Mansion

[Logan Hardson]

It was a few minutes after midnight.
She leaned her back against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was beating like crazy, it seemed that she wanted to tear herself out of the girl's chest and run away somewhere far. She had wanted it from the moment she was in his mansion, but she knew escape was not an option. Not with him. She clenched her hands into fists, long, pointed nails cutting her sensitive skin. She had become weak in recent months, and the slightest hug was causing her maroon bruises. She gasped into her lungs, trying to calm herself a little. She needed a moment to rest. She knew that if she had run a little longer, at some point she might have passed out. He wouldn't be pleased then, she thought. There wasn't even a shadow of a chance that he could kill her. Even when he got angry, he was still in control. He beat her, humiliated her, fed on her, but never allowed her to be close to death. At worst, she lost consciousness. She had no idea how much longer she would be able to endure it. Every day she kept telling herself that maybe it would be different, and yet from the recent events she could only expect the worst.
She slumped slowly down the wall. Only a few minutes, she only needed a few minutes to catch her breath and relax a bit. Then she would be able to return to the endless race again. The fun has just begun.
She pulled up a trouser leg to see how badly he had hurt her. The blood stopped flowing some time ago, but the pain was clearly felt and did not allow the girl to walk more than a few steps. She touched the wound uncertainly, but immediately regretted her decision. She hissed softly, quickly taking her hand away. Relax, it will be over soon. The thought didn't soothe her, it wouldn't be over at all. She could sit here and only wait for the moment when the man would find her or pick herself up and move her somewhere else. If it weren't for that goddamn bite, she'd be hiding somewhere long ago. Now she could only slowly move forward at stops to relieve the sore leg. She was alert to a vampire's voice, had heard him scream too many times recently. Mostly her name, and now that it was so quiet as well, apart from the crazy brunette's heartbeat, it was impossible not to hear his call.
She pressed both hands to her mouth so as not to make any sound. In the silence, all she heard was the loud pounding of her own heart, but there was no way she could make it stop. She could pray now and beg the vampire not to hear and feel her. It was almost a miracle, but maybe he would have missed the girl's smell after all. She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to see the expression on his face if he found her.
The vampire moved silently. He didn't have to use his keen senses to sense where the brunette was at any given moment. He loved such games. Back then he was the hunter and she the game with nowhere to run. He could do anything with her - take advantage of it knowing that she would be too afraid to go against him. He stopped in the middle of a long corridor. Before starting the hunt, he made sure that no lights could be turned on. Then it will be even more fun, right? He licked the rest of the sweet blood from his mouth.
"You can't hide from me anyway," he said quite loudly, he wasn't sure if the girl would hear him. For her own good, it would be better if she could hear. - Come on, Rose. Show up. No matter where you hide. I'll find you anyway.
He took a few steps forward, listening to where the girl's heartbeat was coming from. A small smile crossed his face as he reached the so far soft sounds of a beating heart. She had to be downstairs, she was definitely running downstairs. It would be foolish to hide in the attic, but it was greater to go down to the basement. He stood listening for a while. He took his time, slowly descending the stairs. He ran his hand over the cool railing. The mansion was huge, and this gave the girl plenty of opportunities to hide. Maybe if she were a little smarter, she would run outside and hide in the gardens. He heard the scream clearly. When he bit her, he saw a blood stain. He frowned. She will have to pay to get the carpet dirty. She wasn't allowed to get anything dirty. He really didn't care how she wouldn't do it.
"Rose ... Rose ..." He repeated her name a few more times. Now he could hear the terrified girl's heartbeat more clearly.
The sweet smell of brunette blood hung in the air. He glanced down at the floor, where there was a small, barely visible speck of blood. His mouth twisted into a weak smile, his legs leading him to the place where his favorite toy was located.
He's getting closer, she realized. She took her hands away from her face, finally deciding to hide somewhere. She bit her lip to keep from making any sound. Leaning on the wall, she slowly stood up. The pain in the leg was bothersome, the girl was exhausted, but she could not afford a longer rest. Those few, meaningless minutes must have been more than enough for her. She turned her head in the direction she came from. Come on, you'll be fine. This leg is nothing ... nothing ... she repeated. She had experienced something much worse than a leg that hurt from being bitten. She moved forward as silently as she could, resting both hands on the wall, taking a few deep breaths. She lowered her head down. There was still a long way to go. She decided to hide between the crates, if they were still there. She almost moved on, but when she felt cool breath on her skin, she froze.