The Past

 I walked into the psychiatrist's office. Dr. Kim was a pretty Chinese woman with long black hair and olive skin. Her kind smile welcomed me. I sat in the chair across from her, a table with a candy bowl between us. She crossed her legs.

 "Sergeant Cross told me you've been stressed about a recent case?"

 "An ongoing case."

 "Yes, well, why don't you tell me about that?"

 "People, mostly women, were kidnapped and drained of their blood in droves. I've been following this case for months. It isn't over yet," I leaned against the armrest and laid my heavy head in my hand, "I thought I saved one. The guy managed to abduct me. I killed him and one of his accomplices but the other got away."

 "How do you think that's affected you?"

 I paused to think, "I'm restless, I can't sleep, I've been touchy. I've been ordered to take a break for a week."

 "Your father told me he worries you'll suffer a nervous breakdown," She said. When I nodded she asked, "What are your thoughts on that?"

 "I'm thirty. I've been a detective for five years. I was thrown into the deep end from day one. I can do this."

 "To me it seems more like that's a reason you need a break."

 "Really?" I asked. I took a deep breath and shoved my feet against the floor, collecting myself, "This case should have gone over my head but no one believes that a serial killer is doing this. No one is reporting on it despite the fact that it's the worst case I've even heard of. Tim is weighing me down and I'm the only person that sees the weight of this."

 "So you feel alone."

 "I am alone. I'm so tired of being alone," When my voice broke I rubbed my face, hiding my eyes in my palm.

 "Let's change the subject for a moment; tell me about your past."

 "Like what?"

 "Anything you find relevant."

 "My parents died when I was three and I was sent into foster care. I bounced around for a bit until I was sixteen and I ran away. I met someone that paid me to do their dirty work. I guess you could call me an assassin. That's how I met my dad. He arrested me when I was seventeen. Oddly enough he caught me for killing in self defense. I was also a minor so obviously no jail time. He took me under his wing, helped me finish school, and I joined the force because of him."

 "When you think of your time living on the streets what feelings do you have?"

 "Frustration mostly."

 "In what sense?"

 "I didn't like hurting people. I wanted a way out. I wish I could go back and shake myself and scream that I don't have to wait for someone to save me."

 She nodded and wrote something down in her notebook. She then returned her attention to me. I'd gone to doctors before that made me feel like something under a microscope but Dr. Kim looked at me like she understood, like she genuinely wanted to guide me.

 "When you go home tonight I want you to write a letter to yourself. I want you to do that every day. Do you think you can do that?"

 I nodded. The rest of the appointment was uneventful. When I left her office I immediately received a call from Tim.

 "Hazelwood."

 "Hey, I thought you'd appreciate an update."

 I slid into my seat and placed the phone in it's holder. I put Tim on speaker.

 "And?"

 "The killer left us a little message. We found a drifter dead in an alleyway. His eyes were gauged out and filled with red hair."

 I came to a red light and stopped to sip my water, "He was drained?"

 "Yes. His throat was torn out but that was postmortem. So was the eye extraction."

 "I've seen too much," I mused, "And not enough."

 "We're gonna get her."

 "We will."

 I pulled into my driveway. I took off my seatbelt but stayed slouched in my chair.

 "How'd the appointment go?"

 "Fine."

 "Good. Take care of yourself tonight."

 "Thanks."

 We hung up and I eased myself out of the car. I walked up the steps and unlocked the door. Upon entering the house I paused. Breathing in I could smell burnt wood. I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. I took my dagger out of it's sheath and held it to my chest as I crept into the laundry room. Finding nothing I snuck into the bedroom and checked any potential hiding spot. As I looked inside the closet I heard the floor creak. I ran to the door of the bedroom and looked outside. Slowly and silently I crept through the living room. I looked over the island separating our kitchen from the living room and saw no one. I walked down the short hall and opened the door to the bathroom, then the game room.

