Electress [Makai Ouji]

A puff of white announces my breaths as I walk down the road. I really wish I'd left the venue earlier. My nose is threatening to start running, and shivers are speeding along my arms. I'm still not used to the climate here in England, something that hasn't ceased to annoy me. With a growl of irritation, I blow on my hands to warm my frigid fingers.

My ears catch a faint sound behind me. Although it's not necessarily something threatening, it's enough to put me on guard. How long has there been someone behind me? My hearing sharpens, and I try to slow my breathing. Footsteps stumble awkwardly after mine, echoing the sound of my boots on the pavement. I wish there were other people here. I wish I'd driven to the concert. I wish my heart wasn't racing quite so quickly.

The familiar weight of my guitar presses fondly against my back, the cloth encasing it rubbing gently against the exterior of my jacket. Ah, if only I'd let Sammy drive me home. My footsteps have grown silent, and my heart is slowing. I work best under pressure.

As soon as I reach the next intersection, I turn left, risking a glance in the direction I'd just turned from. As I'd guessed, much to my dismay, someone walks behind me. My pulse stutters when they make the same turn I do. Perhaps it's just chance? I don't believe in chance much. I cross the street and turn right. The footsteps never falter, never lag. They never seem to grow further away. I need to get out of here.

I take off as fast as my legs will allow. Pavement rockets beneath my feet, blurring and falling out of focus. Orange street lights paint ghastly shadows on the walls. If I didn't know better, I'd say a monster was chasing me.

Between the blood roaring in my ears and the air gasping from my lungs, all seems silent. I'm not ready to stop running, not yet. I have too much left that I want to accomplish.

All the houses start to grow further and further away from each other until it seems that none are left. I'm lost, scared, and hopelessly out of breath. This must be karma. Between my heart and my lungs, I can't tell which one will fail me first. Even with all the paces I've darted, those footsteps have never faltered, never slowed, never softened. Death is breathing down my neck.

A house looms, dark and gloomy in the nighttime air. It looks woefully forgotten. My blood roars, my lungs gasp, and my chest ignites with hope. I might be able to hide in there. Never in my life have I flown into an abandoned compound quite so quickly.

This obviously used to be some aristocrat's abode. The house, no, the mansion before me is no laughing matter. The pathway is broken and weedy, uneven in its state of abandonment. All around me, the plants have overgrown and consumed what I can only assume used to be a wall or fence of some sort. The building itself looks terrifying.

Shattered windows and a broken front door greet me like the salivating mouth of a demon. My stomach heaves as I enter the front door, and out spills my dinner. I crawl away as fast as I can.

In the dark, all I can see is a labyrinth of terrifying shadows and walls. I wish I had a flashlight or a candle, and chide myself for being unprepared. Terror speeds trough my veins.

With shallow breathing and shaking hands, I stumble deeper and deeper into the house, choking on dust and grime. My eyes strain against the darkness, aching in an effort to see more clearly. I trip down a flight of stairs, my guitar flying from its rightful place and skidding across the floor. I hope it hasn't broken.

For a moment, I freeze. Cold clambers up my limbs, sinking wicked fangs into my frozen, aching, shaking fingers. I listen intently, closing my eyes. I can't hear anything. The footsteps are silent. Just as I'm about to let out a sigh of relief, a crash sounds on the floor above, followed by growls and snarls. I grab my guitar and struggle to find a door, any door.

I fall through an open doorway. Shoving my well-loved instrument as far from me as possible, I feel around the room, hoping, wishing, pleading with any benevolent being for a way out of this. My hopes crash the the ground as footsteps near the door I've just come from. I hold my breath.

Strange grunts and other various noises fill the room as some great presence enters. My heart is pounding against my ribs so violently that I wouldn't be surprised if it broke free of my body. I bite the inside of my cheek. I really should've gone with Sammy.

As if the person can sense my fear, their footsteps draw closer until I'm scrunched up against the wall, curling in on myself like it'll disguise my existence. Something hard slams into the wall just above my head, and dirt showers me. I try my best not to whimper. The same object hits the area directly behind my head with increased violence, and I take off. Halfway across the room, a hand grabs my ankle, and I scream and I slam into the floor.

Something hot drips down the side of my face as I'm dragged further and further from salvation, my nails digging into the stone floor. My body collides with the wall with enough force to daze me. A groan slides from my lips. Iron fills my mouth. "Let go!" My voice terrifies me as I scream. It seems to stun my attacker, too. I'm dropped.

When I run this time, I don't make it as far. My legs collapse and a weight crushes me into the floor. Blood spills from my lips as I surge forward. "Help me!" I scream. "Please!" My hand slaps an uneven stone, and the room explodes into red light.

In the formerly empty space before me stands a figure I can't quite make out. All I can see is gleaming red eyes and dark, spiked hair. Another terrified scream pushes past my lips and I struggle to free myself. "Please," I plead, "please don't kill me. Please! Help me!"

Red eyes widen as I cough violently and attempt to heave myself free of the weight trapping me. "Please..." I croak. Energy surges through me for a moment as I nearly break free. I can't feel my body anymore. I can't sense my heartbeat, my breathing. "I don't want to die."

"Very well." Glittering red eyes narrow, watching as I writhe and cough and bleed. For a moment I see fire. I don't see anything afterward.