Riddfick, Somewhat Damaged - Chapter 1/?
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it ain't mine.
Title: Somewhat Damaged
Chapter: Dreams of Demons
Word Count: 1,350
Genre: Dark/Angst
Rating: M for adult themes. Very adult people.
Summary: Jack has a dream about someone from her past. Foreshadowing maybe?
The corridor was dark, with only the red, illuminated exit sign at the end to light her way. But the closer she got towards the door, the farther away it seemed. Her footfalls echoed as she walked, her senses on red alert.
Sure that someone was following her, she quickly turned around, only to be confronted with the darkness she’d left in her wake. Shaking slightly, she turned back around and walked a little faster towards the exit.
She suddenly stopped again, convinced she was hearing another set of footsteps behind her. But the footsteps stopped when she did, and all she heard was the rapid thundering of her heart.
“Hello?” she called out. “I know you’re out there.” Silence was her only answer. “This isn’t funny anymore. Stop playing around!”
This time she got an answer. A low, threatening laughter that made goose bumps break out on her flesh. She was now running all out towards the exit, and away from the laughter that seemed to cocoon her.
She could see the door now, it was just within her reach, but as her hand stretched out, a towering figure jumped out of the shadows and blocked her path.
A high-pitched scream escaped before she could stop it, and she halted in her tracks, unable to move or look away from the demon blocking the exit. A triumphant growl came from the shadowy figure, and his eyes shimmered like diamonds in the darkness.
He took one step closer to her, and his feral smile shone at her out of the black that surrounded him. One of his hands reached out to her, inexorably slowly. Frozen with fear, she forgot to move, forgot to breathe, forgot to scream for help.
His fingers were surprisingly warm and gentle as they closed around her neck, moving up and down, almost like a caress. She let out a small gasp, and this seemed to wake her demon from his trance as he threw her against the wall.
Her head hit the wall hard enough to make her see stars, and bite down on her tongue, making it bleed.
She whimpered in fear as the fiend forced himself closer, pressing his face into the crook of her neck, and breathing in her scent.
“Please,” she begged, causing some of the hot, coppery fluid to dribble down her chin.
The demon had caught the scent of blood, and his eyes flashed again. He slowly ran the tip of his tongue up the side of her throat until it reached her chin.
Then he lightly lapped at the red fluid, sending shivers of fear down her spine.
She gasped out in shock as his mouth closed over her chin and began to suck every last trace of blood from her skin. Her body began to shudder uncontrollably as his teeth nibbled their way up to her bottom lip.
He teased and taunted it before drawing it between his teeth and siphoning some more of blood into his mouth. His brutal, yet gentle, ministrations were slowly driving her insane. She didn’t know whether to weep in fear, or joy.
His tongue was making sweeping motions in her mouth, now. Toying with hers as he tried to taste every last drop of blood her bite had caused.
The demon captured her bottom lip with his teeth once again pulled away from her, releasing it only moments before it became painful.
Breathless, she asked, “Who are you?”
His voice was as cold as the steel that glinted from his eyes. “We’ve met before, Jack. You’re the only one to see me and live to tell about it.”
A mirthless chuckle made her knees almost give out, and his hand around her neck was the only thing keeping her upright.
“They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side…”
“Jack, WAKE UP!”
Jack shot up out of bed and mumbled, “Who wazzit?”
“Come on sleepyhead. We’re going to be late.”
As the room came into focus, Jack saw her neighbor and best friend, Taylor, looking very elegant and annoyed at the same time. Her curly hair hung loose around her shoulders, and there was a stiletto tapping somewhere under the midnight blue evening gown.
“Late for what?”
Disgusted, Taylor threw a hand on her waif-thin hip, and began to scold her friend.
“Late for what?! Why only for the social event of the season! Tonight is the night of Nick’s big promotion, and you know his company throwing a huge celebration. It’s been all he could talk about for the past three months…”
“Shit!” Jack exclaimed as she threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. “I wanted to take a quick nap before we went out tonight. What time is it?”
“Ugh! It’s 6:00 Jack, and Nick said he and Austin would be here to pick us up at seven. Which means that they’ll be here at a quarter till.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Jack answered as she grabbed her towel and headed into the bathroom. “Don’t worry. I’ll be ready in time.”
“You better be,” Taylor called to her retreating back. “I’m not going to listen to your boyfriend complain the whole night if we’re late.”
--------------------------------
As Jack sat at her vanity, putting on the finishing touches of her makeup, Taylor spoke up from behind her.
“So, what were you dreaming about anyways? You were making all kinds of weird noises.”
Thankful that any natural blush was hidden beneath her rouge, she quickly shrugged it off.
“I don’t remember.”
The two girls made eye contact in the mirror, and the look Jack got said Taylor wasn’t buying it.
But before she could say anything, the doorbell rang. “6:45 on the dot,” Taylor said with a smirk. “What did I tell you?” Pointing a finger at Jack, she said, “You, finish getting ready. I’ll get the door.
Jack stood up and walked over to her full-length mirror, wanting to take one final look at her ensemble before they left for the party. She shook out the skirt of her black dress, and made sure she didn’t have any lines from her deodorant on it. The label said ‘black dress approved’, but it never hurt to be careful.
Satisfied there was nothing there, she made sure the “V” of her front was tastefully in place, put on some lipgloss, and pulled a few strands of her hair loose, before she was satisfied with the final result.
“Sweatheart, come on,” she heard Nick call from the other room. “We’re going to be late.”
She let out cross between a huff and a laugh before she called out. “I’ll be right there. Keep your shirt on.”
After one last check in the mirror to see if she had anything on her teeth, she grabbed her wrap and left the room.
Upon entering, the man of the hour reached out for her to twirl her around. “Well, I was going to say something about you making me late for my own party, but I can see that it was worth the wait.”
Jack allowed herself to be twirled about and brought into his arms. “I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss, Nick. You’re 15 minutes early, so technically, I’m not late,” she said as she smiled up at him.
“When you’re right, you’re right my darling,” he answered before he placed a quick kiss on her lips. “Are you ready to go.”
Jack waved her clutch in front of him, eyes flashing mischievously, “Of course I am. Are you?”
“Oh, enough of this,” Taylor exclaimed standing next to an amused, but silent, Austin. “You’re both ready, and you both look fantastic. Now we really do need to get a move on or we really will be late!”
Nick quirked an eyebrow at Jack, as if to say ‘she’s your friend.’
“Alright,” he said as he steered Jack out of her apartment. “Let’s get going. You know how upset Taylor will get if all the food’s gone before we get there.”