A/N: HI! I'm sorry this chapter took a while! I was really trying to capture all the ideas I had with this one along with make it super dark and intense - which is something I don't normally write. I hope you enjoy! Also, do you like the new cover? I debuted it a few chapters ago on wattpad and ffnet along with my discord thread, but felt like it would be appropriate to show it off with this chapter. I want to mention, the Maria model in cover done by IRIDESCENDLING on Twitter/X. I don't own it or any of the images I used at all. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Where

Am

I?

Song recommendation: "Tonight You Belong To Me" by Patience and Prudence

TW: Violence, blood, gore, and death.

The Blood Moon

Maria

-.-

There's a loud ringing in my ears as I woke up from a deep slumber. It pierced through my senses - causing me to groan from the sound and my head starting to throb. I slowly opened my eyes - which were still heavy - before trying to adjust to the room around me. I blinked several times as I tried to get used to my surroundings. Normally, the room was dimly lit with the lighting being normal - casting the normal colors of the walls, the old furniture, and even myself. But not this time. Everything seemed... off. My little prison cell had this red hue to it. Instead of the warmth of the light with the weird leather lampshade, the entire room now glowed a deep and dark red. My eyes strained as I raised up from my bed - my entire tan skin now red as if I just got sunburned. Quite literally everything was red. My once tan skin, bloodied clothes, the rusty bed, the little bucket, the withering walls, and dirty flooring. It's as if I'm back in my college's dark room trying to sneakily develop some of my photos - the red light hanging over me as I dipped the negatives into the developer liquid.

I slid the old and stained blanket off my body before swinging my legs off the bed. My bare feet hit the concrete floor as I made my way to the wooden door. Something was telling me to open it. I didn't quite know why. It was still most likely going to be locked from the outside, trapping me in this cell as it has been. But, I listened to my instincts. My now reddened hand reached for the knob before twisting it slightly. I don't know what made me want to try. Maybe it's because there's no pain in my hand and I wasn't tied up? Maybe it's because I was curious about how the rest of the basement looked compared to this room? I didn't know anything besides my own body having a mind of its own, almost like I was being hypnotized, my own curiosity wanting to test the waters. I gently pulled - expecting it to not budge. Except, this time, it did open. My eyes widened slightly as my breath hitched. It's unlocked?! Surely this was an accident, right? Who was the last one with me? The pain in my head was still prominent due to the red lighting and ringing sound. I couldn't even remember last night. I don't even know who would make this careless mistake either. Maybe Sissy or Nubbins?

When I opened the door wider - I heard something that I couldn't quite make out. It sounded like a mix of grunting, shuffling, and someone gurgling. My eyes narrowed as I began to follow it. Was someone in trouble? I didn't want to think that way but the sounds only got louder as I heard someone gurgling on some type of liquid. I entered the little hallway before rounding the corner - fully entering the red butcher room. Despite the little journey, I could tell that the entire basement - maybe even the entire house - glowed the same color as my little room. Everything was illuminated in this red glow that drowned out what everything normally would look like. I made my way closer to the sounds as my foot hit something wet. I bent down a bit, taking a closer look, my eyes squinting to make it out through the straining redness. My foot slid across a red and sticky liquid that it took a few seconds to recognize. Then, it hit me. The warmth of the little stream of liquid provided a contrast against my body which had a chill. It was blood. A chill ran down my spine as I began to follow it - the pool of blood getting larger and larger. My feet splashed into the blood like little rain puddles - the warming sensation told me the blood is very fresh. I continued to follow the trail, my feet sloshing through it, before I realized the noises were getting louder and louder until I was right in front of them.

Raising my head from the river of blood, I saw a horrible sight.

On the floor was a little pile of bodies. But it wasn't just some random unfortunate people I've never got the chance to meet. No, although I morbidly do wish it was. Instead, I saw bodies that looked vaguely familiar despite all of them being covered in the blood. They were piled on top of each other - as if someone just slaughtered a bunch of animals and put them in a pile to deal with later. Oh my God, what the hell happened?! My blood ran cold as my eyes examined each one; going over their facial features and their open wounds that still poured of blood. Only then did I realize that they didn't look familiar - they were familiar.

