Taken • cth

eighteen | terminus

But the blood on my hands scares me to death, maybe I'm waking up today.

Arrow whirls, and is met with black rimmed eyes and a bloody smile. Her breath catches in her throat.

He's standing all the way across the room, just at the foot of the stairs. She can make out the sick line of his form through the shelves. Her grip tightens on the dagger, and she straightens her back. She will not show him weakness.

"I will admit, I'm impressed." Jeff says, taking a few steps forward. "I didn't expect you to figure all of this out so easily. You're smarter than I thought, sweetheart." A dark look passes over his face. "Or should I say baby doll?"

A shock of recognition rocks through Arrow's body. Millions of past feelings, disgust and pain, begin to rise inside her but she shoves them down harder than she's ever shoved anything in her life. "What did you just say?"

She tries to make her voice as menacing and venomous as possible. Jeff only chuckles.

"What's wrong Jamison? Don't like the nickname your own stepfather gave you?" He smirks, and blood flows freely down his cheeks. "Now isn't that something."

Arrow says nothing, only stands her ground. She will not show him weakness.

Jeff grins, and starts to walk toward her. Arrow swiftly steps close the nearest table, watching him stop about ten feet away. Up close, she can see that he's not in his usual white hoodie and jeans, but in black pants and a normal white t-shirt. She brandishes the knife.

The proxy rolls his eyes. "Honestly, baby doll, do you really think you can hurt me with that?"

Arrow glares. "Where are the others?"

Jeff shrugs. "Out for the night. I came back a little early, slaughtered enough innocents to pacify my needs for a while. It felt exceptionally satisfying."

"You're disgusting."

"Excuse me?" A dark glint shines in his gaze. "What did I say about respect?"

Arrow scowls, and then takes the opportunity of his flaring expression to grab a heavy looking piece of metal from the table and hurl it at him as hard as she can.

Jeff tries to dodge the object but it still grazes the side of his head, leaving a nasty gash next to his left eye that hadn't been there before. A terrible rage begins to set on his features as he straightens, pulling a large knife out of his pocket. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Oh?" Arrow sneers, readying her own dagger. "But it felt exceptionally satisfying."

Jeff lunges. His body slams into Arrow's, sending them both onto the ground and knocking all air out of her lungs as her back collides with the concrete. She kicks out viscously at his groin, elbowing him in the mouth, and it's enough for him to roll off of her while his blood sprays her face. The ichor sizzles on her skin.

Jeff growls something in the same language as everything she's seen written in this place, and Arrow only barely manages to scramble to her feet before he's shoving her hard into one of the shelves.

"You little bitch." He snarls, his hands on her throat, cutting off all air she has left.

He can't kill me though... Arrow thinks desperately, starting to raise the knife. Right?