Just A Taste: A Dark Romance

Isabella

December 12th, 2024- University of South Carolina, Campus Grounds- 12:04 AM

Shivering in the blistering cold, I texted my friend Marlena again: Hey, are you finished up there yet?

I waited a few minutes for a response, but it never came. I attempted to call her three times. All redirected to voicemail.

Jeez, she's probably staying the night. AGAIN.

Huffing in annoyance, I sent one last text: I'm going to our room. Have fun!

After no response, shocker, I know, I began my trek across the campus. Frozen to the bone even in my white sweatsuit, gloves, beanie, and plush scarf.

Stomping away from the dorms, I think about my friend. How must it be to live her life? All she does is party, have sex with her boyfriend, and flirt her way through tests to stay enrolled. She has no siblings, and her divorced parents are uninvolved in her personal affairs.

Unlike me, she doesn't have to care about the rules or having perfect attendance. Lucky.

Rubbing my heavily gloved hands together, I shouted loud enough to express my anger, but not loud enough to disturb the peace.

I'm done. This is the last time I'll escort her across campus to sneak into her boyfriend Scott's dorm room before the midnight curfew.

Now I'm late for the curfew! So much for my perfect record. Daddy won't like that one bit.

Just thinking about him makes me shiver worse than the cold. Maybe he won't ask me about it? Or if he does, he might give me leniency, considering I was helping a friend?

We both know that's wishful thinking.

Yeah, you're right, I answered myself. There's nothing I can do now besides accept the punishment.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" a male voice called to me. His voice sounded desperate, or perhaps he urgently required help.

Oh, I'm not the only one wandering around past midnight in the bitter cold.

I turned toward the sound of his voice, and saw him. A tall man wearing a black custom-fit suit, a matching fedora, a dark crimson scarf, black leather gloves, and leather loafers. As if his clothes weren't strange enough, he's carrying a red and white cooler. Like one you would find at a football game or a barbecue.

"Um, can I help you?" I hollered, my voice muffled through my hot pink and white bunny rabbit scarf. "I'm still new here, so-"

"White rabbit!" He roared, charging at me, withdrawing a long, serrated hunting knife from his suit jacket.

Shrieking like a banshee, I took off running as fast as my frozen legs could carry me. My head is spinning; I feel dizzy. This can't be real, right? A crazy guy randomly showing up, wanting to kill me? This has to be a prank by the jocks or something!

Shut up and think about it! He has a knife and was looking around for someone. What does that mean? He was looking for a victim, Issa! You're the victim!

But I just got here a few months ago. I’m still a virgin! I can’t die here!

My frantic movements, combined with panic, almost made me slip. I quickly regained my footing, managing to dodge his blade by a fraction of an inch. Unfortunately, my beloved scarf wasn't so lucky.

The unforgiving force of the campus psychopath tore it in half.

"Keep it, you crazy bastard!" I yelled, throwing it and a handful of snow into his eyes, temporarily blinding him.

As I escaped, I realized something. He called me a white rabbit, so maybe he'll go away now that he has the scarf?

Girl, shut up and keep running!

He growled loudly, flinging snow everywhere, trying to recover his sight.

Crap! I gotta go!

Everything is closed right now besides the dorms, but I'm too far away from them! And if I stop to call for help, he'll catch up! Where can I go? What can I do?

The woods! It's dense, hard to navigate, and would give me a place to hide until I can call 911!

Summoning every ounce of adrenaline available, I sprinted toward my leafy green sanctuary.

As I went deeper into the woods, I considered my options: one, I could duck under a fallen tree. There are dozens of fallen trees and hollowed-out logs scattered throughout, which could serve as hiding places. Two, I could try to find the elusive 'shed' that's supposed to be out here, but no one knows where it is. The location is remote enough that my pursuer would grow bored and leave. Or three, I could create a fake trail by moving around randomly, then climb a high tree and wait for him to pass by.

"White raaaabittttt!" he cried in a singsong tone. "Come out and plaaaayyyyy!"

Crap, he's getting closer. Plan three it is!

I paced back and forth several times, then I moved my feet around sporadically and I used a leafy branch to conceal my steps before removing my boots and making my ascent. Rationally, he should follow my 'trail' and move on.

However, he’s also running around with a cooler and a hunting knife with murderous intentions, so I gather he’s not very rational.

"Where aaaarreee yooouuuuu?" He called, his footsteps crunching in the crisp snow. "The more you hide, the tastier you'll be when I find you!"

T-tastier? Ew, what's wrong with this guy?

I swelled with pride as I found a good stopping point. High enough that I'm no longer visible to him, but not too high that I can't see what he's up to.

Suddenly, there's silence. Eerie, heavy, and deliberate. I risked a peek down to see what's going on and shuddered at the sight. He's sniffing the tattered remains of my scarf. Occasionally stopping to exhale outward in pleasure.

"Mmm, you smell incredible, white rabbit!" he remarked with closed eyes. "Your perfume is so unique, I could track you anywhere with its scent." His eyes shot open, locking onto my location with startling precision.

"There you are!" he began climbing the tree at an alarming pace. What is this guy, some kind of animal?

No, no, no! I can't get caught!

Completely disregarding my safety, I jumped from my current position to a shorter, nearby tree. Although I don't nail the jump exactly, instead clumsily thudding into a thick branch, then sliding down the trunk, ripping holes in my winter wear with each sharp passing branch.

When I reached the bottom, I sprinted away. Panting heavily as my body slowly numbed from the gaps in my clothing, and my lungs filled with the bitter cold from excessive movement.

If I don't do something, I'll die before the psycho gets me!

"You can't esccaaaappppeee!" he thundered, chasing me on all fours like a dog, carrying the cooler around his neck.