Leland, Connie, Julie, Sonny, Ana, and even Virginia.

They all had several open wounds and limbs broken. Their bodies on top of each other in an uncomfortable pile of death and destruction. Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw all their eyes were glazed over - the life being drained from their once lively souls. Virginia and Sonny were at the very bottom of the pile, followed by Connie, Leland, Julie, and finally Ana. I stepped closer to the pile - crouching down to gently close Virginia's eyes as they were wide open in fear, staring right into mine. Slowly looking up from Virginia's lifeless body, I saw a muscular figure hovering near by the pile. The man wore a black t-shirt that had the sleeves ripped off, his tight denim jeans hugged his muscular body, as his boots were planted firmly on the floor. He was hunched forward - his hands wrapped around someone else's throat. His boots shuffled against the floor slightly as his grip tightened, the victim beneath him struggling by trying to lightly fight back against him. I took a step closer, peering over the muscular person's shoulder, trying to get a better look at what was going on between these two people.

With the man committing such a violent act, I could tell it was Johnny. The other figure, on his knees in front of him, was my boyfriend Danny. Danny nails clawed down Johnny's arms, a desperate attempt to escape, but was no match to the much more muscular man. Danny was choking and gurgling on his own blood as Johnny had dug a knife deep into his jugular and sliced it slowly - going left to right; a deep and agonizing cut that led to a slow and painful death. Johnny had a dark look in his eyes as a sinister smile was planted on his face - clearly enjoying seeing Danny suffering in front of him. In an instant, Johnny grabbed Danny by the back of his head and pushed his body behind him - causing his lifeless body to collect on top of the growing pile of death. I took a step back but lost my footing, thanks to pool of blood, before knocking into a table nearby. It scooted backwards against a makeshift wall which caused everything on the table and around the area to rattle violently. I held my breath as I froze in place - hoping he was too bloodthirsty to notice the loud clanking.

Johnny's hunched over frame slowly halted. Blood dripped off his face and bare hands. As he stood tall - his posture straightening up - he didn't make a singular sound. The only sound was the blood that slowly dripped off his body like steady raindrops. Johnny's brown eyes looked almost black with glints of red, blood all over his mouth and neck which extended onto his clothes. The boots he wore, which were normally dark brown, were drenched in blood along with the hem of his denim jeans. His entire arms, chest, and shirt were drenched with the liquid too. His dark brown hair was slicked back unintentionally with blood instead of his usual hair gel. It looked like he had just showered in nothing but blood. Johnny's head slowly turned in my direction - causing a few cracks to pop throughout his stiff neck. He was breathing deeply as blood dripped out from his mouth. He licked his lips, a slight smirk on his face, as he looked over his shoulder.

"Johnny...?" My voice was a slight tremble as he remained still. Johnny's fists clenched as his knuckles cracked; his grip tightened on the wooden handle of his blade. The blood dripped off the tip of the blade and onto the floor around him - collecting in the makeshift red river. My eyes roamed up and down Johnny's frame. Why did he do this?! Why did he kill them all and disregard them like dead animals - as if they didn't mean anything to me at all? Maybe he didn't know them well - but the brutal cuts on their bodies told me an almost different story. The way Leland had multiple slashes across his chest and stomach, Virginia's skull being cracked open with blunt force, Sonny being stabbed deeply in the stomach, Ana being stabbed in her head and stomach multiple times, Connie having slashes across her chest and stomach, Julie's throat slit and stabbed multiple times, and now Danny's recent fate from seconds prior. All of their deaths seemed personal - as if he truly knew them and wanted some form of revenge. Johnny's boots slid across the blood as he fully faced me - a slight smirk forming on his face.

