Mystic Bonds: The Tale of Ross and Morrison

DARK ENCOUNTER II

Morrison's legs trembled, her mind racing to comprehend the nightmare unfolding before her. This can't be real. She forced herself to look away from the man's cold blue eyes, but they pulled her back in like an invisible force. Her gaze darted down to the girl's lifeless body sprawled on the ground, her blood staining the pavement in thick, dark pools.

Ross, still holding the girl's limp form with effortless strength, followed her eyes and chuckled darkly. "Having trouble believing what's right in front of you?" His tone was as cold as the night air, as if her horror were nothing more than a mild inconvenience to him.

Morrison shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. "This... this isn't real. You can't be serious..." She tried to back away, but her feet wouldn't move. They were glued to the ground by fear, her body betraying her desire to flee.

He dropped the girl's body carelessly to the ground, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her. Each footfall felt like a hammer against her skull, sending shockwaves through her nerves. Morrison's eyes remained fixed on the girl's lifeless form, her mind spinning in denial.

"You killed her," she said, her voice shaky but growing with a desperate edge. "Why? Why did you—"

"Why?" he repeated, cutting her off with an amused smirk. "Does it matter? She was... convenient." His gaze flickered to Morrison, cold and calculating. "Just like you."

Morrison's breath hitched as a wave of terror washed over her, her hands trembling at her sides. She wanted to scream, to run, but her body betrayed her. He closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, his hand darting out to grab her wrist. Before she could even react, he spun her around and pinned her roughly against the cold, graffiti-smeared wall.

She gasped, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. His cold breath tickled her ear as he leaned in close, speaking in a voice that sent chills down her spine. "It's funny, you humans... You think you can control your little world, but in reality, you're all so fragile."

Morrison's pulse quickened, her mind screaming at her to fight back. She squirmed, struggling to free herself, but his strength was inhuman, his grip unbreakable. His hand slowly, almost mockingly, caressed the side of her neck, tracing the path of her jugular with the pad of his thumb.

"You're trembling," he whispered, his voice a mix of amusement and cruelty. "Afraid I'll do to you what I did to her?"

Morrison's heart raced in her chest, but something inside her snapped. Her eyes darted to her pocket. She still had the scalpel she used for quick fixes while on assignments. Her hand shakily reached for it, clutching it as tightly as her trembling fingers would allow.

In a sudden, desperate move, Morrison lashed out. The scalpel grazed his chest, just enough to draw a line of blood.

Ross froze for a moment, glancing down at the small wound, and then he laughed. Not a normal laugh, but something darker, more sinister. "Feisty, aren't you?" His lips curled into a twisted smile, eyes gleaming with something like admiration. "I like that."

He yanked the scalpel from her hand, tossing it aside like a useless toy. His face was inches from hers now, his breath cold and menacing. "But it's pointless, you know. You're no match for me."

Morrison's whole body shook, a mix of anger and terror flooding her veins, but something in his gaze shifted. Ross's smile faded, replaced by a strange, thoughtful expression, as though something had just clicked in his mind.

His eyes narrowed, and without warning, he stared deeply into her eyes, his voice dropping to a low, commanding tone. "You're going to forget this. Forget everything you've seen, everything you've heard tonight. None of this happened."

Morrison blinked, her head swimming. She felt... strange. His voice felt like it wrapped around her thoughts, pulling her into a fog. But... nothing changed. Her mind was still buzzing with the same terror, the same confusion. She wasn't compelled—she was fully aware of everything.

Yet Ross's smirk returned as he loosened his grip, stepping back with satisfaction. He thought he'd succeeded. He thought she was under his control.

"Go home, little Intruder," he said coldly. "Forget this night and go back to your life."

Morrison stood there, staring at him blankly, her body stiff and her heart racing. Without fully understanding what she was doing, she nodded and turned away, her legs moving as if on autopilot. She walked toward the mouth of the alley, her mind still reeling from the encounter, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Her fingers brushed her neck where his cold hand had lingered, but she didn't look back.

Ross watched her retreating figure, satisfied that the encounter had been erased from her memory. "Pathetic humans," he muttered to himself before vanishing into the shadows.

Morrison kept walking, the cold air biting her cheeks as her breath came in uneven gasps. She reached her car, her hands trembling as she fumbled with the keys, her mind still a whirl of confusion. She didn't understand what had just happened, but every fiber of her being was screaming to get out of there.

As she drove away, she glanced into her rearview mirror, the alley disappearing behind her. She couldn't remember why her heart was pounding or why she felt like she'd just survived something terrible.

But something deep inside her knew she hadn't forgotten at all.