17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Lily
I can't see anything. The darkness is overwhelming. My heart races with panic, and I fight to breathe as the weight of the shadows closes in. It's crushing my lungs and squeezing my chest, stealing my ability to think.
The hallway led me to an office where Ethan does his paperwork. There are stacks of papers everywhere, and little life in this place. It feels like him. It even smells like him.
I feel trapped in this room. I need to get out and talk with some people at least. To my dismay, when I try to open the door, its locked. Firmly locked like someone perfectly plotted trapping me here.
“Hey, security!” I yell behind the door.
I felt safe the moment I set foot here, but now that the door is locked, I feel trapped and suffocated.
“Hello?” I call again, my voice more desperate. My claustrophobia is kicking in and knowing that I am in a place full of vampires is not making things better for me either.
“Lily,” a deep male voice says behind the door. The person behind the voice doesn't sound happy, but at least he responds.
“Hi! Hi, thank God,” I feel relieved.
“Lily Snow,” the voice repeats again, only sounding more sinister this time.
“Ethan, is that you?” I ask.
“Yes, Lily, it's me,” he says.
“I am trapped here, Ethan. Please, open the door.”
“No, I don't think I will,” he says.
“Why not?” I suddenly feel a wave of anxiety rushing over me.
“You are such a fool, Lily,” he says. His voice is deep, and his tone is firm. He speaks like a man used to getting his way, and it's intimidating.
It suddenly hits me that it does not sound like Ethan. It is not Ethan who is behind the door. It is someone else. It sounds like the other man, the one who had knocked on my door and almost broke in.
“Who are you?” I ask.
“You mean, what am I,” he says.
I try to reach for my phone to give Ethan a call, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I am almost going insane. I can't believe this is happening to me.
“Security?” I ask him.
“Don't worry about security, Lily. Worry about yourself,” the voice says.
“What do you want from me?” I ask.
“Nothing. Not yet anyway.”
I couldn’t even hear his footsteps walking in the hallways. He must have been walking in complete silence. He must be looking for something or someone. I feel scared for my life.
This must be the feeling everyone feels before they die. I feel like this is the end of it. Anxiety is consuming me, mind, body, and soul.
“I like how you are so obedient, Lily Snow,” he finally says again.
“Stay away from the door, you creep.”
“You knew you were supposed to leave the letter for Ethan Rothschild, and you did that so well.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I have been watching you for a while, Lily. You can be on my team, you know that?”
“Team?”
“Although I don't think my assistants can resist your charms the way I did.”
“What are you talking about? I don't know you. What assistants are you talking about?”
“Assistants who are thirsty for blood. Fine, pure, human blood such as yours.”
“Oh, God,” I swallow in fear and disgust.
“Yes, Lily. We can smell good blood, and you smell the best.”
“Stay away from me, you sick bastard.”
“Or what? Are you going to run? Where are you going to go? There's no escape from me. We can smell you and track you even when you try to hide. There's nowhere you can run.”
“Ethan, if you're out there, help!” I scream. I'm trying to hold back my tears. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry.
“Ethan is not here to help you, Lily. No one is here to help.”
“Help! Please! Security!”
“Poor girl,” he says. I hear him chuckling behind the door. The laughter gets louder and more sinister by the second.
I'm so afraid of what might happen next. I just want him to leave. I want to get out of here and just find Ethan. I don't feel safe being locked in here. This was not supposed to be a scary place. I shouldn't feel fear or dread. It should have been a haven for me. It should make me feel safe.
“You will make a fine vampire,”" his voice appears again.
“You're a freak.”
“You're a tough one. But that's what attracts me to you, Lily.”
“Get the hell out of here,” I say, on the verge of tears again.
The voice vanishes for a few seconds. I feel myself calming down a bit, but my hands are still trembling. I start pacing around the room and looking for a place to hide.
I don't feel safe anywhere. As I slowly walk towards the door again, I softly place my ear on the door again.
“See you soon, Lily Snow.” The voice startles me once again, making me feel a cold chill going down my spine. It then disappears. I expect it back anytime soon.
I can't handle this anymore. I can't keep waiting. I must leave.
I start turning the knob. My hands are trembling. I don't even know if this is going to work, but I must try.
“Come on, please.”
Finally, it turns. I can't believe it. I pull the door and it opens. I quickly jump out and look around the hallway. There's no one here. The hallway is completely empty. It is totally dark. Not a single ray of light shines. It is so quiet you can hear the silence. The only sound that I can hear is coming from my heavy breathing.
I stumble in the pitch-black hallway. I am so scared to the point that I can hear my heart pounding in my chest. The air is thick with silence. I suddenly collide with a solid figure.
“Ethan?” I whisper, my voice trembling.
“Lily. Thank goodness you are safe,” he wraps his arms around me and breathes against my head.
“Where were you? What happened?” I finally speak again, feeling a mixture of both relief and dread.
“The electricity cut off. I tried to get to you, but the doors wouldn't budge,” he explains, his voice steady, but laced with frustration.
“I thought you left me there all by myself.”
“Of course not. Never,” he assures me.
I hug him tightly. I feel safe and protected now. I know I don't have to worry anymore because he is here and everything is supposed to be okay, but I can't help but feel the chills running down my spine.
“He was here,” I say, looking up at Ethan.
“Of course, he was. I can swear on my eternal life that he was the one behind the electricity being shut down.”
“Good God, I felt like I almost collapsed out of anxiety.”
“That bastard is playing a dangerous game. He needs to pay for this, and he is going to,” Ethan grits his teeth.
I knew it was Demetrius behind the door, but I can't believe it was him behind the electricity cut off. Everything seems too much for me to take in. I was so scared that I didn't know what to do. I just want this nightmare to end.
“I hate that I put you in the middle of this,”" Ethan sighs, as he runs his hands through his hair.
“I am here with you.”
“I promised to protect you and keep you safe, Lily. And that I will,” Ethan looks straight into my eyes, cupping my cheeks.
I don't want him to leave me alone, especially after what happened today.
“Come on, let me take you to my place,” he says, holding my hand.
“You can't keep hiding me,” I look around the darkened hallway, and take one last deep breath before following him outside.
“It's not a good idea to stay here. Not tonight. Especially tonight,” he says, pulling out his car keys.
“I am aware of that, Ethan.”
“It is not a good idea for you to stay at your place either.”
“What do you suggest, then?”
“Come and stay with me. At least until all this mess is sorted out.”
“I don't want you to be the only one taking action,” I say, getting into his car.
“And you won't. We will act together.”
“Are we going to report to the police?”
“What are the police going to do concerning a vampire, Lily? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
“You have a point,” I sigh, sinking in my seat.
“We will figure something out, I promise,” he assures me, squeezing both of my hands together.
Ethan starts the engine, and the car roars to life.
As we pull away from the darkened back of the building, a shadowy figure emerges from the darkness, watching us with glowing red eyes.
“What's that?” I ask as I point at the figure in front of the car, my heart skipping a beat.
Ethan's gaze narrows, his grip tightens on the steering wheel, and his eyes immediately change color to the same shade of gleaming red that the creature in front of us has.