Fangs | mlm

Chapter 1 - The Stranger

It was supposed to be a short walk home, nothing more than a matter of crossing a few streets. But it felt as if it had taken Trevor at least ages to be finally able to feel the warmth of the cosy, narrow corridor inside his flat. Even if he couldn't see it, he knew something was odd. He felt watched throughout the way. And it was extremely dark outside, the sun set long before the man finished his shift in the coffee shop, where he had been working for almost two years. It was also cold, enough to make Trevor's breath visible in the glow of hardly any street lights.

He locked the wooden door behind him, and then he gently leaned on it as he breathed out a sigh of relief—his chest expanded and lessened without warning, at the same speed. Trevor had enough time only to turn a light on in the corridor, as the rest of the flat was alarmingly unlighted. There weren't any shoes left on the floor, and the hangers were empty as if no one lived there. Which couldn't be the truth, he rented this place with two other people, his infamous flatmates, who annoyed him most of the time.

Consequently, taking a look around the flat was necessary. A surprise birthday party wasn't an option, since every person living there had their birthday at the end of the year, and it were the first days of February. There weren't many other possibilities he could think of. Trevor, therefore, walked across the long carpet that was in the rather old-fashioned pattern. It followed most of the potential ways in the flat. 

He took this one that led to the living room, where it appeared to be the darkest, given the rest of the interior. There was a window wide open, and the tree branches constantly thumped the glass. Several leaves flew into the room, they were seen by the man only because of the pale and weak moonlight. The temperature there also felt unusual compared to the corridor, which Trevor had been in a moment ago. It was freezing enough to make him pull the ends of his jacket towards his chest. He squinted his eyes and tried to spot something in the darkness.

And there was something of a rather human silhouette sitting on the couch. It made the man take a step back—he was almost touching the wall with his shuddering spine. What was the probability of him being unnoticed? Maybe high, if he did not throw some vase off the chest of drawers, which immediately broke in contact with the floor. The sound was loud enough to be probably heard from the other flat complex due to the open window.

'Don't act like you haven't seen me,' the voice said from the couch, and the silhouette seemed to move a bit.

Trevor shuddered with horror—there was a stranger in his home. The impossible became possible so rapidly, it felt as if his whole world shattered into pieces. He had to act fast, there was no place for mistakes. He didn't know the intentions of the intruder, but it was obvious that they weren't any good. The man blindingly grabbed a souvenir from the commode. Which was, in fact, a heavy, rectangular piece of metal with sharp edges, ideal for potentially hitting someone in the head or throwing it at someone. He hid it in a strong grip of his hand. Meanwhile, the blurry contour stood up without hurrying, in a rather noble and elegant way.

'What are you doing here?' he asked in an attempt to get the stranger distracted.

He managed to situate himself behind an armchair; the next part of his plan was to proceed to the front door, where he would have better escape possibilities. Nonetheless, it wasn't easy with such trembling limbs. His heart was beating irregularly and quickly in his chest as if it was about to explode. To his surprise, the intruder decided to walk towards the window. In the moonlight, it was possible to recognise the basic characteristic of the trespasser, he was a tall and rather thin man. It didn't quite match the image of a murderer Trevor had in his mind. In addition to his shock, he wore a suit, which fitted him perfectly.

'Oh, this knowledge won't be necessary,' he shook his head. 'However, I can assure you that we have our reasons,' he added, which didn't calm Trevor down at all. And the man did not seem distracted either.

'Who are "we"?' he asked before slowly and carefully making his way to the archway that led to the corridor.

'You'll find out soon enough,' he explained, his eyes twinkling.

All of the sudden, Trevor turned around and started to run towards the door, but then he felt someone's hand tightening on his shoulder. He was aggressively pulled to face the intruder, who had caught up to him in the blink of an eye.

'How is it even possible?' he thought.

After seeing a mysterious smile on the man's frightening face, whose skin was glasslike, Trevor immediately hit him with the souvenir right on his temple, using all his strength. The trespasser's eyes closed, and he swayed a little as if he was about to collapse on the floor—fortunately, the carpet would silence most of the fall. The grip on Trevor's shoulder also loosened.

However, a second later, he opened his eyes again and took a broader grin on. Pointy canines that looked like a pair of sharp fangs became visible in his mouth. And a vast stream of deep red blood was running down his cheeks, although he did not pay much attention to it. It caused even more confusion to Trevor.

'What are you?' he asked in desperation, his eyes wide open as a sign of terror. There was little else to do. No human would survive such an impact without fainting.

'I guess you know that already.'

The man struck Trevor on the forehead with his own head, which instantly knocked him unconscious. The stranger caught Trevor's body in his arms, keeping it from falling.