Desiderium

Tƿentigoða

"Where is he?" Emilia ran a hand through her curly hair as she paced around in her gown.

Around her, Spider-Men, Yodas, and Wonder Women went in and out of the frat house, too caught up in their laughter to notice the concerned Emilia.

From behind her colorful mask, she watched eagerly for Nathaniel, but there was no sign of him. It wouldn't have been hard to spot him in the sea of masked faces. After all, they would have been the only ones dressed for the Venice Carnival.

"Ugh," she groaned when she checked her watch. The night was only growing later and not one of her friends was here yet. Not even Christopher, who planned the entire party.

So she continued waiting.

After a few minutes of standing in the cold, Emilia decided she had enough. Heaving a deep sigh, she stormed off the lawn towards Nathaniel's house.

She was so caught up in her thoughts she failed to notice the man coming straight for her and bumped into him.

Emilia startled back. "I'm sorr–" The words instantly faded from her lips as she gazed up at the man.

He was dressed as a plague doctor, which in itself was unusual. But it was how he looked at her from behind his mask that made her freeze.

It was how she imagined a wolf looked at a rabbit before devouring it.

"Excuse me." She pushed past him, wanting to get out of his sight as quickly as possible.

Unnerved by the encounter, Emilia quickened her pace and didn't dare look back. At one point, she tripped over the pavement thanks to her gown but caught herself before completely falling to the ground. This misstep only made her more frantic.

Her breathing came in gasps and her chest heaved up and down. She broke into a run and didn't stop until she reached Nathaniel's porch.

"Nathaniel!" she called out, pounding on the door. "Are you in there?"

She listened for an answer on the other side, but no answer came.

"Nathaniel!" She placed her hand on the doorknob and to her surprise, it turned.

Emilia took a few hesitant steps inside. The first thing she noticed was the bloodstains on the carpet.

"Nathaniel!" she cried out. "Please answer me!

She went further into the hallway and saw the bedroom door open. There was nothing but darkness on the other side.

"I swear to God if this is some sort of prank..." Emilia slowly approached the bedroom.

Leaving the light for the dark, Emilia crossed the threshold and groped for a switch. When her eyes finally adjusted to the sudden brightness, they landed on the motionless figure lying across the bed.

"Nathaniel?"

She took a step closer. One step turned into another and she soon found herself standing over the bed. Her gaze fell to the large cavity in the man's chest.

Right where the heart should have been.

She let out a horrified cry, unable to turn away from the gory sight. Her eyes shifted to the man's face, recognizing it belonged to her beloved Nathaniel.

"Oh–Oh my God." Stumbling back, Emilia's mind barely processed the object in his hand. It was fleshy and covered in blood and veins.

Once she realized exactly what it was, she completely lost it. Her body retched violently as she continued to stagger away from the bed. Her back collided into something solid and stiff. But before she could even let out a scream, an arm shot out and held her in place.