Within the Demon's Grip: Part One

Chapter Three

Natalia lunged for her car door. She had just got off work, and it was raining. Hard. Of course she didn't have an umbrella. She didn't even have her jacket with her. Sheets of rain drenched her all the way through. When she finally managed to unlock the door and get inside, she was shivering, and had to turn the heater on. Full blast.

"Damn, stupid jacket!" she cursed, like it was the jacket's fault she had left it behind at the apartment. Well, little good it would have done in such a downpour, anyway. She'd just have extra clothes to throw in the dryer later. She needed to buy an umbrella, but she kept putting it off, telling herself she'd pick one up next time she ran to the store; then it wouldn't rain for a while, and it would just seem unimportant, so she'd put it off again.

"Next time," she seethed, shivering as the heat hit her wet clothes. "I have to remember."

A film of rain distorted her view of the road, so Natalia flicked on the windshield-wipers. Carefully, she pulled out of the parking lot.

By the time her clothes had dried to just a barely-dampened state, she was driving through a densely-forested area. Because of the rain, she drove extra slow. One of Sandra's friends had actually wrecked going around a curve in the rain, so she always tried to be careful. If there were no other vehicles around she would sometimes lower her speed to a crawling pace when taking curves. It was better to be safe than sorry. She didn't want to end up in an upturned car, with glass down her throat.

Just as she was mentally applauding herself for her superior driving skills, a figure came sprinting out of the trees, and nearly collided with her car. Natalia stomped the brake, lurching forward; the seat-belt strained against her chest. The woman froze in Natalia's headlights, her eyes like big, blue marbles. She looked to be around Natalia's age with shoulder length dark hair plastered wetly against her head and neck.

Natalia rolled down the window, bewildered. A shock of cold, moist air struck her in the face. "Are you crazy?" she shouted against the rain. "You could've been killed!"

Water drained down the woman's face in tiny rivulets, rolling off her nose. She blinked idly, almost like she was about to fall asleep. She stumbled. Natalia unbuckled her seat-belt, and pushed open the door. She walked to the strange woman apprehensively. Something about her didn't look right. Natalia only hurried her pace when the rain became too much to bear (also she didn't want to stay parked in the middle of the road).

"What the hell were you doing running across the road?" Natalia asked, shivering.

All at once, her clothes were drenched again. It doesn't take long in this downpour, Natalia reasoned, annoyed.

The woman's long-sleeved dress was practically pasted to her body. Natalia couldn't decide if the color was dark gray or navy blue. It just looked dark.

Slowly, the woman's eyes filled with comprehension, and she looked afraid. "I-I don't know," she stammered, her lips quivering. She jerked around as if looking for something. Or someone. Natalia followed the woman's gaze, finding nothing but the dense, black shadows of trees.

"Is something out there? Chasing you?" Natalia asked.

The woman's face filled with even more fear. She sounded hysterical when she repeated, "I don't know!"

In the glare of Natalia's headlights, the woman's skin looked unnaturally pale, almost sickly. Her blue eyes looked so large, so wide, like they might pop out of her sockets and roll down her cheeks.

Natalia gestured to her car, impatient. "W-Well, no use standing around here in the rain. Get in. I'll take you to the hospital."

The woman nodded slowly at first, and then faster. "Y-Yes. Yes, thank you." She gave a quick glance around before letting Natalia lead her to the passanger side door. It took her a moment to climb inside, and Natalia briefly thought of giving her a quick shove. Then the woman got inside, and Natalia resumed her place behind the wheel, starting the car. The heater permeated the small enclosure, and both women sighed.