Staring at the two disgusting men before her, Carine felt a chill run up her spine and across her scalp when the younger one had said about cutting things. Even so there was no way she was about to give these two the satisfaction of dancing for them. They would do what they would do and nothing she did, no sordid act, was going to change her destiny. They were brutal rapists who liked to pick on the vulnerable and weak.
Let’s just see how weak I really am. She thought. I’ll scratch eyes and bite faces before they make me submit.
While her conscience felt this way, Carine felt the shiver and tremble across her body, the ice crystals forming in her guts and the tightness in her chest and throat when she tried to breathe.
How did this happen? How did I end up in this situation?
The night had started perfectly, a few drinks and light snacks with some of the animal shelter workers and a few of their sponsors. She had been charming and polite, helping to raise money and awareness of the shelter, as well as introducing some of the newcomers to the animals they housed, using larger than life photo’s of their most photogenic dogs. By the end of the night they had managed to raise a few thousand in investments and secured pledges of support for almost the same amount.
It had been late by the time the event ended but the other staff were not ready to call it a night and insisted she went with them to a club for some harder drinks and to throw some shapes. Reluctantly, Carine had agreed and found herself in a bar that seemed to head back into the building that housed it for miles. Dark décor and mood lighting filled the space with a few tables scattered about and some more intimate booths set along one wall. In the middle had been the oddly shaped dance floor on which hundreds of people gyrated and shook to some thick baseline the DJ had thumping from the speakers.
“Carine! Come dance with me!” Paul had yelled at her.
He stood about her height, skinny and too fond of knitwear, most of it made for a much older man. Dark blue jeans clad his legs but they were obviously too big for his frame and his belt cinched them tight, creating folds and odd shapes at his waist. He wore thick-rimmed glasses that made his face look smaller than it was and there were odd patterns to the stubble which tried to jut from his jaw where he had not shaved properly.
He was utterly convinced she was going to fall for him. In fact in the preceding six months he had asked her out more times than she could recall and she was running out of excuses to tell him no. Sadly he was also quite a caring guy and that, combined with the fact they worked together at the shelter, made it difficult for her to just tell him where to get off.
I don’t want to hurt him. She had thought as she shook her head and nodded to the bar.
Instead of her hope he would take the hint, Paul grinned his crooked smile and had followed her to the bar.
“Get you?” The midnight skinned bartender asked.
“Lemonade,” Carine said.
“And I’ll have a Pornstar Martini,” Paul had chuckled from beside her. “I know I should give all that up but the money’s great,” he had added trying to be funny.
Carine had rolled her eyes, the barman catching the gesture and smirking.
“Sure that’s what you want, mate?” He had yelled as he placed a glass before Carine.
“Bottle of Bud, please,” Paul had amended his order meekly. “So where you want to sit?” He had asked Carine after insisting he pay for her drink as well.
I bet he thinks that makes this a date. Carine thought with a shudder.
“I’m going to find Laura,” she had said, turning away.
Her friend was in deep conversation with someone she did not know and she had hovered about beside them as if part of the conversation until he noticed her. Laura followed his gaze and smiled.
“Hey, you,” she had said. “Good night? This is Alfonso,” she had added, introducing the tall, swarthy man.
Carine had shaken hands with him while she filled Laura in on her night.
“Not really, Paul won’t let me breathe. I thought it was bad at work but he’s got no filter out here, just keeps making stupid comments and suggestive ones at that.”
“Paul?” Alfonso asked, his voice deep and accented in Italian.
“Pervy guy that works with us,” Laura had told him. “I get...kinda...rapey vibes off him, you know?”
“He is danger?” Alfonso had asked, taking his arm from the bar and straightening drawing Carine’s gaze to his strong looking body.
“No, no, nothing like that,” Carine had said quickly. “He’s just too persistent. I can’t get rid of him no matter what I do.”
“I talk to him,” Alfonso had told her. “Man to man. Show me,” he added.
“I think I’m just going to go home,” Carine said. “See you later?” She asked Laura who shared the small flat she lived in.
“Maybe,” she had said, grazing her eyes over Alfonso’s impressive physique.
He caught the look and offered her one of his own, a dark, sultry gaze filled with the promise of fleshly delights.
“Ah, I see,” Carine had said.
Bidding them goodbye she had managed to evade Paul as she slipped from the club and into the night.
And that was the point when awkwardness had morphed into fully realised nightmare. The streets had been quiet just a short walk from the club and Carine found she only had a general idea of where she was headed.
Grab a taxi. Call an Uber. She had thought.
But those things cost a lot of money and working in a re-homing centre for abandoned dogs did not pay the top salary. A bus was going to be just as safe and a fraction of the cost.
If I can find one. Where even am I? She had wondered as she looked about at the long patches of shadow that might hide anything.
