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Pity fills his eyes. “Yes, but someone close to you did and at your cost.”
I swallow hard, not wanting to believe any of this, but every part of me is screaming that he’s telling the truth, as if I’ve suddenly become a living lie detector.
“What’s going on?” I ask, pressing my hand to my forehead as the room begins to spin. “Why am I cursed? And what price do I have to pay?”
“You’re cursed because someone in your life was very greedy.” He remains by the door, either to block my way out or keep his distance from me.
Keep his distance from me? Where did that thought come from? Why would he want to keep his distance from me?
“As for the price you have to pay,” he continues with hesitancy. “You’ve already paid it.”
Confusion swirls in a hazy cloud, just like the room. “But I can’t remember anything?” I whisper hoarsely, my heart pounding in my chest.
Something terrible happened to me…
Something awful…
But I can’t remember….
Don’t want to…
“It’s your mind’s way of coping with the pain,” the stranger explains as I struggle to breathe. “Don’t worry. It’ll get easier.”
“What will?” I ask, gasping for air.
I feel so out of control…
So needy…
My body and mind desire…
Something…
“The curse,” he says, inching back through the doorway.
“Wait!” I stumble to my feet, not wanting him to go, but for a reason I can’t comprehend.
I need something…
I need something from inside him…
“I thought the curse was over?” I stumble toward him, the need inside me growing. “That what happened to me…” My body involuntarily shudders. “That whatever happened to me was the price I paid?”
He shakes his head, growing tenser the closer I get to him, as if he’s afraid of me. “Not that curse. I’m talking about the curse that saved you.”
My skin dampens with sweat, my hands desperate to reach out and grab him, feed the thirstiness burning inside me. “What do you mean… Saved me from what?”
“Saved you from death.” He takes a step back, his hand moving for his pocket. “The curse was supposed to kill you, Remi. The man that grabbed you at the party—he was there to kill you.”
My skin grows ice cold as memories flicker through my mind of what the man did to me. But as vomit burns at the back of my throat, I hastily shove the memories away into the deepest part of my mind. “Then why am I still alive?”
“Because I brought you back.”
I wrap my arms around myself. “You revived me?” But deep down inside, I think I might know the answer.
He didn’t revive me. He changed me. I can feel it in my bones, my heart, my blood, my soul… I press my hand to my chest. My chest feels empty, but my heart is there, pounding.
“Something’s missing?” I murmur, confused yet not.
“Yes, it is.” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “Your soul is gone. In order for us to save you, we had to trade your soul for your life.”
“My soul is gone…” I massage my aching chest, shaking my head. “No, this is all a bad dream… Really, I passed out drunk at the party… I’m going to wake up soon and be in my bed and it’ll be my birthday.”
The stranger looks at me with pity. “Your birthday’s come and gone. And I think you know I’m telling the truth. About all of this.”
I shake my head in denial. “No,” I whisper. “You’re lying.”
“Then what’s that hunger building in your chest?”
I press my hand to my chest instinctively. “I don’t know.”
“It’s from the new curse,” he explains with a strange hint of sadness in his tone. “From now on, it’ll always be there. But we’ll teach you how to harness it and use your powers for the greater good.”
“Who are you?” I whisper, unsure whether to run forward and feed my hunger with him. Or run the hell away. “And what power?”
“We’re an organization destined to save and rehabilitate special individuals such as yourself for a top secret superhero program,” he prattles off the information, as if he’s had this conversation a thousand times. “But you’ll learn more about that later. Right now, we need to feed your power before you lose control and I end up a snack.”
“You’re fucking crazy.” I let out a sharp laugh, but the noise gets lost in the sound of my thundering heart.
Feed.
Kill.
Take.
Feed.
Kill.
Take.
I step toward him, ready to do… Well, I’m not sure. But he rushes out of the room, withdrawing a gun from his pocket.
I stop dead in my tracks.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you,” he says quickly, but keeps the gun aimed at me. “This is just a tranquilizer gun, and I’ll only use it if I absolutely have to. So, please don’t make me have to.”
I’m torn, one part of me wanting to rush at him and the other part of me wanting to hide. I feel like a monster. Scared. Confused. Overwhelmed.
Hungry.
I move forward and then back. Forward. Back.
“Get in here!” The stranger shouts at someone as I continue to dance with my good and bad side. “She needs to feed!”
Feed? Yes, I need to feed.
My head lifts up as I step forward, deciding I’m going to give into my bad side. But I screech to a halt at the sight of the tall, blond haired, pierced guy I danced with at the party, now standing in the doorway.
“C-Cameron?” I stammer. “What are you doing here?”
A lazy smirk pulls at his lips as he steps into the room. He’s dressed in all back and wearing a… cloak?
What the hell?
“I’m here to take care of you,” he says as he takes another step toward me.
I nervously step back. “Stay away from me.”
He continues to move forward. “I don’t think that’s really what you want.”
My jaw ticks, yet my mouth salivates to get closer to him. “The last time you came
near me, I was dragged away a little bit later. And then… Well, I can’t remember. And then I woke up here with some guy telling me that I died, I’m cursed, and that this is some superhero facility.” I press the palm of my hand to my forehead as an off pitched laugh spills from my lips. “Oh my God, this is crazy. I’m going crazy.”
Cameron gives me a tolerant look as he stops in front of me. “You’re not crazy.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not. And you’ll feel much better once you’ve been fed.”
“I’m not hungry.” Which is kind of the truth. I’m not hungry. For food, anyway.
His smirk returns. “Yes, you are.” He reaches for me, grabs my hand, and yanks me toward him.
The hunger inside me builds, an uncontrollable pressure starting in my chest and rising to my lips.
“How are you going to feed me?” I whisper, dizzy with desire as I clutch onto the front of his cloak. “You don’t have any food.”
“Food’s not what you want, sweetheart. And I think you know that.” He draws me closer until our bodies are flushed.
I slowly sway my head from side to side, my concentration fixated on his lips. “You don’t have anything I want.”
Instead of getting angry, a cocky grin spreads across his lips. “That’s not true at all.” Then he dips his lips toward my ear, his hot breath spilling across my skin. “Because I’m the Grim Reaper. And guess what, Remi? You have my blood inside you.” When I go rigid, he adds, “How do you think they saved you?”
Grim Reaper! What the hell is going on! Have I lost my damn mind! Am I dead and this is my own personal hell!