 I eased myself into the living room and froze when I saw 'KILLER' written on the wall in blood. My body attempted to merge with the wall. I stared at the blood. I knew it wasn't there before. I pulled out my phone and blindly dialed my husband as I watched my surroundings.

 "Don't come home," I ordered once he picked up, then I hung up and called Tim, "She broke into my home. Get here. Now."

 I hung up and shoved the phone in my pocket. I tiptoed out the back door and scanned the backyard. It was fenced in with a large tree in the back right corner. The patio wasn't able to be used to hide under.

 I put the blade between my teeth and hopped onto the railing and used it to pull myself onto the roof. Carefully I walked forward until I got to the other side. I jumped back down to the front yard as Tim slid into the driveway. He stepped out of the car and gave me an odd look.

 "She escaped by jumping on the roof and running the opposite way the night I was taken."

 He nodded in understanding and pulled out his gun, "Why do you have a knife?"

 "I shot the male. He kept coming. It was probably drugs."

 "I don't think a knife would stop her then."

 "It's for mental security."

 The look he gave me was one of utter confusion and I knew I made less than no sense but he couldn't argue. Instead he followed me into the house.

 My breath hitched at the sight of a corpse laid behind the couch. I wasted no time to throw open the door to each room looking for the woman until I came to the bathroom. I deflated when I saw that the window was open but only for a second. My gaze shifted to the shower curtain that had been stained with blood. Clutching the dagger tightly enough for my knuckles to turn white I grabbed the plastic above the stain. I shoved the curtain open and I saw her. 

 Her long red hair fell to her hips. Her eyes were that of a serpent. She had a small nose and chin. She wore the same nightgown she had the last time I'd seen her but it was stained with blood in all states of decay. It was torn to ribbons that hung lazily from her form.

 I felt Tim begin to brush past me but my arm shot out to shove him back. It hit me what I'd done; I needed backup but looking at her now I knew that all he'd be was another victim. How could I have been so stupid?

 "Wait outside."

 "Haze-"

 "Now!" I snapped.

 I took a step toward her and her arm shot out to grab my throat. She shoved me against the wall and immediately I could see stars. I raised my arm to stab hers only for her to block it with her free hand and so I shoved her back enough to knee her in the sternum. From the corner of my eye I could see Tim running back in to secure a cuff around her wrist but she shot her leg out and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into the sink. It gave me enough leverage to sink my blade into her arm. I heard shots fire and Tim's shock at her regeneration. 

 Suddenly I heard the front door swing open and with the fear that my husband had entered the house I punched the woman with my left fist, disorienting her before I grabbed her throat and pulled her toward me to sink my knife into her right shoulder blade, finally immobilizing her before I felt the sting of her fangs. My dagger clattered to the floor and I grabbed her jaw in one hand and her forehead in the other, forcing her mouth open and as far away as I could get it.

 Her gnashing teeth were torn from me and I could see Atrox atop the woman. She growled as he lowered to take her throat in his mouth and knowing she was as good as dead I ran to Tim. He'd gone as white as a sheet. His eyes bugged and his mouth hung open in shock. I helped him wrap his arm around my shoulders and I helped him stagger out of the bathroom to lay on the couch. I called an ambulance and ran back into the bathroom.

 Atrox stood over the headless body in the shower. I bent to retrieve my knife and slide it back into the sheath. Looking up at Atrox my heart broke. I could see the pain and guilt in his eyes. His face had been slathered with blood far too dark to be human. It dripped onto his chest. Still he rushed me and bent to pull me into a tight hug. Before I realized what I was doing I wrapped my arms around him. Naturally my head rested against his shoulder. It didn't at all feel like the first time I'd hugged him. When he pulled away he cupped my cheek in his cold, smooth hand, and my heart stopped. He leaned in and pressed his lips to my forehead. At the sound of the sirens he turned and leapt out the window, leaving me with too many questions and far too many feelings.