Knock Knock Knock.
Jada awoke with a jolt and checked her phone for the time, then gulped. No reasonable person would knock on someones door at 4:36 in the morning.
Did the guy from earlier find her?
Knock knock knock knock.
Jada clutched her phone tightly. Maybe she should call the police... But what if it was just Uncle Tim again? He had a habit of terrifying her without even trying.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Jada slid out of bed, and walked a few steps to her uncles bedroom to see if he'd left his keys on his desk again. She found a pile of pages that had been scrawled over and ripped out of a composition notebook, a half eaten bowl of lumpy grits, and several layers of ash and grime, but no keys.
She noticed the tiny green light blinking on her phone, and checked her notifications.
An update was available for her system, and she'd received a message from Persephone at 12:17 a.m.
"I know it's late but could I come over? I don't want ..."
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Who is it!?" Jada snapped, now quite irritated. This wouldn't be the first time Persephone popped up at a weird hour, usually with soot and ash in her yellow hair, and ready to excitedly tell her about the new potion she'd brewed up or the new spell she'd tried, but Jada was sure her friend knew better than to show up at this time, banging on the door like this. Jada stormed into the apartment entrance, ready to say some words.
"It's Etta, from before."
Jada paused. Why would she be here? She peeked through the hole and saw her with puffy, reddened eyes. Jada unhooked the chain and opened the door.
"Whats wrong? Are you OK?" she asked.
"I'm going to die tomorrow," said Etta, flatly.
~
Etta looked like an entirely different person that the girl she'd met earlier that day. The Etta from before seemed so confident and lively, with her bright make-up and fashionable clothes. She was regal and elegant beyond belief, even when she ran, she moved with such grace that it was as if she'd bounded into the air and glided over earth. She was fearless, never even flinching when that guy tried to hurt her, while Jada was still afraid of him. But now she looked vulnerable and anxious, even unstable. Her bright green headwrap was poorly tied and kept unraveling, causing her to have to tuck the ends back in periodically to keep it from falling all the way off. Her long sleeved turtle-neck was twisted, announcing her carelessness. She'd even forgotten her glasses.
"I apologize for the odd time," Etta murmured, as Jada set a mug of black tea in front of her.
Etta thanked her and inhaled the steam, but made no moves to sweeten it or drink it.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you came to me first," Jada said, taking the seat next to Etta and pouring a large amount of sugar in her own tea. She needed some caffeine in her system, but not enough to keep her up all night. "You know ... they have hotlines for this sort of thing,"
"A hotline?"Etta asked, sounding bewildered as she raised a perfectly arched brow.
"For if you feel suicidal," Jada said, before realizing that she may have sounded like she didn't want to hear about Etta's problems, "But you can talk to me too!"
Her guest made a strange face for a moment, causing Jada's stomach to drop. Had she said something embarrassing without knowing it? Jada immediately started thinking of excuses to walk out of the room.
"I think there's a misunderstanding," Etta said, averting her eyes, "I came here to thank you. You're the only person to ever try to protect me ..."
Jada smiled warmly,"You're welcome! It was no problem really, I'm just glad you're not hurt!"
"He couldn't have hurt me," snorted the girl, looking at her feet, eerily "I was going to kill it- him, so in a way, you saved him too. You're a hero."
Jada's back tensed. She wasn't the the type to joke about violence and murder, but her guest seemed very distraught. She'd let it slide this time.
"I'm not like you though, I'm a monster," Etta continued, studiously avoiding eye contact, "But I have a lot of money. A lot. I want you to have it."
The distressed teen's long, lanky body was folded, hunched over as if it was trying to collapse in on itself. Jada couldn't imagine ever being so lonely that she'd give everything she had to the first person to show her any form of kindness. Jada couldn't imagine the kind of hurt that could strip you of your glamor and leave you shrunken and sagging in a strangers kitchen. She'd never seen someone look so... deflated.
Etta began to tremble violently, squeezing her slender arms with gloved hands.
"Are you OK?" Jada asked, jumping to her feet.
Her guest ignored the question and continued as if nothing had changed.
"I want to give it to you, when I die tomorrow. I have no one else to give it to, and if I don't, the money will just be siphoned up by your government and fed to the HCSS."
"Who?"
"The HCSS- The High Council of Sorcerers and Sorceresses, have been working with the feds to kill us all off."
Jada paused. This sounded just like one of Uncle Tim's conspiracy theories.
"Are you sick?"
A curdy, white and pink substance began to seep through the sleeves of Etta's shirt as her trembling evolved into violent shaking. Jada smelled it before she saw it, a poignant stench of rot, decay, and stagnation. The sight of it cause her to gag and back herself several feet, into the living room, fighting the urge to puke.
As soon as her stomach would allow her to, she asked Etta if she needed an ambulance.
The girl shook her head fervently, without so much as a glance, and said: "I'd eat the paramedics,"
Jada's heart stopped. Ice began to flow through her veins, stiffening her limbs. This girl was having some kind of mental breakdown, either that or she was on drugs. Rgardless of which, she was just a few feet from the kitchen where there were knives and cutlery. If Jada got murdered in her uncles home because she didn't know better than to let strangers in at 4 in the morning she would be so dissapointed in herself.
Jada filled her lungs to steady her nerves, and tried to put herself in Etta's field of vision in order to force her to make eye contact. Maybe she could wake her up, bring her back to her senses some way or another.
"You don't have to eat anyone," she ascertained, "Everything's fine, no one is trying to kill you! You're safe, here."
