Forbidden Fangs

Chapter 2

“Erik!” Indecision tore Kylie in two. She clutched desperately at the thin fabric of her sweater and took a step forwards, and then a step back. Erik's screams continued a moment and then cut off with startling suddenness. “H-hello?” Kylie called weakly. The blinding light shut off and the heavy vibration resumed, slowly fading to nothingness. “Erik?” Kylie breathed, feeling dizzy. She had never been so afraid in her life, and yet something compelled her to go after the man. She had only known him a few weeks, but she felt a compulsion to make sure he was okay. After all, she couldn't just drive away and leave him out there…

She edged across the clearing by the pale light of the moon, entering the deep shadows on the far side with a sinking feeling of dread. She could not see, and could not hear anything; no breathing, no talking, no sign of-

Kylie squeaked as her foot collided with something heavy and she nearly stumbled. She fell to her knees and felt around with both hands, finding Erik's warm form on the ground.

“Erik, are you alright? Get up!” She urged. And then her hands landed on his neck, in a pool of something hot and sticky. She gasped and straightened up, stumbling back into the middle of the meadow and looking at her hands. Blood dripped from her fingers, looking almost black in the silvery moonlight.

A violent scream, unbidden and unwanted, tore itself from the woman's throat. Every fiber of her being wanted to race back to her car and lock the doors, but she knew she needed to help. She dashed to Erik's side and put her fingers back on his neck, searching for a pulse. Instead her fingers felt two distinct, deep puncture marks, from which blood still flowed. She could not feel a heartbeat, and heard nothing when she leaned over and pressed her ear to his chest.

“No,” Kylie breathed, finding her feet and backing away, “no, it can't be…” she tried to look in every direction at once, searching for the unseen killer. She heard nothing and she saw nothing. It was as if the murderer had vanished into thin air.

Something broke inside her. Whatever will had been keeping her close to Erik's fallen form snapped, and she turned and sprinted across the clearing, through the forest, and down the path to the parking lot and her car. She blipped the front door open with the FOB as she approached and threw herself into the driver's seat, somewhat surprised by the sob that rose from her belly. She could not believe what she'd seen… but she was still seeing it, and feeling it, all over her hands.

She clicked on the dome light and scrabbled in her purse, making a bloody mess of the red leather and trailing crimson across the steering wheel. She fumbled her phone out of the purse and activated the emergency dialer and punched in 9-1-1. It only rang twice, but it felt like ages passed before the operator came on the line.

“Nine-one-one dispatch, how may I direct your call?”

“I need police and, and p-paramedics,” she gasped, feeling like she could barely inflate her lungs.

“Where are you miss? What's happened?” The operator sounded almost bored. Couldn't she hear the urgency in Kylie's voice?

“I'm at the picnic site off Highway 41, south of Wallgrave.” Kylie reported. “I was here with my… my…” what could she call Erik? She'd barely known him two weeks. “My boyfriend. We h-heard something and went to take a look, and now he's d-dead… there was blood everywhere.”

“What's your name? Are you safe?” The operator sounded concerned now. That was good, at least. “Police and paramedics are en route. They should be there in five minutes.”

“I'm Kylie Donaldson,” the young woman said, her voice still shaking. “I'm - I'm in my car now.”

“Lock the doors and wait for the police,” the operator advised. “Don't step outside until you see the flashing lights. They'll come and knock on your window. I'm going to stay on the line with you until they show up. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Kylie said thankfully. She didn't want to feel alone. Her brain barely processed the conversation as the operator asked her a series of meaningless questions. In her mind, she was still back in the clearing, staring at her bloody hands beneath the light of the moon. In the harsh luminescence of her Honda's dome light, the blood looked almost fake. Too red and too runny… but it was beginning to dry, and turn almost brown. She could smell it invading her nostrils, strongly enough that a coppery flavor formed at the back of her throat. She clung to her phone and the operator's voice desperately.

Who would do something like this, she found herself wondering, and why? Her heart still hammered in her chest, and her veins felt alive with adrenaline. A tight, constricted feeling enveloped her chest, squeezing her lungs and refusing to relent until flashing lights of blue and red appeared in the distance.

“The police are pulling up,” she told the operator.

“Good, you're safe now.” The woman on the other end of the line said. “I'm going to disconnect the call now. Is that alright?” Kylie drew a long shaky breath. She nodded, and then realized that the operator could not see her.

“Yes, that's fine,” she said, “thank you.” The line went dead. Kylie could see the shapes of two police officers approaching. The way their headlights silhouetted their bodies reminded her of Erik, walking like a zombie into that blinding light.

You're okay, she reminded herself, you're safe now. But Erik…

A violent sob wracked her body, and tears spilled down her cheeks as she collapsed against the steering wheel. Erik was gone forever.