AkumaQuil

He inches closer, a single finger roaming her heated skin. Breath mingling with breath. 

A loud bang vibrates through the room, so thunderous as if god himself was furious.

Slowly he looks up staring out the large glass windows to the backyard, 

"You have a visitor." His rasps calmly.

"Who?" Rose quickly fires, feigning ignorance. She knew well enough who it was. Her nightly visitor has arrived.

Surprising, He only visits when she is alone.

"One who comes out at night. Lurking in the shadows, in the darkness... just like its intensions."

He looks down still leaning on top her, once more pinning her with his intense gaze.

"Are you afraid?" His voice dead serious, eyes going back to look outside.

And Rose lied, "No." 

But is it a lie when her fear was never really rooting enough to make her run the other way but instead often getting mixed with exhilaration.

"You should be."  

He leaves her staring wide eyed on the sofa and goes to stand before the glass panes.

"It's not happy to see me here. I can see the raging pits of fire in it's gaze. Ready to burn me right where I stand." he chuckled, sounding most sinister, "It definitely wants to rip my innards out."

"You should take off your shirt." He suggests casually.

"Excuse me?"

"Let's see if it riles him up even more to shatter instead of just slamming the windows like a wuss." He rouses under his breath, his excited provocative tone not escaping Rose's attention. 

What the hell is he up to?

"This isn't funny." Rose sputters out, standing up from the couch.

"I'm not trying to be." He faces her again, sporting a deadpan face. 

"Whatever. You think I'm one of your stupid fan girls to take my shirt off just because you want to rile someone up? Besides, there's probably no one outside and you're only making it up to see my boobs like a pervert."

His eyes roams her from top to bottom, there was distaste evident in his gaze.

"When he comes at night and leaves a little something for you, maybe then you take off your clothes for him... like a slut." Rome stared into her eyes with nothing behind those icy orbs to show for a lack of meaning behind his words. Because he means every single thing he says to her.

"Get. Out. Now!" Rose boomed furiously. 

"Whatever, I was leaving anyway. This has become boring." He walks towards her front door.

"Wait. How do you know he comes at night and leaves something?" her eyes narrow.

"Because I've seen it before."

"You saw him? It is a real guy?" Rose wanted to confirm, for some reason she thought otherwise.

"I never said I saw him. I've only seen it happening to someone else." 

"Whom?" 

"You don't need to know." He closes off.

"Then at least tell me what happened to her? Can I meet this person?" 

"You can't." Refusing calmly he was almost out the door when Rose pleads against hope.

"Please."

"You can't because she disappeared." Those were the words that finally did it. Brought her racing heart and buzzing head to a sudden halt. "Never to be seen again." 

 "When he stops visiting, that's when you should be most afraid." His words rang like a siren in the silence of her mind as he left.

Now she felt true fear for the first time.

==

In the embrace of her ancestral town, Rose seeks refuge from the echoes of her past. 

Little does she know, her return to her roots will awaken dormant shadows, shattering ordinary her existence. 

For when the darkness falls over the town, from the pitch black rises a shadowy figure that haunt her nights. 

In the darkness he sweeps her off the ground in terrible fear and the allure of sinister intrigue.

And once the sun comes, a man with a god awful attitude, haunts her in the broad day light. Causing her to swell with pure disdain. 

With each passing night, it draws closer to Rose, casting a chilling spell that both terrifies and exhilarates her.

Thrust into a labyrinth of mysteries can she navigate the treacherous path laid before her, or will her nightly visitor consume her whole?

He Comes At Night

The afternoon sun poured through the tree above us, casting a golden glow over the bustling space filled with the chitter of birds and the buzz of people around us. The scent of freshly cut grass wafted through the air, blending seamlessly with the dull hum of overlapping conversations.

Leo and I sat together at one of the many lunch tables dispersed in the open yard space.

A now-familiar routine we had settled into over the past week. Our unlikely friendship had grown into something comfortable, something effortless.

We were different in many ways—he, the fitness junkie who religiously stuck to his protein shakes, and me, the self-proclaimed food enthusiast who found solace in the rich, greasy goodness of burgers and fries.

It was amusing how interested he was in the things I liked, despite them being polar opposites of his own lifestyle.

He listened, asked questions, even attempted to understand my love for dark romance and spicy ramen, despite neither being his cup of tea. And honestly? It was kind of sweet.

"Hey, did you hear what happened to Mr. John?" Leo asked casually, his voice dipping just enough to pique my curiosity.

I looked up from my sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. Across from me, he twirled his protein shaker in his hands, the dark liquid inside swirling like something out of a science experiment.

No wonder he had the physique of a damn athlete—while I was devouring fries, he was practically surviving on liquid discipline.

Not that I was out of shape or anything!

People assumed I had some secret metabolism hack, but the truth was simpler—I naturally ate in small portions. My appetite was weird that way; I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much, simply because I never ate enough for it to actually affect me.

"Our biochem professor, Mr. John?" I asked, raising a brow.

Leo's voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned in, elbows resting on the table like he was about to spill some top-tier classified information.

I shook my head. "No, what happened?"

"He was fired two days ago." Leo shrugged as if it were casual gossip, but the weight of the words hung thick between us.

That explained his sudden disappearance from lectures, but still, firing a professor so abruptly? That wasn't normal. Usually, when a teacher left, there was a transition period, a notice, even a replacement lined up.

For him to be fired out of nowhere?

That meant something serious had gone down.

"Why?" I asked, my mind already racing through possible scenarios.

Leo leaned back, his signature lazy smirk creeping onto his face as he spun the shaker bottle against the table. "Ah, now that's the million-dollar question. No one really knows for sure."

I rolled my eyes. "So, you don't actually know anything."

He held up a finger dramatically. "Now, hold on, Miss Impatient. The 8Room of Rumors*—where all the juiciest campus secrets originate—has a lot to say about it."

73. The Room of Rumors (Part 1)