I tried to continue; "Johnny, what did you-"

"Do?" Johnny finished for me. His voice was deeper than normal but still holding his thick southern drawl. I froze in place, my body against the table I had knocked into moments prior, as Johnny let out a low chuckle. It vibrated off the cement walls of the large room of the basement. His eyes trailed over my body - quickly examining me - as if I was some extravagant meal placed right in front of him. The pupils of his eyes dilated as he stared at me hungrily, his tongue collecting the drop of blood that was about to fall from his bottom lip. His leg extended forward before his boot gently sloshed against the blood again, taking a step towards me. My nails gripped onto the wooden table as I noticed him slowly inching his way closer to me.

He let out another chuckle, "What? Are you scared, sunshine? Scared of some big bad wolf comin' after you?"

I shook my head at him, "No."

"No?" He challenged, the smirk growing wider on his face, before he took another step in my direction, "You're tremblin' like... a scared little sheep." It was whenever he pointed that out is when I realized he was right. My legs trembled slightly as my feet slid across the blood beneath me, struggling to keep me upright. My entire body shook lightly in fear as my knuckles whitened while holding onto the table for support. My scared and teary eyes shifted back and forth between the bodies of people I knew before going back to his sinister smile. Johnny noticed my shifting gaze and looked down at the pile with a sarcastic gasp, "Oh... all this? Sorry, sunshine. I just got hungry and couldn't help myself."

I remained silent as a little whimper came out of my trembling bottom lip. The tears began to roll as I looked down at Danny - his blue eyes now glazed over as life was completely drained from them. Johnny gaze went back down to Danny where he had a scowl spread across his face, clearly disgusted and repulsed by the man who I've loved for the past year and a half.

"Him?" His nostrils flared in annoyance for a second before the sinister smirk came back, "Yeah... him. I can't lie, he was the most satisfying. Just to see the fuckin' lights go out in his eyes and knowin' you're all mine now. That he won't come between us anymore like before. He made it soooo easy. I thought he'd put up a bigger fight but he's weaker than I thought he'd be. Such a shame, though. If I knew that, I would've ended him sooner instead of second to last."

"Whose last?" I dared to ask. Johnny's gaze lifted from Danny's dead body as his eyes looked back into mine. Johnny's grip only tightened on his knife as he took another step towards me. He licked his lower lip, collecting some of the blood that he didn't capture before, as his shoulders broadened with his head tucked slightly downwards. My eyes widened slightly as he eyed me up and down, the look of hunger returning back into his gaze, as his body language looked like he was ready for an upcoming fight. I shook my head as another whimper rolled off my tongue - a wordless plea of wanting him to stop. Johnny let out a chuckle as he noticed how quickly I answered my own question.

I was the last one.

"One." Johnny's voice was low and threatening with a slight spark of desire. His smirk grew as he noticed that I took a step back, his own stained boots shuffling against the large puddle of blood beneath us. My grip slipped off the table as I grabbed a large hook that was suspended from the basement's ceiling before using what strength I had to throw it at Johnny. It swung from the ceiling and towards the sinister and blood soaked man. Johnny caught it with one hand, refusing to let the hook hit him in the face, before ripping the entire hook off the hinges. Metal scattered and rained down around him as he tossed it to the side.

"Two." Johnny counted, his voice a bit louder and growing annoyed with my weak attempt to distract him. Johnny's head lowered slightly as he continued to make eye contact with me - his pace picking up slightly. By now I was almost against the door where the bloodied bathroom was. I put my arm behind me, fumbling around until I grabbed the door knob. Johnny twirled the knife in his hand before his grip tightened around it once more - blood dripping out of his mouth and onto the floor still. I shook my head as my few tears turned into a sob. Johnny slightly smiled, his reddened teeth showing, as he nodded back - mocking me.

"THREE!"

