𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 • 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔 : 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞

    Why did she have to pick a rom-com? Why couldn't it have been some stupid action movie or at least on of the Adam Sandler movies? Those at least were kind of funny. But Anna kept quiet and curled up on the couch with Ashley, eating popcorn from the massive bowl they had made and trying her best not to fall asleep. Of course, that plan didn't work out so well. 

     Anna made it through the first movie, but halfway through the next one she fell asleep. Her head rested on her arm that dangled of the arm of the couch. Her breathing became slow as she fell deeper into her sleep. Her features were peaceful as she slept, for once not plagued with thoughts of impending danger and what could be lurking in the shadows, looking for her. 

    She slept well past the end of the movie, walking up to a dark living room, the only source of light being the small table lap that sat on the table beside the other end of the couch. Ashley was gone, Anna guessing that she had already gone up to bed and let her continue to sleep. Though, Anna would have preferred to sleep in her bed which was much comfier than the couch. She tossed the blanket off herself and stood, stretching her arms high above her head, leaning to each side. Faint pops could be heard as she stretched. Anna sighed and picked up the empty popcorn bowl, walking to the kitchen to clean the bowl and put it away. It was quiet and dark in the kitchen. She went over to the sink and rinsed out the bowl, putting it back in the cabinet she had gotten it from when they were making the popcorn. 

    Her body suddenly tensed and she froze in place, every nerve in her body suddenly alert as she felt something watching her. She slowly reached over and grabbed a butcher knife from the knife block on the counter. She held her breath before turning around quickly, knife clenched in her hand. She exhaled as she looked around. No one was there. She stayed still, eyes wandering the empty kitchen. Someone had been there, if not, why had she suddenly freaked out? She put the knife back, trying to push her thoughts away, trying to ignore the still present gnawing feeling in her stomach. Something wasn't right, but what?

    Anna walked out of the kitchen, running a hand over her tired face. She walked down the dark hall to the stairway, her footsteps soft on the carpeted steps of the staircase. It was dark, but her eyes had adjusted by then. She stopped on the steps, her body once more tensing as she felt someone's eyes on her. Someone was definitely there. She could have swore she had heard footsteps following her. 

    She took another step and listened carefully, hearing the faint sound of someone else's footsteps echoing her own. Her breath caught in her throat and she froze once more, mind racing as she tried to think of what she was going to do. She could possibly run upstairs and duck into one of the rooms in the hallway. She could also turn and face whoever it was. She could fight them off, after all, she had the abilities that this person didn't. You're a Redfield, just turn around and face this fucker she told herself. She turned quickly around to face whoever was there. 

    A blur rushed at her and she felt herself suddenly lifted over their shoulder, flying down the stairs. She crashed to the floor, groaning as her back hit the edge of one of the steps. She pushed herself up, trying to get to her feet. But they were at her once again, a black gloved hand grabbing her by her throat and lifting her up, her feet no longer touching the floor. She struggled to breath, trying to pry the fingers from around her throat. 

    She was thrown once more, her back slamming into a wall. She fell, hitting her ribcage on a cabinet, landing on her stomach against the carpeted floor. Pain shot through her and she knew that something had broken and not just the drywall she had been thrown into. Heavy footsteps rushed to her and the gloved hand grabbed her hair roughly, yanking her up. Tears pricked at her eyes as she reached out, focusing on the fire poker. It flew into her hand and she threw her elbow back, connecting with her attacker's abdomen, causing them to double over. Their grip on her hair loosened and she quickly whirled around, her hand up and aiming the fire poker at their chest, thrusting her arm forward. 

    With wide eyes, she watched as the gloved hand grabbed her wrist, stopping the poker, millimeters from their chest. The hand squeezed her wrist, twisting it. Anna cried out in pain, her fingers loosening on the fire poker. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Where were the secret service? How had they not heard the  fighting, the sound of her being attacked and flung around like a ragdoll? A fist connected with her face, knocking back onto the floor. Her vision was blurry and she could feel the blood fill her mouth. Her jaw hurt and she could barely focus because of the pain. She had to fight back or she was going to die at the hands of this stranger. 

   She quickly wrapped her legs around their leg, twisting and causing them to topple to the ground. When they tried to sit up, she kicked them in the face. They rolled to their side and she quickly scrambled to get up, grabbing the fire poker. She swung it like a bat, hitting them in the stomach. It didn't even faze them. They reached forward quickly, grabbing her and tossing her over the couch, smashing her into the coffee table. The wood splintered beneath her, pain searing through her side. They appeared above her and she quickly threw her hand up, throwing them across the room. They slammed into the wall just like she had, hitting the floor with a hard thud. But it wasn't long before they were up once more. Suddenly, they were in front of her, like they had teleported from the side of the room to directly in front of her. Their face was close to her own and she could start to make out their features. Their eyes were now visible to her and they were starting to glow. The eyes were all too familiar and sent her mind into a panic. No, he couldn't be here. How did he even get in?  The red eyes stared into her own as his hand once again seized her throat, bringing her in even closer. 

He threw her down once more, his hand still around her throat, crushing her windpipe. She struggled to breath, her fingernails scratching at the skin of his hand, trying desperately to get him to let her go. Her biggest fear was coming true, it was all happening right then and there, in a place full of trained agents who hadn't heard a thing. 

He was going kill her and no one was coming to help her. Or worse, he was going to take her once more.