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

That was all I could see, all that was playing in my head like a broken record as my eyes drooped lower and lower, heavier than the inevitability I was sitting here waiting for.

My eyelids finally won, slipping shut for what felt like only a second before my head tilted forward, slipping off the support of my wrist.

The sudden jolt of weightlessness startled me awake, my breath hitching as my eyes snapped open. My heart pounded in the brief moment of confusion before I exhaled heavily, rubbing at my face.

A yawn pushed its way out as I stretched my back, trying to sit up properly on the couch near the glass doors—where I had been stationed for what felt like an eternity.

The night had fully taken over hours ago.

I must have taken a hundred tiny power naps by now, microseconds of stolen sleep that left me feeling even more drained than before.

My gaze flickered to the tree line, where nothing seemed to stir, not even the wind.

I honestly didn't know anymore. Was I waiting for something to happen? Or was I hoping nothing would?

All I knew was that I couldn't be caught off guard if he decided to pay another visit.

That was the whole point of this, right? To be prepared?

If he showed up, I wanted to see for myself whether my protective circle of biblical relics and Wiccan charms actually worked—or if I had just wasted $300 on a scam artist who saw my desperation a mile away.

But the man was so old I thought he was half blind.

Instinctively, my fingers curled around the vial of holy water dangling from my neck, squeezing it as though it could transfer its power into me.&#x20;

If all else failed, at least I had this. At least I could burn him with this before he got too close.

I let out another yawn, so wide my jaw cracked. It was the kind of yawn that left my face slack, my eyes watering.

I could only imagine how ridiculous I looked, but who cared? I was alone.

I shifted, trying to force my posture into something more respectable, but no matter how I adjusted, I kept slumping back down like a sack of potatoes propped against the wall.

Maybe if I closed my eyes for just a minute, I could stay up for the next five. That was the strategy I had been using for the past hour—sacrifice one minute to get the next five with a semi-functional brain.

Not the best tactic I admit, but then again, I never claimed to have won a game of chess in my life.

I sighed, leaning my head back against the couch. It was soft. Comfortable.

My heavy limbs melted into the cushions as my breathing slowed. Just one minute, I told myself. Just one.

An annoying creaking sound stirred me awake. I opened my eyes, but nothing really came into focus. God, I was so sleepy.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to force my vision to adjust. Where am I? What was I doing before this? What day is it?

It felt like I had been asleep for hours, my mind thick with grogginess. I reached for my phone in my back pocket, my fingers fumbling around until I finally pulled it out.

The bright screen illuminated my face in the darkness, and my stomach dropped.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. Why does that feel… wrong? I stared at the numbers, my brain sluggishly trying to piece something together.

It was eight o'clock the last time I checked. I was supposed to nap for just a minute—one tiny minute. How the hell did it turn into four hours?

I was scouting through the windows. On a look out. I was trying to stay vigilante, prepared for the attack, for him.

Panic sharpened my senses. My eyes darted away from the screen, adjusting to the dim surroundings, and that's when the dread truly set in.

108. Biblical Relics and Wiccan Charms