The Devil Walks Among Us; Book l - Completed 4/21/22

Cat and Mouse

Exhausted with turmoil from her constant driving and errands, she arrived home, thankful that she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Backing her truck up to the shed, she decided to walk into the house in search of Michael, afraid that he had either gone somewhere or hid or just left, leaving her to wonder about his whereabouts in the aftermath of his Halloween killing spree.

"Michael?" She asked, entering the house through the back door, seeing no trace of him. "I'm home."

She hesitantly looked around her kitchen, seeing nothing out of the ordinary except a missing knife from her knife block. 'Oh, shit. He's hiding somewhere and he's going to kill me.' She thought. Dwelling on her curiosity, she decided to search the house of him, knowing that she should be out of his way if she knew he was hunting to fulfill his urges.

She walked hesitantly around the kitchen and into the laundry room, seeing the lid to the washer opened, which she knew she always kept shut. Looking down into the drum of the washer, she saw the familiar navy blue sheets that came from her bed. 'Was he trying to wash them?' She thought.

Furrowing her brows, she continued her search, now walking into the living room, seeing nothing misplaced, except a few empty wrappers of what looked like to be either a Hershey's Kiss or Rolo, the foil-like wrapper kneaded into a tight ball, a few of them scattered on the side table next to the recliner.

She giggled, picturing in her mind how Michael would have eaten them - either completely taking his mask off, or forcing the candy under his mask and chewing it.

Slowly walking towards her bedroom, the sheets were stripped from her bed, leaving pillows behind, but no trace of Michael himself. "Michael? I got you some things from the store. Where are you?" She said aloud, knowing she wouldn't receive a response. Sighing, she trudged towards her closet to retrieve a new set of sheets while the others would be washing, opening her closet door to reveal Michael standing in the darkness, wielding his knife above his shoulder as if he were going to swipe it at her, his other hand grabbing the base of her throat and pinning her against the wall, pleased at the frightened yelp that escaped her lips as her back collided with the wall and her hands gripped his wrist. "Michael!"

He stopped, wondering if she really thought he was going to hurt her, but oh, he liked the idea of the familiar urge to hurt the ones who showed fear of him. He loved hearing them beg for mercy, to literally squeeze the life from them by his hand around their neck, to feel their fight for survival against him, pleased at the erotic feeling of being the ultimate alpha - nothing was going to destroy him.

To him, that was a feeling that nothing could overtop.

He lowered the knife to his side, keeping his other hand at the base of her throat as his masked face was inches from hers, his breathing alone was enough to send a chill down her spine. He reached up with his free hand to pull the chain on the bulb down, darkening the closet as he raised the bottom of his mask up to rest above his nose before pressing his lips against hers, feeling her giggle against his mouth as her hands gripped the one nestled against her throat. He felt her stand on her toes, arching her back against the wall as her arms slowly snaked around his shoulders to rest at the base of his neck. He was worried that she was going to remove his mask and he didn't think before his action. He took both of her wrists in his large hands, pinning them above her head as taking his mask off was something he would do on his own, not with the help of her.

His mask was his boundary.

She was welcome to see him, but on his terms.

Putting his mask back over his lips, his free hand stayed at the hem of her shirt, the tips of his fingers under the fabric, feeling her hot skin beneath him before he slowly trailed his fingers up her torso, curious to explore her anatomy. "Michael?"