Chapter Text
Music pulsates in the club, thrumming deep in her veins as she searches the crowd. Heat from writhing bodies rolls off of her skin, sending a drip of sweat along her spine. A familiar stench of stale alcohol and arousal surrounds her, a smell she's grown to associate with her nightly routine. Dark eyes meet hers from across the room, pink and purple strobe lights highlighting a mischievous glint in his gaze.
He smirks.
Her heart stops, picks up once again to the beat of a new song. She's moving before she even realises it, wading through a dense fog of people until she's chest-to-chest with the man.
His arms wrap easily around her waist, swaying her to the rhythm of the music. It’s a sensual grind of bodies — skin to skin. He's handsome, she thinks. Better looking than the usual johns she picks up.
It's not long until she whispers a price in his ear, accentuating the words with a biting kiss to his earlobe. He nods once, that smirk ever-present, and pulls her out into the cool night air.
She's walking into a seedy motel room before she knows it, the man trailing behind her. The sound of the door locking echoes in the otherwise silent room. He presses against her back, trailing his lips down the side of her neck. She shivers, a soft gasp leaving her.
Something sharp pierces into the crook of her neck. It’s already too late when she realises it isn't his teeth.
The room begins to turn, her muscles heavy as she falls limply back into the man. Her vision blurs, all imagery wilting away.
A gasp of air, so sudden her lungs feel raw with it. She's on her back now, a suffocating weight pinning her to a mattress. She opens her eyes, tries to see the man above, but she's met with darkness. She's blindfolded.
Her skin is damp and sticky. When a coppery scent burns her nostrils, it's a process of elimination to realise that she's covered in blood. A searing wave of pain hits her next, confirming the blood is her own.
She tries to scream. She tries to thrash and attack the weight on-top of her, but she can't move. Her limbs are dense.
She's paralyzed. Helpless.
Large hands caress her face, deftly removing the blindfold. She blinks in the harsh light, blinded momentarily, before she can take in the man's features.
He's still smirking, dark eyes reflecting the glint of the knife he holds. The blade moves without warning, a violent slash against her skin.
She hears the gurgling of her lungs, tastes the blood pooling in her mouth, before she realises what he's done. Warmth gushes from her throat in vicious waves, flooding at the back of her head and soaking her hair.
The smirk above her slowly fades, darkness enveloping the man.
There's nothing.