Johnny yelled before lunging towards me with his knife. I was able to quickly but briefly dodge it. His blade went into the decaying wooden panels on the wall beside me as I ducked down - crouching down at his feet before sliding to the side and opening the wooden door. As I pushed my way through it, Johnny was struggling to pull the knife out of the wall. He used all his strength as his teeth bared, his glare shifting between me and the knife, as a low angry growl ripped through his throat. I made my way through the blood bathroom and into the rear basement - the same room with the lopsided clock and where I met Virginia. I hopped onto the platform with the metal door - my trembling hands pulling on the handle. Thanks to the adrenaline, I didn't feel any pain or discomfort in my hand. I slid the metal door open and turned around to shut it - only seeing Johnny right behind me. My eyes widened in fear before I slammed the door in front of his face and locked it. Johnny let out a loud and angry yell - one that ripped throughout the entire basement - before it caused a shiver to run down my spine. Johnny's boots began to kick the door aggressively - his prints leaving dents on the fragile metal. I stumbled over my own feet, falling slightly, before catching myself and rushing up the wooden staircase. My bare feet creaked against the rotted boards as Johnny's kicks became louder and more violent.

BOOM!

A loud sound echoed as I flinched violently, looking over my shoulder. The metal went flying and hit the wall opposite of it before sliding onto the ground, shaking back and forth from the recent assault it went through. Johnny stepped over it as he reached the bottom of the staircase and stared up at my trembling body. One of his bloodied hands held onto the wall as he tried to regain his composure. His chest and shoulders heaved violently as his mouth hung open, his nostrils flaring, trying to catch his breath through the intense anger he had. Johnny's hand slowly slid off the wall, his hand print smearing down until his hand rested at his side again.

"Run." His bloodied drool leaking onto the floor beneath him, "FUCKIN' RUN!"

He didn't need to tell me twice. I turned back around and as I tried to escape him. Johnny jumped a few steps, purposely falling and lunging forward to get close to me. He stabbed the knife into the bottom of my foot - a sharp and piercing pain ripping throughout the entire struck area. I let out a loud cry as he dug the knife in deeper - his smirk turning into a full blown sinister smile. He let out a low chuckle as he twisted the blade into my exposed and now bleeding foot. I squeezed my eyes shut as the pain was growing too intense - my breathing increasing as did my adrenaline. I raised my good foot into the air before using what strength I had - kicking him in the face. Johnny let out a pained grunt as he stumbled backwards before going down a few stairs - his knife exiting my foot and falling with him.

I pushed myself up with my good foot before my bad one, wincing in pain, before running to the back porch door. I couldn't run as fast as I did, but as fast as my now injured foot would let me. I swung the back door open and looked around at my surroundings. The entire outside of the house was coated in a dark red color like the basement and main level of the house of horrors. The sky was dark as the blood Johnny had collected around him, the sun flowers drowned out in the colors too, as a large full moon shone in the distance. The yellow moon was larger and abnormally closer than usual. However, the yellow, orange, and red glowing hue's made it almost hypnotizing. I almost couldn't tear my eyes away as I admired its beauty.

A full blood moon.

It wasn't until the back porch door swung open, alerting me back to the twisted reality. Johnny stretched and extended his jaw, trying to get rid of the sensation of my kick to his face. His dark eyes glared daggers at me - which if were real would have killed me immediately. I looked ahead of me at the huge sunflower field. Wait, this wasn't here before. A smaller portion of the flowers were normally scattered out and you could normally see the back - where the abandoned cars were. But now, in front of me, was nothing but a never ending sunflower field.

I began to push my way through the flowers as I heard Johnny's heavy boots following shortly behind me. The sunflowers knocked back into me as I continued to run as fast as I could. A whimper left my lip due to the growing pain of my foot along with the never-ending field. The flowers swayed back and forth, almost dancing around and mocking me, and repeatedly showing up. I couldn't escape them! I looked behind me, seeing the back porch of the house was almost a distant memory. As I continued to run, it became smaller and smaller. However, the sound of Johnny's boots became louder by each second. The flowers behind me swayed violently as something - or someone - was chasing me still. It wasn't long that I saw that knife slice through some of the flowers, cutting them down and making a clearer path to chase after me. Johnny's face poked through the flowers before it got closer and closer - him inches away from me now. I continued to push forward, refusing to let him get any closer to me, although it felt like my entire foot and leg could give out any second.