Jada's dark eyes suddenly met piercing lavender ones, soulless and icy with crimson sclera and engorged veins. She froze. Jada could swear that Etta had dark brown eyes... She definitely would've noticed if they were purple before. Her bones turned to ice as those bright eyes examined her body, scrutinizing her flesh. It was as if they were looking into the very depths of her, permeating her guts and organs, drinking her up. Her heart began to pound violently. Her breathes became deep and erratic.
"You want me to look at you so bad," simpered Etta, "I wanted to look too but I don't think I can control myself. You look absolutely lovely, delicious even. Exquisite. I can't help but wonder if you taste as good as you look."
With the sound of her own pulse ringing in her ears Jada thought: This bitch is a cannibal!
She glanced to the left with wide eyes and a tight chest. She may be able to make a dash for the master bedroom where her phone was and call for help, but she blinked, and Etta was suddenly towering over her.
Jada would've assumed that the girl had just teleported if the movement hadn't created a strong breeze that whipped Jada's garments about her. Her hands began to tremble. A putrid, gloved hand, lifted Jada's face by her chin with two, long, narrow fingers, forcing her to meet those harsh lavender eyes again. The gaze was digging deep into her, consuming her ruthlessly, paralyzing her. There was no escape. She tried to scream but the sound was swallowed by her own fear, she wanted to run away but her body refused to respond. She stood there, shaking, immobile, waiting for whatever was coming.
"I want to taste- no, I'll be honest- I want to devour you," Etta whispered in a voice like pouring rain, a melancholy hum full of sorrow or peace, or... something else that Jada couldn't quite understand, but whatever it was, it invaded her, compelled her, and trickled down her spine. Etta's words made her hair stand on end and tremble with each sound. Those words covered her, drenched her, engulfed her from the tips of her ears to soles of her feet, and lulled her into a false calm. Her stiff body relaxed against her will, her limbs went soft, despite of her pounding heart.
"I want to open you and lap up your essence," she said, squeezing her eyes shut and gripping Jada's jaw, "I want to penetrate your flesh with my bare hand and hold your wet, throbbing heart between my fingers. And then, after I've caressed it with my lips, I want to suck you, and drink you. I want to suck until I've tasted every single drop of you, until you're empty, until your soft Rubenesque body goes cold and stiff."
Jada balled her hands into useless fists as Etta rolled her head and face with icy fingers, side to side and round and round.
"So many pretty veins! One taste wouldn't hurt..."
Jada's head was thrown back with one hand, and she felt Etta's sharp nails trailing down her neck with the other. She watched in horror as Etta's incisors grew long and jagged, and her face became horribly distorted. Etta was some kind of monster!
Ofcourse, Etta herself had said so before, but Jada hadn't thought that she could mean literally.
Jada squeezed her eyes shut and waited for her demise. She was going to die here alone, all because she let a stranger in the house. Because she couldn't follow the most simple, the most obvious rule of staying home alone... she would never see her mother or her father again. She'd never get a chance to meet her unborn brother. She'd never get to go on dates or fall in love or have a career or a spouse or children or a house or... hear her mother's voice again.
Warm tears began to trick down her round cheeks, then under her chin and down her neck. What an embarrassing reason to die!
Several seconds passed. Nothing happened.
Jada opened her eyes.
Etta's face had softened and she was staring with wide eyes and an open mouth. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying, but the whites were no longer blood colored and engorged.
The two stared at each other for a moment before Etta snatched her hand away and began to apologize profusely.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I should've sent a human to speak with you. I didn't mean to scare you I just-"
Etta dragged her hands down her face and backed away.
"Starving inhibits my ability to think clearly. I would've sent a human, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-"
"It's fine," said Jada wiping her tears. Her voice was trembling, making her sound more fearful than she really was. In fact, her entire body was still quivering, and she was quite queasy.
"It's not fine, I could have killed you!"
"But you didn't."
Etta shook her head in angry disbelief.
"I should leave," said Etta, turning to walk away.
"Wait! " Jada stepped forward and reached for Etta's arm. Etta moved it with a blur, but paused. "Why are you mad, you just almost ate me! AND! I'm pretty sure some of that stuff you said is sexual harassment, I'm just saying ..."
"I'm not mad" Etta said with a sigh " I'm just ... sorry."
"Well, are you ok? You said you were going to die earlier. You're starving?"
Etta shook her head."I'd lose my self control long before I starved to death. It's already starting. I'm going to walk into the sun this morning before that happens so I can at least die with some dignity."
"But do you want to die? I mean, are there other options? If you ate something right now would you be able to live."
Etta turned wearily. "I would. But I need to drink blood from a living human."
"Lucky you, I happen to be human."
"Please, don't tempt me Jada."
"No, I mean it. I'll let you."
Etta narrowed her eyes incredulously.
"But you just met me."
"You just met me and you're at my house at 4 in the morning trying to put me in your will or something like that. Also, if you knew you could save someone, wouldn't you?"
Etta squinted. "But... I hunt your species."
"Are you trying to change my mind?"
"No, I just don't understand."
"Well you should stop trying to understand before you do change my mind ..."
Etta stood there for a moment before suddenly, snatching Jada off her feet. They were at he couch before Jad had time o process what was happening.
"Are you sure?" she asked, her irises now lavender again, the crimson beginning to spill into her scleras.
"Yes."
Etta's teeth became long and dastardly before piercing Jada's wrist. She winced, but the pain ceased almost immediately. Her arm became entirely numb, in fact, her entire body became more and more relaxed the more vigorously Etta drank. Soon she found herself drifting off to sleep.