Evenfall

Sundown

Today (Night)

Theo's hand scrabbled against the chain lock. His fingers left smears of blood against the door as he struggled to slide the clinking chain out of place. He did not throw a panicked glance over his shoulder because he knew better than to delay himself for even a second—better than to feed his demons. A drop of blood shook from the tip of the blade, clasped by one of his hands in a white-knuckled grip. Once he got the chain undone, he dropped his cuffed hands to flip the deadbolt and shoved the door open.

He spilled out into the muggy summer evening. The vacant cars still sat in place, undisturbed by his distress. To the side presided the glowing red vacancy sign. His heart rate spiked each time he stumbled over his feet or slipped in the smear of blood they left in his wake as he dashed down the length of the building.

Then he burst into the motel office, naked, bloody, and panicked. The man behind the desk dropped his feet from where they had been propped up and stood. His phone was already in his hand.

"Please," Theo babbled, walking forward, but before he could ask of anything, the man set his phone down with a clatter and yanked one of the desk drawers open to pull out a pistol. He aimed it straight at Theo.

"You just stay right there, now," he ordered.

Theo stared down the barrel with wide eyes and nodded, lifting his trembling bound hands and the bloody knife in surrender.

911. What is the location of your emergency?

The man rattled off an address. "I'm not sure what is going on. He's naked, handcuffed, and holding a bloody knife. But he hasn't attacked me and cooperated when I told him not to approach."

Can you get him to set down the knife?

"No," Theo shook his head miserably, the back of his neck tingling. But he still refused to look over his shoulder toward the door. "He's not...I didn't kill him. It's impossible to kill it. It always comes back. He's coming after me. I can't." He clutched the knife harder.

"He's refusing to set down the knife," the man said to the 911 operator in case he could not hear. "Sounds like maybe there is someone after him. Maybe he stabbed them in self-defense? He is naked and handcuffed."

Keep trying to talk him into setting down the knife, but otherwise, don't try to engage.

Then, the bell above the door jingled.

Theo cried out and stumbled from the door toward the little coffee bar with its neatly stacked cups and bowls of granola bars. He pressed back into the corner beside it, holding the knife in front of him as Colby advanced through the door.

"You!" the man behind the counter barked, "Stay right where you are. Don't take another step."

Colby completely ignored him, clutching his abdomen, where blood from several stabs saturated his clothes, making them black, heavy, and shiny. His eyes had a maniacal glint to them as he continued walking forward, hissing under his breath, "You bitch, I'm going to fucking kill you."

A sharp bang tore through the room, loud enough to hurt Theo's head and make his ears ring. He screamed, sliding down the wall as he watched blood spray out of Colby's leg. He saw a bullet entering a bloodied woman's head. He smelled searing metal and gunpowder as Ken leered at him. Colby crumpled to the ground with a yell, finally giving the man behind the counter his attention.

"Can't you see that this bitch stabbed me?" he shrieked, but the man spoke over him as he told the 911 operator what was happening.

"He appears unarmed, but he was walking toward the guy with the knife and threatening him. When I asked him to stop, he did not, so I shot him in the thigh. He also appears to be bleeding heavily from his side."