yes." It came out of his mouth so quick and matter-of-factly that I was the one who was caught off guard. I hadn't expected him to be so blunt about ending my life. I figured he'd lie and just tell me what I wanted to hear before slitting my throat. I was so stunned that all that came out of me in response was a strangled whimper. "But, not right now, if you cooperate." Cooperate? What the Hell does that mean?

"Wha... what do you..."

"AND...", he whispered, cutting me off. "Who knows, I might even be persuaded to let the kid walk." I couldn't let him kill me and leave my baby sister defenseless and alone! She'd never survive on her own!

"B-but, she needs me!", I croaked, nearly in tears. He heaved a heavy sigh before sitting up on my hips.

"Well, I can always gank you both right now, if that's what you want." He turned his head and looked down at Molly and I could see his profile. I watched his tongue slide out from between his teeth and lick his lips like he was about to cut into a delicious T-bone steak. When he looked back at me, I still couldn't see his face, but I could somehow sense the wide grin that was plastered across it. A cold chill ran up my spine and I couldn't help but shiver. Even at 17, I could see that this guy was no ordinary hunter. This man was a predator. A PSYCHOTIC predator at that!

"No! Please...!" I suddenly felt Molly twitch next to me and I froze, a startled gasp flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. But she just moaned and rolled on her side, facing away from us without waking. I sighed with relief and just laid there trembling. I had no idea what this lunatic would do if Molly was to wake up and start freaking out.

"Just be good and do what I say." His free hand moved up my arm and his fingers pressed hard into my shoulder, holding me still. I suddenly had the thought that he wanted something that I had never given to any man. My body. I panicked and started to struggle under him. My arm flew up without my permission and my elbow connected with his nose. He grunted and grabbed his face with his free hand before punching he in the face with the hand holding the knife. All I could see was white for a second and my whole body went limp.

The hunter snarled in my face and pressed the knife into my neck just hard enough to break the skin. It wasn't deep, but it felt like he had cut my head off. The pain in my face was immediately forgotten. My throat felt like it was on fire and it took everything I had in me not to scream. I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut against the searing pain while he snickered in my face. "Silver blade, Bitch", the hunter purred in my ear. "Hurts like Hell, doesn't it?" I hoped that was a rhetorical question because if I opened my mouth to answer, I knew that an agonized scream would come out instead.

"Please don't...", I whimpered brokenly when I could finally think past the pain from the small cut. "Please d-don't... don't r-rape me!" The hunter sat up again and huffed a condescending laugh at my growing terror.

"Don't flatter yourself, Cunt!", he sneered. "I wouldn't pollute myself with a monster! I'm not that desperate! Well... not yet, anyway." He chuckled at his own sick humor. I had the feeling that he had no such qualms. He just seemed like the type to take what he wanted. Even if it was from someone who wasn't... human. I prayed that I was wrong.

"Wha... what do y-you w-want?" He backed the knife away slightly and swiped at the wound with his thumb, smearing my blood down to the dip of my throat. The action sent a fresh wave of pain through me and I whimpered uncontrollably. He stroked the hollow of my throat for a moment before wiping my blood off his finger on my shirt. His hand moved back to my shoulder and his thumb moved in small circles over my clavicle.

"I need help catching a much bigger monster than you, Sweetheart." He leaned into my face again and for a moment I thought he was gonna kiss me. But his mouth hovered a few inches above mine so I couldn't help but breathe in his hot breath that smelled and tasted like stale beer.

"A monster that could end the whole fucking planet."