Alicia trembled as she lay on Joe’s filthy sheets, which still smelled of blood, sweat, cum, and urine. Her legs were spread wide and bound along with her wrists. She had never been more terrified. The room still stank of death even beneath the overpowering chemical smell of Pine-Sol and bleach.
In her mind she could still see the body of the heavyset woman her captor had devoured where it had lain on the floor. The wood where her blood had pooled and coagulated was now bleached lighter than the rest of the floor. Alicia’s ears still rang with the woman’s screams, sending shivers up and down her spine. That woman had died in unimaginable pain.
Alicia knew she was going to die next.
No matter how kind the big college kid had been to her before he’d left this morning. No matter how he’d tried to reassure her that he would never hurt her that way. The Band-Aids on her nipples said otherwise. She was dead.
Even if he was right about the serial killer virus, that it was something like the vampire or werewolf curse, Alicia was still not convinced they could reverse its effects. Especially not after last night. Joe had consumed both blood and human flesh. If he had not been damned before he was certainly damned now and that meant Alicia was fucked right along with him. Still, as long as he believed he could cure himself there was hope for her to escape.
Her wrists were getting infected where her skin had abraded from her daily attempts to wrestle free of the restraints. They would have time to heal now, though. Alicia had given up on trying to break free. She laid her head down on the pillow and dreamt about her father. In her dreams he came to her, wiped the blood from her stomach, undid her restraints and told her he loved her and forgave her. He looked younger now, though, stronger, as if death had restored his youth. He wiped the tears from her face and kissed her forehead. Then he began to comb her hair. She couldn’t remember her father ever being this gentle and nurturing in life. He looked so different now. He looked …
Just like Superman.