Suddenly, I saw a house. I smiled wide as a breathless laugh of relief escaped my lips, giving me some type of hope. I continued to throw the sunflowers side to side, clearing a path for myself, as I ran past them. Johnny was still hot on my trail. With one final burst of energy, I pushed through the rest of the flowers. The tips of Johnny's fingertips touched the ends of my hair - wanting to reach out and grab me backwards - but I was quicker than him. I went up the front few steps of the porch and swung the front door open. Johnny rushed up behind me but collided with the door as I slammed it in his face. He began to pound on the wooden white door - which was now stained red with the bright moon. When I turned around, I was facing a long hallway. On the right was a staircase going up, the walls around me were rotting and peeling due to the old wallpaper, and skulls of different animals hung from at the very back of the hallway. It was only then that I realized that I was back in the house I was trapped in - making a huge loop.

But how?! I escaped through the back porch and only ran forward. Shouldn't I end up in the country or maybe a town nearby?! How the hell did I end up making a huge circle and back on the front porch? I pushed the thought back as I heard a pair of keys jingling violently into the front door knob. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest due to the recent chase - that clearly wasn't over - along with the sound of the keys. The door swung open and Johnny stood right in the door frame, ready for more. I continued to run down the hall, my bloody footprints leaving a trail behind me. I went down the hall, stopping at the door the lead into the dining room was, and entered. Grandpa was nowhere to be seen in his chair as the entire dining room was empty. I continued my journey into the kitchen where I slipped on the cold linoleum tiles as my bloody foot failed me for a second. I grabbed onto the counter before turning around and locking the kitchen door behind me - the one that connected to the dining room.

But, that didn't matter.

In an instant, the fragile wooden door broke open. Johnny had used his entire weight into shoving it open with his shoulder. The dust, debris, and wooden chunks flew into the air around us as he slowly continued to walk towards me - unphased by how aggressive he broke the door. My feet slipped slightly again on my own pool of blood as I ran into the gore room. That's where Johnny finally caught me. His strong hand gripped the pack of my hair as he pulled me to the center of the room. Dead animals and human body parts hung up around us - reminding me everything he's capable of. I let out a loud cry as he yanked my hair down, the strands coming out of my scalp as he forced me to look up at him. My scared and teary hazel eyes met his dark brown menacing ones. His pupils were still dilated - looking at me like he was going to eat me alive. I shook my head in fear as I pushed against his chest - desperately trying to get out of his strong grasp. He slid the knife up the side of my hip, going up my stomach, the middle of my breasts, and resting the tip of the steel against the bottom of my chin. He gently pushed my chin up with it, his grip still forcing me to look him in the eyes.

He let out a low sinister laugh, "Looks like I got you now, lil sheep."

"Please... don't..." I whispered out against his rough touch. Johnny's gaze and grip didn't budge as he shook his head, his eyes examining over my face as he hungrily licked his stained lips.

"I warned you to listen to my rules but you decided not to." Johnny whispered as his lips gently brushed against mine. The smell of the blood and sweat on his breath made me want to gag. I held it back and my lip trembled in fear. His smirk never leaving as he was enjoying the show and chase I had unintentionally given him. Johnny's stained teeth shined as the blood glistened off his mouth and neck, the droplets still slowly inching down his muscular frame. His voice was low as he continued; "Final rule: I always get what I fuckin' want."

I gathered up what strength I had left and pushed Johnny off of me. His knife gently scraped across the bottom of my chin, causing a very thin cut to start bleeding. Johnny stumbled backwards before lunging forward again. His hands wrapped around my neck as he squeezed tightly - causing the air to tighten around me. My hands went to his wrists, clawing at them, before smacking his forearms and scraping my nails down - collecting his previous victim's blood underneath them. I moved against his grasp, trying to escape, but his grip on my throat only got tighter and tighter. My face started to have a stinging sensation as he continued to suffocate me and my neck began to hurt as his own nails marked their territory within my skin.

Johnny's right hand moved away from my neck as his grip tightened on the knife. The steel blade entered my lower stomach by an extreme force. He thrusted the knife deep into my stomach, twisting it slightly. His eyes were still glued to my own - enjoying seeing the shock and pain written all over me. The knife cut deep into my intestines as I felt the blade pierce and saw its way through. Blood began to pour out of me and into that area - feeling heavier by the passing second. I gasped out as I hunched slightly forward, looking up at him in disbelief. Why was he doing this to me?! Why did he do that to my friends? He said he loved me so what changed?