Litter blew across her path and the shuttered shops she passed were covered in graffiti and tags. That had been when Beavis and Butthead had dragged her into the alleyway and begun taunting her.
Now she was in the concrete coffin of an abandoned building at the mercy of two men who were about to rape and kill her.
Should have stuck with Paul. Her mind said.
Hann, the younger one, seemed to be in charge but she could see Glenn was chomping at the bit to play with his knife. All three of them looked up in surprise when the stranger cleared his throat.
He was barely visible in the weak light from the candles and lanterns. A phantom separated from the shadow as he stood there, silent and impassive. Carine felt something in her chest unclench a little until the thought hit her.
He might be with them!
No, they looked as surprised as I was. She thought as she studied the newcomer.
Of what she was able to see, he was at least six and a half feet tall and pretty much wore black from head to toe, long, dark hair waved about his shoulders when he moved his head but everything else was shrouded in darkness. Yet there was a feeling, something that radiated from him like an aura. Confidence and safety. She knew, knew, this man was here to save her without knowing how.
“Who the fuck are you?” Glenn demanded, waving his little toy knife. “Fuck off! Bitch is ours!”
While his words were harsh his tone was weak and there was a tremor to his voice that gave away the shock and fear he felt.
The stranger said nothing just looked at Glenn, his eyes glinting in the darkness.
“Be a good chap and do as he says, yeah?” Hann said casually. “Or he’s going to cut you.”
Glenn looked over at his friend uncertainly but nodded.
When it happened Carine barely saw him move. Glenn raised the knife and brought his hand back to strike, lashed out and found his hand trapped in the grip of the dark clad man. With his other hand the newcomer sent a slashing blow downwards, snapping the ulna and radius bones with a sickening crack. Carine looked at him in horror as Glenn screamed, grabbing his arm. She could see something white jutting from the dripping wound.
Jesus! She thought as bile rose in her throat.
“You fucker! You fucking fucker!” Hann yelled, his eloquence from earlier gone.
He stooped and grabbed a length of rusty iron, some kind of old water pipe with a threaded fitting on the end, three sections jutting from it. He swung as Glenn shuffled back, nursing his smashed arm and whimpering. The stranger dodged the pipe with ease, watching as Hann spun round, stumbling where the blow had not connected. The dark man’s hands shot out, enfolding Hann’s neck in a tight grip and lifting him off the floor.
How is he that strong? Carine wondered as Hann kicked his legs and tried to break the grip with his own hands to no avail.
Eventually Hann’s kicks became weaker, reduced to twitches and his face started to turn purple where it had been red.
“Don’t kill him!” Carine cried out. “Please.”
When he turned his gaze on her she felt her bowels turn to water. There was nothing human in the eyes that met hers, no hint of anything compassionate just empty rage and hate. Dropping Hann like a discarded rubbish sack he turned and braced himself against another upright, fingers grasping the sides as his whole body seemed to shake violently.
Must be adrenaline from the fight. Carine thought as she slipped down the post, her knees finally buckling.
Darkness swam through his mind as he fought for control of the raging madness that sought to overtake him. It had been her voice, her plea, that had stopped him from choking Hann until his heart stopped. Even so Vanadine thought there might be some permanent brain damage and a savage joy thrilled up through him. His thoughts turned to the woman and how easily he could end her life. Ten different scenarios played across his psyche as he gripped the concrete upright, his fingers aching. Yet the pain and discomfort grounded him, allowed the darkness to abate and his human side reasserted itself, bringing a calm and banishing the chaos.The intensity of his emotions drained him and he slowly let go of the concrete pillar, noticing the cracks radiating from where he had gripped it so hard. Now in control of himself once more, Vanadine knew he had to get away, protect this innocent woman from what he was. Yet as he turned to see her, shivering and in a heap, clothing tattered and face bruis
Footsteps echoed in the concrete tomb as she followed the stranger up the steps and into the darkness.Why can I only hear mine? She wondered as she ran a hand along the rough wall due to the blackness being all consuming. She walked into something hard and warm, squeaking at the surprise before she realised it was him.“Vanadine,” he said.“What?” Carine asked in confusion.“My name,” he mumbled. “It’s Vanadine.”“Oh, pleased to meet you,” she said, hearing the tremble in her own voice. “I’m Carine,” she added. “Um, where are we?”“Inside a derelict hospital or clinic,” Vanadine stated the obvious.“Yeah…” Carine said. “But where are we in relation to the exit?”“Not far,” Vanadine said, his voice devoid of any inflection or emotion. “Follow me,” he told her.“Well I would but I can’t see anything,” Carine said, inhaling the warm scent that wafted from him.A mix of the clothing he wore and something undefinable she was drawn to on a primitive level, Carine smelled no artificial scen
