Things That Go Bump In The Night

Run

Run. Don't stop, don't look back. Quiet your breathing, idiot, they'll hear you.

Jake yelled at himself in his own mind, trying to pace his breathing to be quieter, to just run a little faster. He cursed himself for being so careless, to leave the safe house without bullets in his gun. They sat now, heavy and useless in their holsters, resting against his thighs as he ran. His attention was drawn away when he heard a sound that turned his blood to ice. The sound of wings, of muffled peals of laughter from the tops of the buildings. They're close, much closer than he had expected. Adrenaline courses through his veins and he surged forward, knowing that they knew he was there, no longer caring about if they hear him. He was almost there, so close; he was almost at the safe house. He can see it now, the small building with cast iron doors and bars on the windows. He can stop once he’s gotten past those doors, they can't pass the iron, it'll burn them.

That thought causes him to relax a little, let his guard down, and the minute he does, he regrets it. He had slowed down just a little, let down his defenses, and he immediately wished he hadn’t. He felt hands on his shoulders, grabbing at his shirt, pulling him back, lifting him off the ground. Jake gasped, swinging out with his fists to try to knock himself free; even though he knew it was useless.

He slumps, trying to think of a way to get out of this alive. A light giggle broke his focus and he turned his head, seeing just who he expected. Roxanne. She had been his friend once upon a time, back when she was human and he had thought that that's all that was out there in the world. She had always been lovely, with beautiful cream skin and strange, almost pink, eyes. They were even pinker now, matching her rosy lips. Those lips framed her mouth, where once upon a time she had always had perfectly straight teeth; they were just the same now, although with the addition of two much sharper canine teeth. He knew that if she wanted to, she could make all her teeth that sharp, make it as if she had a mouth full of razors, sharp enough to rip through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

That thought made him shudder, arching away from her as she brought her lips to his ear. "Oh Jakie, why do you keep running? All I want to do is hang out with you and Dirk and Janey like the good old days, don't you?" Jake grits his teeth, not wanting to reply, but his pride got in the way. "I wish I could Roxy, but honestly, we can't. You and Dirk are both dead. Actually, no, you'd be better off dead. I wish you both were." He gave her a self satisfied smirk, seeing how deep those words had cut her.

That didn't make her all too happy, her expression instantly hardening, and her grip on his shirt tightened, lifting him nearly a foot up in the air. She slammed him hard against the wall, causing him to give a low grunt of pain. She was glaring at him now, all the friendliness gone from her face, there was nothing but anger now. She hissed, low and threatening, “If I were you Jake, I’d watch my tongue around people who could kill me without batting an eye.” Jake tensed, trying to lean away, but was only met by the hard, unforgiving, brick wall. God, he really wished he had his guns now, even if they just had regular bullets, it would be enough to distract the demon presently glaring him down with murder in her eyes.

Roxanne smirked, and as Jake looked at her, his attention was drawn to her lips, her mouth, watching as her teeth started to sharpen, sharper than razors. “Maybe you need to be taught a lesson in respecting those more powerful than you Jakie.” She growled, leaning closer. He could feel her breath on his neck, causing him to shudder, arching away from her and struggling in her grasp. He thought back, to four years ago, back before any of this happened.