Hatred

Chapter VII

I slowly rose from the ground, immediately noticing the silence around me. The burning quickly arose in my left eye and my vision was deterred, but I forced myself to ignore it as panic came upon me. My head throbbed and all I could taste was blood. I was absolutely clueless, how was I still alive? I couldn't be. The brute had me, he ended me and I know it. Maybe this was hell? Was I stuck to roam this abandoned theatre for the rest of my eternity?

I couldn't accept that fate, something didn't feel right about it. My left eye was watery and small patches obscured my vision, it stung as I stood to my feet. I wavered for moment and reached toward the door to steady myself. Only, the door wasn't there. My eyes darted around and I quickly came to the realization that I wasn't in the same room. My body had been in such pain and my vision so impaired that I hadn't noticed my surroundings. I was standing off to side of the main entrance, next to my mess of bedding. It appeared as though I had rolled off the bed, but how had I gotten there in the first place?

Jennifer.

My protective instinct set in and I began to shout for her. She then walked in from outside, with a canteen in her hand. "Hey, you're awake! How are you feeling? Are you okay?" She said to me with an odd sort of smile on her face. The sound of her voice calmed me a bit, and my body allowed itself to rest again. I sat back down on my bed and looked up at her, her clothing spattered with dried blood.

"I'm doing all right; tired, sore, pretty banged up. But hey, I've been worse." I did my best to grin back at her, but I really wasn't feeling it. I was tired, every muscle in my body ached, I was in pain. I laid back down onto the bedding and stretched. She gave me a look of concern and brought the canteen over to me. The coolness of the water running down my throat was a relief. I turned to look at her, she must've been in the same pain I was, or worse. Did she take that brute all by herself?

"So, how long have I been out?" I asked her.

"You've been sleeping like a rock for the last day and a half, I'd say at least a solid 24 hours."

"Shit... Hah and I'm still tired." I said with a chuckle, but my face quickly turned solemn. "So, what exactly happened in there? After I blacked out."

Her eyes dropped, and she began to speak, "Well, it didn't take me long to take down the guy who was attacking me. I kind of lost it when I saw you collapse, and I lost all restraint... But that big guy, the one who got you down, he wasn't so easy. Once he thought he'd finished you he turned around and started running at me, and I tried to use the bat but he just knocked it away. I ran up the stairs, and in between the rows of seats, and basically just avoided him while I thought of something to do. I noticed his stab wound because he would occasionally stop his chase and hold his hand over it. He was losing blood, and energy, so I took advantage of that, and had him chase me out of the viewing room and into the lobby. I ran into the janitors closet and closed the door before he could get to it. The lights were off and it was pitch black, so I just waited for him." Her eyes glanced over to the closet, and I saw the start of a smile in the corners of her mouth. "He followed me in, but not before I could grab a tool kit and get into a secure hiding place behind the door. I knocked him in the back of the head with a wrench when he came in, knocking him down. I bashed in his skull a few more times until I heard it crack. And long story short, he's in there now."

She seemed content with her actions, and to be honest I was too. I was quite astonished in fact. "Well, bravo to you, I'm thoroughly impressed." I said with a grin, just smiling made me feel a bit better.

"You should probably just relax for a while, you need to be in tip-top shape for our next little activity" Jen said to me with a sort of look in her eye. I recognized that look, I remember seeing that same gaze in my own eyes. A thirst for blood, for killing. Jen had become acquainted with the feeling of causing mass bloodshed, the feeling of power over another being. She wanted more. But she needed to practice restraint.