The killer look

[The present]

"Ana?", Oliver croaked in disbelief

"Oliver?", Ana muttered disoriented.

"What are you doing here?", they both asked simultaneously to each other.

Is this a dream?

Ana blinked at Oliver confused but instead found him scowling at her intently. She felt uncomfortable with the entire situation and how he scrunched up his face. It almost…. She couldn't be right, but it didn't seem like the Oliver she knew. He was somehow different.

She squirmed under his gaze and instantly averted direct eye contact.

Why was he angry? What did she do?

"You…", he spoke, his voice a low groan.

She didn't dare look up at him, but she knew that his eyes were still on her.

He came closer making her brain melt under his piercing gaze and she wanted to make herself smaller to the level of becoming invisible at the moment.

"You…. Spoiled… Everything….", he uttered each word in a threatening growl and Ana struggled to keep a straight face.

What was he talking about? What did she do?

He caught her chin and forced her to look up at him.

Ana finally met him eye to eye and was shocked to notice that his eyes were blood red like lasers and he seemed to be different than his usual self. This wasn't Oliver.

It looked like him but it wasn't him. She must be still dreaming, caught up in a nightmare again, because this… whatever this was, was simply impossible. He was breathing heavily, clenching his teeth and his grip on her chin tightened more.

She looked away trying to free herself from his hold but that made him constrict it even harder. She was terrified of him and had never seen him be that much angry. She tried to swat him away while he caught her hand in his, and in one fluid motion he pinned her on the ground underneath him.

Oliver was on top of her crushing her under his sheer weight, clutching both her hands with his, radiating power. Ana wriggled her slender body trying to get away but unable to move even an inch under his overwhelming strength.

"Let me go..….", she cried and struggled, her shouts falling on deaf ears.

Oliver forced her to stay down and caught both her wrists in one hand, while using the other to choke her. Ana's eyes widened in terror, her windpipe being crushed leaving her gasping for air.

She could see the hatred in Oliver's eyes. His blood red eyes were malicious, his only intent to choke and kill her instantly. She started coughing up for air, feeling helpless and trapped under his rough hands pressing down on her.

Oliver went all in to finish her off when he felt a crushing pain spreading through his chest. He released Ana's hands and clutched his chest unable to bear the pain. It was overbearing and killing him from inside but he refused to let her go.

He concentrated on the task at hand despite his ache and choked her with brutal force with both his hands now hoping to get the work done quicker.

Why wasn't she dying yet?

She grappled with his hands, trying to free herself, her eyes going wider until Oliver could see the soul leaving her body right there in front of him. Just a few more seconds, he thought. But before he could finish that thought, the ache which started from his chest spread through his entire body immobilizing him and he collapsed on top of Ana.

He released her from his claws and lost consciousness within a matter of seconds.

Ana gasped for oxygen and opened her mouth widely to take in all she could possibly breathe in one go. Her throat was raspy and throbbing from where Oliver hurt her and she took another gulp of air greedily. She touched her neck to soothe the pain and tried to push the deadweight away from her.

He was too heavy for her to move, so she remained pinned down under him. She brushed off the tears which she didn't realize she had and tried again desperately to escape from him.

She hated Oliver but she never thought he was capable of killing someone brutally like that. If whatever happened to him didn't happen, and he had put pressure on her for a few more seconds, she would've really died. She felt glad that he became unconscious.

What is this place? What is this overwhelming feeling? Why is my boss trying to kill me?

Was he even her boss? She remembered how his eyes changed into a blood red colour almost like fire as if he was possessed. The thought made Ana tremble.

She had a lot many questions with no answers. She stayed down for a minute until her body was slowly getting paralyzed under his crushing weight. She was feeling giddy and the pendant radiated again from her neck. Why was it radiating again? What was that pendant?

Weird thought swirled through her mind. She was falling into oblivion but forced herself to stay awake in fear of being killed again by Oliver. But, she was unable to control herself and slowly lost consciousness along with him.