Fangs

Chapter 5

Violet landed outside her window on her feet. Her body suddenly felt powerful and agile, as though she could do anything.

She slowly approached the cat and planned to grab it by the back of the neck. The cat looked up as she reached down. It turned and darted off, trying to disappear into the night again, but this time Violet followed, moving swiftly behind it. Violet's speed surprised her.

The cat ran down the sidewalk a few feet in front of her, stopping once to look back, before disappearing over a fence. Violet didn't try to follow it any further because she heard footsteps hitting the pavement with heavy thuds somewhere behind her. She immediately thought about the New Mexicans as she turned and strained her eyes in the dark to look for their movement. A thick patch of darkness lay between Violet and her home.

It didn't seem real to her that she was out so late. It didn't seem like her. She looked for somewhere to hide and crouched down in the alleyway, against the fence, waiting for the New Mexicans to pass. But the footsteps stopped and then led away from her before the sound disappeared completely.

Violet stood and listened. She looked in every direction, wondering if she would catch a glimpse of the men and know that Krissy's story was true. With her heart still pounding, she turned back toward her house and thought about going home and getting back into bed, but something inside her propelled her in the opposite direction.

Violet didn't understand what she was doing, exactly, but her speed was quick and her footing sure. A feeling that she was supposed to run through the night and hunt down the New Mexicans blazed in her chest, burning away any fear she felt at being out alone. She felt confident, safe, and like she could take care of herself.

As she traveled by back alleyways in her pursuit, she peeked into windows where she thought the culprits could be hiding. The rooms in the houses were each darkened and empty, and she didn't see them, but she was sure she could somehow find them. The night seemed to have an intoxicating effect on her, and she moved quickly over fences and through the brush, like a wild animal.

Violet felt sudden unease when the sounds of footsteps returned nearby. She stopped next to an iron fence ringed with tall hedges and listened. On the other side of it, she heard soft breathing as though the person was right next to her. She held her breath and fought the urge to scale the fence and find out who it was.

In her heart, Violet knew the best thing for her to do was to go home and pretend that the chase through the night was a momentary lapse of sanity. But she didn't turn back. There was no choice but to embrace her insanity as the feeling inside her pushed her toward an open gate. She went through it and saw a large swimming pool with a pool cover over it. Around the pool was a concrete patio. Stacks of deck chairs stood along the fence and were covered by a tarp for the off-season.

Violet looked for any sign of the New Mexicans, but she didn't see them. She didn't see what she thought she would.

Instead, there was only the lone figure of a girl sitting in a chair facing away from Violet. She was smoking a cigarette and seemed to be staring up at the stars. The smell of the tobacco was thick and pungent in the air. Violet wondered if the footsteps had belonged to the girl in the first place and that she'd followed her to the pool. Maybe Violet had been the stalker and the girl had been the one running away.

Violet would have laughed with relief at that moment, but she saw a shadow in front of her that made her body start to quiver and swallow hard in disbelief. It was long and hulking and it moved slowly across the pavement toward the girl, as though she was watching a scene in a horror film. Violet gasped and opened her mouth. She had to yell and warn the girl what was coming for her before it was too late, but something caught Violet's voice and caused her to hesitate. Maybe it was the shock or maybe it was the fear. But she didn't call out a warning as the shadow leaped upon the girl.

Violet turned away and braced herself. She felt lightheaded and sick from the gore she was seeing. Somehow, she forced herself to remain standing. She prayed the girl would get away, that they would run from the terrible man together. But there was screaming, terrible screaming, echoing all around. Her cries for help were sharp and clear. Violet didn't know if she should stand and fight or run and get the police.

She decided to fight because she knew the girl didn't stand a chance alone and wouldn't survive while Violet went for help. But then, just seconds after the attack had started, the screaming suddenly ended, and the girl lay lifeless.

Violet could smell the blood in the air and could taste it on her tongue.

The beast's shadow stretched across the ground, so close to Violet, and she knew she was next. She directly faced the murderer, ready to fight. Strangely, she couldn't see a body, but she could feel its terrifying presence. From the shadow's shape, she could tell it was a big man with long, ape-like arms, a large head, and protruding jaw.

The man almost didn't seem human in the way he was shaped, but Violet didn't trust her senses at that moment because her body was in deep shock. Tears slipped down her cheeks as it began to set in that someone had been murdered and lay dead on the deck chair just a few yards away. She wanted to get away but it was as though an invisible hand held her in place.

"Somebody help!" Violet screamed. "They're going to kill me!"

She thought the beast would come for her, to silence her cries for help. But it didn't. Its shadow just stood there staring at her.

Then suddenly, she sat up and found herself in her own bed. Morning light came through the window, warming her room and showing shafts of swirling dust particles. It all seemed so quiet and pleasant, even though horror pulsed through Violet's veins. It had seemed so real. She had heard the girl's cries so clearly. Violet was covered in sweat and her muscles ached. For some reason, her jaw hurt like she had a toothache.

Then the door popped open, and her mother came in with wide eyes searching the room. She looked as though there had been an intruder.

"What are you yelling at?" she asked.