Sickened by his loss of control in the hospital cellar, Vanadine swept through the night towards one of the thins, an area where his world met the human world. There were a few such places he knew of but the closest was in a park a mile or so away. Few people were out at this hour so he risked taking the streets, running along at an inhuman pace and pausing as soon as he saw someone. He hopped over the fence and headed into the darkness again, taking comfort and solace in the shadows.Tearing himself away from Carine had been the hardest thing he had been forced to do in years and Vanadine was surprised at the hollow that grew in his chest when he thought of her face.So small and helpless. He thought. Maybe I should go and see if she is all right.No! another part of his snapped. You know what you are and that is a threat to her. Stay away, stick to the shadows and remain alone for her sake.Vanadine knew his conscience was correct. Carine would be at risk if he was near her and stay
Returning home she had showered and changed, throwing her torn and ruined clothes away but keeping Vanadine’s coat. She examined it, finding nothing in the pockets and not even a label to say where it had been made. Yet she could tell from the weave and stitching it was a quality garment and probably expensive. With Laura still out, Carine lay on her bed and covered herself with the coat, trying to get some sleep. Yet despite the comfort and safety she gained from his scent surrounding her and the soft touch of the cloth, every time she closed her eyes all she saw was the grinning, leering faces of Glenn and Hann, ready to grab her again.She woke with a start, a scream on her lips as something grabbed her leg. Thrashing and fighting against the bedclothes and coat, she kicked and grunted, mewling sounds escaping her throat as she tried to escape. When her eyes opened and she saw the lamp beside her bed was on, she looked down to see the bed was undisturbed and the coat lay over her l
Muscles straining against the invisible bonds that rooted him in place, Vanadine felt the darkness begin to creep in. Anger and rage at his captivity seemed to develop thoughts of their own, driving him to lash out and maim.Who does this mongrel halfbreed think she is to bind us like this? Burn her alive! Tear out her heart! Kill this bitch in the worst of ways and let all know we are not to be challenged.Vanadine closed his eyes, concentrating on his human side, embracing the lighter, more forgiving aspect of his psyche.This is why you can never be with someone like Carine. His mind said. One slip and she would be dead. One tiny misstep and you would be watching her life force drain out onto the ground.Thoughts of Carine, her beauty and vulnerability, pushed the darkness aside a little and his thinking cleared as he watched the twisted horror of his former friend come into view before him.“I will have you, Vanadine, willingly or under duress but either way you will be mine!”The
Knees up, with arms wrapped around them and her head buried in those, Carine had her back to the door as she sobbed.I’ve fucked it now! She berated herself. And I took it out on Paul. He’s not the type to rape and assault so why did I shout at him?“Uh...Carine?” A voice came through the door. “It’s Laura, can I come in? Are you all right?”No. I’m not all right. What do you think, I screamed at him for fun?Despite feeling safe, cocooned inside the office, Carine knew she could not stay there forever and would have to emerge at some point. Slowly she dragged herself up and peered through the glass panel in the door. Only Laura stood there and she was grateful no one else was rubbernecking behind her. She opened it a fraction before retreating like the abused dog had done earlier.Laura entered and shut the door again, turning to look at Carine.“Don’t,” Carine muttered as she wiped her eyes.“Don’t what?” Laura asked, puzzled.“Don’t look at me with that face,” Carine said.“Okay, t
Stay away from her! His mind shouted as thoughts of Carine ran through him again.He had been in a world of pain and loss for a week, unable to concentrate on anything and with his already lonely existence, staying away from Carine was a torture he could no longer bear.I will just watch from afar. He told himself. No contact but I can at least see her, make sure she is safe.You are lying to yourself. Another part of him said. You will not be able to stay away once you see her.It was galling, Vanadine admitted to himself, that he felt so drawn to Carine. It had never happened before even though his human side was at the front of his personality. Maybe he had never let it happen before or maybe he was just so lonely his need for some kind of contact was overriding his common sense.I will forget her. He assured himself. I will keep clear for her own sake.Half an hour later Vanadine sat before a computer. It was an older model as the small office was part of a taxi company that was o
Guilt and misery had flooded her chest when Carine had tried to speak to Paul earlier that day. He had looked hurt and angry when she had gone to find him, cleaning the kennels outside.“Paul, I…”“Let’s just keep this professional, shall we?” He had said in a dead tone. “You made things perfectly clear yesterday. So you do your thing and I’ll do mine. Now if you don’t mind I’ve got loads of shit to clear up!”With that he had turned his back as Lucy and Brinn had pretended not to hear, the two girls harnessing several dogs each ready for their daily walk.Carine had left them, heading for the main building and the toilet where she had sobbed at hurting him and saying what she had. Paul was gentle and kind, even if she was not attracted to and did not have feelings for him. He had been a friend for a long time and they still had to work together. This was going to be awkward for a long time and not just for her, everyone would be able to feel the tension.Unless I leave. The thought t