Okay, that's it. I need to distract him again. Looking around, I noticed several rocks jutting up from the ground. They won't be super effective, but it's better than the alternative. Quickly, I kicked loose a few sharp-looking rocks, picked them up, and threw them at the psycho's face.

He shrieked n agony as they struck his eyes, cheeks, and nose. His advances slow down significantly, and he convulsed.

I laughed hysterically, watching him suffer. "Take that, you bastard!"

Finally, I could see my freedom. But then, the ground beneath my feet disappeared. I felt weightless, and then a sudden drop. My stomach rose into my throat as I fell fast and hard down a slippery hill. Like a fleshy pinball, I slammed into rocks and fallen trees, knocking the wind out of my lungs.

Beaten and exhausted, I flopped into the snow. Unable to evade the psycho any longer.

This is it, this is how I die. Maimed, sliced up, and carried away in a cooler like a butchered animal. Tears formed in my frost-bitten eyes at the morbid idea.

"There you are!" he shouted, descending the hill at full speed, knife gleaming in the pale moonlight. "Finally!!"

He crawled to my side, sniffing my various injuries. "Mm, fresh blood smells good mixed with your perfume, white rabbit!"

Then he did something disgusting. He licked an oozing cut on my arm, moaning in pleasure as he sampled my blood. "Ooh, you're tastier than I thought you'd be!"

He grabbed my exhausted, frozen body and forced me onto my back, looking up at him like a rabbit caught in a trap. Straddling my hips, he raised his knife high. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick!"

A piercing growl echoed from nearby. This made the psycho freeze in terror, looking around frantically. The psycho seems scared.

Want to know something weird? It didn't sound like any animal I've ever heard. But what else could it be? An alarm? A hungry predator lurking around for weak prey?

"N-nooo!" he wailed, dropping his knife. It gets stuck in my side. I cried out in pain. "You can't just show up like this!! I CLAIMED HER, DIABLO! SHE'S MINE!"

Diablo? What the hell is he talking about?

Looking around, I didn’t see a person, but there's definitely something there. A dark shadow darts back and forth between the trees, flickering in and out of existence like a ghost. While its presence comes closer and closer, my attacker freaked out. Climbing off of me, he yanked his weapon out of me and started waving it around wildly.

Sharp pain washed over me. Instantly, I felt colder than before.

He screamed incoherently, rapidly looking in all directions as the shadowy figure closed in. The two began physically beating each other with their bare fists, with occasional slices by the psycho. No matter how much damage is inflicted, the shadow doesn't relent. It kept attacking without mercy.

I took advantage of the situation, putting pressure on my injury, I tried crawling away as fast as possible. Admittedly, I don't get far. My fingers are numb and ached horribly as I use them to pull my weakened body through the snow. I dug my knees and feet into the ground, attempting to gain traction to increase my speed or to get into a standing position.

The psycho lets out a gurgling scream. I risked a peek, terrified at what I saw. The shadowy figure has gained the upper hand, holding the psycho up against a tree, ripping his throat apart with its bare teeth.

He sputtered, pushed, and clawed at his attacker, but it's useless. The shadow yanked ferociously, severing the carotid artery, flooding the surrounding area with the psycho's blood. It spat out a large piece of his flesh, as if it was disgusted, and then tossed his dead body into the bushes.

Its eyes, almost glowing in the darkness, locked onto me. Slow and deliberate, it stalked toward me, a dark aura radiating from its body.

Fuck.

"No, no!" I cried, crawling further away, kicking behind me. "I won't tell anyone, I swear, just please let me go!!!!"

The shadow grabbed my legs and flipped me over, revealing that the shadow is human. A man, by the looks of it. Darkness obstructed most of him, but I could make out certain things. For one, he’s shirtless in winter! How insane is he?

He has a large, muscular physique with well-defined abs, pecs, and arms. All of which are soaked in the psycho's blood. His legs are thinner, but well-toned and covered with black torn jeans. He’s wearing heavy leather hunting boots. As if this entire encounter were a casual hunting trip for him.

Petrified in fear, I begged, "Please, don't hurt me..."

Crouching down, he hovered over my body, then leaned in to examine my face. Loose, wild strands of hair tickle my cheek, his hot, soothing breath traveled from my cheek, down my neck, and then finally, to my open, bleeding injury.

I gasped involuntarily from the act; my body tingled in a way I've never felt before. Like I'm being lovingly caressed without a single finger touching me.

Is this what it feels like to want someone?

Girl, he might kill you! Focus!

Pushing through the strange sensation, I questioned, "What're you going to do to me?"

He looked up from my injury, tilting his head. Like what I asked him was confusing. Without speaking, he pulled a piece of fabric out of his jeans, balled it up, and shoved it into my injury. Hard. I groaned in agony, tears running down my face.

"Shh..." He whispered in a hoarse, haggard voice. "The pain won't last, I promise." He came back to my side and instructed me, "Push down on it hard and slow down your breathing. Help is on the way, white rabbit."

Then he disappeared like the wind. As if I had hallucinated him all along. The monster that appeared like a shadow, tore a man apart like an animal, and saved my life like a human.

As he promised, I heard police sirens fast approaching. Hope filled my heart as I controlled my breathing and pushed the blockage deep into my injury. It hurts so much that I might lose consciousness.

Police officers and emergency responders found me, following the trail of blood and chaos, no doubt. Once in control, they scooped up the psycho’s remains, then cordoned off the area for investigation.

It's a funny gesture, as if any of them would accept the truth if I were to tell them. Which I don't.

My story is: the psycho chased me into the woods after stabbing me, I tried to hide; he found me, then an animal showed up and mauled him to death. Nobody believes it. Which is perfectly fine.

Because I know the truth. And someday, I'll find my savior and thank him properly. For both saving me and awakening a deep, swirling pool of desire inside me.