Johnny pulled the knife out again before repeating the same action. He used all his strength to stab me again in the same area. He twisted the knife deeper which caused me to let out a gasped yell - blood continuing to pour out of my stomach more. Johnny slid the knife into his back pocket before his hands connected to my throat again. As my injured foot and stomach began to take a toll on me, I began to sink down onto my knees slowly. Johnny followed as his grip never left my fragile little neck. I whimpered against his touch as my nails continued to slowly scrape down his arms. I was becoming weaker and weaker - my body giving out on it's own as Johnny helped by suffocating me again. His eyes widened as did his smile - enjoying seeing me helpless beneath him. I whimpered as his grip tightened once more.

Then, a loud cracking sound ripped through the air as my neck turned in an uncomfortable position.

Everything went black.

-.-

Air came rushing back into my lungs as I raised up rapidly in the rusty bed. My chest heaved as slow tears began to run down my face. I took a look around at my surroundings - trying to regain my composure. My bottom lip trembled as did the rest of my body - scared of that reality coming to life. As my wide, teary, and terrified eyes scanned the room around me - I noticed the light with the leather lampshade. I focused on the warm light, it glowing a regular and natural yellow hue compared to the harsh red one. Sweat rolled down my forehead as the dirty blanket clung desperately onto my damp body.

It was just a nightmare. That didn't happen. Danny, Ana, and everyone else is safe - except Virginia. I'm safe and back in the room I'm too familiar with by now.

I slowly leaned back until my back hit the bed and my damp hair hit the makeshift pillow. I swallowed hard before taking a deep breath - closing my eyes - and slowly letting it out. God, that dream felt too real. I could feel every emotion and physical discomfort as if I was actually living it. When I closed my eyes, I could see a flash of Johnny's bloodied smirk enter my imagination. I shot my eyes back open, a cold chill running down my sweaty and trembling body. I was probably going to be up for the next several hours. I wish I knew what time it was. It could've been morning, night, or in the middle of the night. An actual clock would've been considerate. The only thing I have to go on is the several hours between Johnny and others visiting me - figuring they had gone to bed.

Suddenly, something heavy dropped around my waist. I froze in place - scared to see what or who it was. I know it was just a dream but I couldn't help but be on edge now. I held my breath before turning my head to my right, facing whatever it was that was gently pinning me down.

Next to my startled self was Johnny. He had the blanket wrapped around him too, wearing his jeans and ripped muscle shirt. On the floor were his boots and his knife right next to them but out of my reach. Johnny's normally hardened expression was soft and delicate, his eyes closed, as he was in a deep sleep. His brown slicked back hair was now messy and hung loosely in front of his face, shielding his forehead and brows. But what startled me in the first place was his arm. It was wrapped around my waist loosely as he held me close to him. His fingertips gently touched the skin between the top of my jeans and bottom of my shirt - providing me with an unintentional comfort against the hellish nightmare I had woken up from. It's almost funny how he was like a predator within the dream. However, in a weirdly tamer reality, he was laying beside me - most likely having a dream of his own.

After Johnny confessed he loved me, I ended up kissing him back. I don't know what has come over me. Maybe it was the wave of emotions I had experienced prior to him confessing. Maybe I wasn't thinking straight. Maybe... maybe it was just what I needed. To be loved, comforted, reassured, and be in the embrace of someone that - and I will admit - I was starting to have a deep connection with. Did I like him? Yes, he's very attractive. Did I love him? I don't know.

My fingertips gently danced across his scarred skin, his expression remaining soft and delicate as he didn't notice. I smiled softly before pushing away the brown strands of hair. I slicked them back before they came loose again - falling back into the place they rested before. Even his own damn hair was stubborn. I kissed his forehead before I became more relaxed with him holding me. My eyes scanned all over his features, taking in his beauty, before falling asleep once more.

This time, I didn't have any nightmares.