Six Second Stare

Frozen With Shock

The next day at work, I saw the woman again. We accidently met gazes. The dread rose through my throat and up to my head. Her smile was more apparent. The next day, the same happened. And then again the next day. This went on for the rest of the week, the dread grew more and more every time. Her smile grew more and more every time. I named her Witch. I'm pretty sure she's a witch, so I call her Witch. Creative, I know. Witch came by every day. I was really starting to freak out. It felt like everywhere I went, Witch followed. Shopping, class, lounging, even in the shower. She was there. My gut sat uneasy. My head pounded. And my heart hurt. I saw the doctor, but she said nothing was wrong.
I bought so much ibuprofen, I was going broke. Tired, in pain, and confused. I wasn't doing too good.
I was working at Coffee and Cats one day, and Witch walked by. Our eyes met. I started to count how long we locked eyes. 1..2... Witch smiled. 4.. My stomach flipped. 5..6.. She walked away.
6 seconds. Two seconds longer than usual. I felt even more off than usual.
I finished up at work, and rode the bus home.
"Lamia? Are you alright?" Allison asked when I walked in.
"I don't know.. I might just be tired." I poured myself a cup of water.
"Are you sure? You've been like this for a while." Allison grabbed me my bottle of ibuprofen and tossed it to me. I caught it.
"Thanks Ally." I sighed. I popped my pills. I walked to the door and walked outside onto the balcony. The air was dry and colder than usual. I took a deep breath. Another. And another. The air suddenly smelled of pine.
"Hello." A low voice mused. I whipped around my head. There before me, with a sly grin on her face, was Witch. Her cold eyes were glowing in the darkness.
"Agh! What the hell?!" I screamed. Her hand was on my shoulder in an instant. The dread was like a blazing fire. Witch snickered.
"Hush, don't wanna make a scene." Her voice was laughing.
"Who are you?" I said quietly, almost a whisper. Something about her made me listen. Her teeth extended out of her mouth. Fangs. In an instant, I was pinned to the ground. I screamed, my eyes glues shut. A sharp pain on my neck followed by the feeling of tongue on skin. Was she licking me? She started sucking, drinking my blood. I sat there, frozen with shock. Her nails dug into my skin. She got off of me.
"You.." My hand flew to my neck, I felt a few puncture wounds. She looked down at me, my blood stained her lips and chin. She smirked. Our eyes locked for what seemed like hours. Her glowing eyes. I jumped back, trying to keep distance between us. She started laughing, quietly. She fell backwards over the railing, her feet kicking up in the air. She fell. I waited for the slap of skin on concrete, but it never came. Instead, the flapping of wings. A large, jet black bat flew away from the dorms.