Within the Demon's Grip: Part One

Bonus Chapter 24 (Rough)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Natalia awakened with intent. The same intent which had powered her escape the first time. Of course, she wouldn't think about how that had ended up. It didn't matter. What did matter was her getting the hell out of there, and back to her apartment. She didn't know if Nosfroth would try to stop her; she didn't want to find out. All she knew was that she had to get out of there, and get out of there quickly. It couldn't wait.

Something hit the floor just as she slid out of bed.

"Shit!" she gasped, looking down, startled.

It was just clothes.

Someone had placed a change of clothes on the bed for her to wear. Catching her breath, she carefully picked up the bundle, almost as if she expected something to come skittering out of it, like a mouse or a spider. But nothing like that happened, so she allowed the material to unravel in her hands.

"A fucking dress," she grumbled, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Should have fucking guessed." He didn't know her at all, but had she really expect him to? The dress was sleeveless and white. The material felt soft, probably a cotton polyester blend. There were a couple of big buttons scattered down the front. "I guess anything's got to be better than what I'm wearing now," she sighed, removing her bloodied, tattered clothes and putting on the dress. At least it was comfortable. Well, as comfortable as a dress could be, she supposed. It fell to mid-calf, so it wasn't skimpy. That was a plus. She hated showing skin. Even arm, but she could get over that. Cleavage and leg were way worse.

Speaking of skin. She didn't know how dirty she was, but her skin felt tight in places with dried crust.

Blood. She corrected. Gayle and Eli had shot her to pieces. Nosfroth wasn't blameless, either. He had tore into her ... and bled onto her--

"Stop it," she snapped. It didn't matter. Not right now, at least. She could deal with it later. In the meantime, she had some wipes in her glove compartment. Some money too-- Well, stashed in the console. Obviously, she didn't have her wallet on her (this wasn't the first time she'd left without it, but it had definitely been the first time she'd been forced out of her apartment by weapons and threats). She liked to toss loose change and a couple of dollars into her stash each time she bought anything for emergencies.

Natalia had to laugh at that one. Her idea of an emergency had been forgetting her wallet and needing gas. Things had definitely been less complicated, that was for sure.

Hopefully she had, at least, twenty bucks. She wanted to hit the store before she went back to her apartment--

Realization hit her, making her freeze mid-step.

"Oh shit," she breathed.

What time was it? That was more important now than it had ever been, because sunlight was lethal now and she needed at least a few hours of darkness to grab a few things at the store and to get to her room safely. She would have to skip shopping if she didn't have time. But if it was too close to sunrise, she would have to cancel going anywhere at all. Now wasn't the time to be foolish. This was her life at stake.

She would have liked to get some new curtains. Something heavy and dark, but she doubted she had that kind of money stashed in her car. Maybe she could buy some online, or maybe she could go back to town after she was more settled?

She wanted to grab a couple of packs of raw meat of some sort, for the blood. She swallowed hard at the thought. It felt like there was a lump in her throat, and for a moment she even felt nauseous.

"What even is my life anymore?" she sighed, disgusted with herself.

Well, whatever it was, it was hers, and it was all she had, and more than anything (despite everything) ... she still desperately wanted to live. If the raw meat worked, at least she wouldn't be a danger ... or as dangerous to the people around her. That was what mattered the most. So, she had a new, strict diet. So, what! She could make this work.