Chapter 4 THE REALITY OF MY NIGHTMARES
Kyomi's POV
I watched, unable to move, unable to look away, as Duran tore Gregory's head from his body with a sickening crack. The body fell to the ground, blood pooling beneath the body. The head rolled across the pavement, coming to a stop near Matteo's lifeless body.
Marcus had frozen in place, his face a mask of pure terror. "You... you're a monster," he whispered.
"No," Duran replied, turning to face him. Blood dripped from his chin, staining his white shirt. "I'm the consequence of your actions. I'm the nightmare you invited when you decided to destroy an innocent girl."
He walked toward Marcus slowly, savoring every moment of the young man's fear. Marcus stumbled backward, his legs giving out, falling to the ground and scrambling away on his hands and knees.
"Please, I have money, my father is a senator, he can pay you. He can do anything you want!" Marcus begged, tears streaming down his face.
"I don't want your money," Duran said, his voice almost gentle now. "I don't want anything from you at all. Except... everything."
He reached down, carrying Marcus up by his throat, and this time I saw his eyes fully transform, they were burning crimson irises surrounded by black sclera. His features sharpened, becoming more terrifying, it looked just like the face that belonged in my nightmares.
"From the moment you drugged her," Duran growled, "you signed your death warrant. This is the only justice you deserve."
His teeth sank into Marcus's neck, and I heard him scream, a horrible, high-pitched sound that was cut short as Duran drained him dry. When he was finished, he threw Marcus's body against the wall with such force that I heard bones shatter. Then, as if Marcus's death wasn't enough, Duran grabbed his arm and pulled, ripping it from his socket. He did the same to the other arm, then each leg, tearing Marcus's body apart limb from limb with a kind of precision I couldn't wrap my head around.
And still, I couldn't move, couldn't scream, couldn't do anything but watch the bloodbath unfold in front of me.
When Duran was finished, he stood in the middle of the bloodbath, breathing heavily, blood covering his suit and hands. He stood there for a long moment, his chest heaving, then he let out a shuddering breath and his features slowly returned to normal. The crimson eyes vanished completely, the sharp angles of his face softened, the pale colour of his skin warmed to a normal human tone.
He turned to look at me, and for a moment, I saw something like horror cross his face. Then, with quick, efficient movements, he shrugged off his jacket and crossed to me. He knelt down, draping the jacket over my body carefully, covering my exposed skin.
"Kyomi," he said softly, his voice gentle now, nothing like the monstrous snarl from moments ago. "Can you hear me?"
I tried to respond, but all that came out was a weak, garbled sound. My body still wouldn't obey me, but I could feel his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. He gently lifted me off the wall, cradling me in his arms as if I weighed nothing. The scent of his cologne, clean and expensive, mixed with the overwhelming copper smell of blood.
"I've got you," he murmured, pulling me closer to his chest. "I've got you. You're safe now."
I cried my eyes out without holding back, the years streamed down my face soaking his ruined shirt that hugged his body, showing his muscular features. My vision blurred, the world seemed to spin around me.
This was all a dream, I told myself. It had to be a dream. Just another nightmare, like the ones I always had. I would wake up any moment in my dorm room, Phoebe hovering over me with concern, telling me I'd forgotten my medication again.
"You're dreaming," I managed to whisper, my voice barely audible. "This is just a dream."
Duran looked down at me, his expression unreadable. "No, Kyomi. I wish it were a dream but it's real. All of it." He paused, adjusting me in his arms as he began to walk. "But you'll be safe now. I'll make sure of it."
His embrace was warm, and I should have been terrified of him. I had just watched him murder three people and rip them apart but my body was too weak for fear, and my mind was too foggy for any logical thought. All I knew was that I was warm, that someone was holding me, that the monsters in my dreams had been replaced by this strange, dark savior.
"Close your eyes," Duran said softly as he carried me away from the scene of the bloodbath. "Close your eyes and rest. When you wake up, I'll explain everything."
I didn't need to be told twice. My eyelids, heavy with the drug and the trauma, fluttered shut. The last thing I felt was the rhythm of his steady heartbeat beneath my ear, the rise and fall of his chest as he walked, and the strange comfort of being held by the very monster who had just slaughtered three men with his bare hands.
He didn't hurt me, instead he saved me and that was what I focused on as my consciousness finally slipped away.
Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard sirens but then the sound faded, and everything went dark.
Is this the after life?
