Tainted | Hannibal Lecter

14. You

Madison ran as fast as she could through the woods. She held onto her shoes with one hand and her phone in the other. Her legs were covered in mud, bruises and blood. Her hands were stained and her head throbbed. But all she could focus on was getting to Hannibal's.

When she saw his house she let out a sigh of relief. She ran to his door and continuously knocked on it. She wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks, but they were only replaced with new ones. When she saw the lights inside his home turn on she felt hopeful. Maybe it'll be okay. But she soon buried that hope. How could it possibly be okay?

The door opened, revealing Hannibal in comfy clothes and messy hair. He portrayed a concerned expression. He stared at her. She was shaking, covered in all sorts of marks and couldn't catch her breath. Her head injury was what worried him the most though, it looked deep, painful.

"Madison, what has happened?"
He said quickly

She couldn't answer

"Madison?"

When she didn't say anything he took her hand and pulled her inside. The warmth made Madison realise how cold she had been. Hannibal guided her towards his living room and sat her down on a large couch. She was in shock, her eyes fixated on the wall, not being able to move. Hannibal lit the fire opposite Madison and then made his way over to her. He crouched in front of her body and took her hands into his. They were uncontrollably shaking, a mix of shock, coldness and fear.

"Madison, i need to know what has happened."

She moved her eyes onto him and opened her mouth as if to talk, but no words came out.

Hannibal stood up, knowing he needed to clean her up immediately. He had no idea what had happened, but knew that she came to him for help, and that's what he will offer.

He left the room to collect a few things. He came back with gauzes, scissors and a small tub full of warm water. He placed them on the small table in the middle of the room and knelt in front of her. Her eyes didn't move from the floor while Hannibal cleaned the wound on her forehead. He knew she must've been in excruciating pain, yet she didn't even flinch.

Once he'd cleaned the cut, he placed a large plaster over it. He then moved onto her hand. He picked up it gently and placed it under the water, watching the red blood drift off her fingers. He watched her still face and wondered what she was thinking.

"Stay with me, Madison."

There was a silence

"Where else would i go?"
She whispered

He lifted her hand from the water and dried it softly with a towel. Once the cuts were clean, he wrapped her hand with white gauze. She responded more to his touch now, flinching every now and then. It was a good sign, it meant the shock was wearing off.

"Hannibal..."
Her voice was shaking and barely a whisper, but Hannibal listened to every word she said very carefully.

"He's... dead."
She sobbed even more now, as if she'd just realised the gravity of her situation.

"Who Madison? Who's dead?"

She looked down, into his eyes.

"M-Marco."

Hannibal stopped cleaning her other hand and looked up to her in slight shock. He questioned if she had something to do with it.

He waited for her to say more, but she didn't.

"What happened?"

"The car... I was asleep, and then the car, it crashed."

Hannibal found himself feeling slightly disappointed. The idea of Madison having been responsible for someone's death excited him. Oh, how he could spin that thread.