Game gone wrong

“Are you going to kill me?” Jamie asked. 

That had never been the plan. Dead—especially if his lead turned out to be false—would bring about an avalanche of paperwork he’d never find the motivation to tackle. There would be an unnecessary number of questions and perhaps a bit of punishment he’d rather not endure. 

Demetrius gave a lazy shrug. “Only after we’ve had a bit of fun. Now, how do you feel about ‘my mother has someone regularly checking in with us while she’s gone; they’ll be calling any minute’?”

In place of any response, Jamie felt around for the door knob. She had the wild sort of look in her eyes that told him she was set to run. In his experience, that was never a quiet affair and was often accompanied by screaming; loud…unnecessary…screaming.

“Don’t,” he said. “I’d rather not on an empty stomach.”

Heedless of his polite request, Jamie spun on her heels and yanked the door open. She darted through it without so much as a glance back to see that he was already on his feet and on her heels.

Demetrius was startled to have made it to the bottom of the stairs before her. He’d done some amount of overcompensation with his own speed, expecting the real show was about to start but her speed gave him visible pause.

It was enough of the child’s play. He’d been in the house too long to still have relatively few answers. She must’ve possessed the kind of power that could repel him but instead she cowered. It had been easy to rule out her little sister and that made the ambiguity surrounding her all the more jarring. He didn’t understand—couldn’t understand.  

Jamie tripped over her own feet trying to stagger back up the stairs. “N—No…wait…stop…”

“Please don’t kill me,” he continued on her behalf. If she wouldn’t reveal herself, he would pull it out of her himself. She wouldn’t so easily make a fool of him.

Demetrius’ ears receded, reappearing atop his head. They were now sharp and feline in nature, taking on the jet black he’d sported while still a cat. “Take anything…just don’t hurt me…” A tail appeared behind him, swinging statically in show of his level of focus as he proceeded up the steps. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

His canines descended, growing noticeably larger and sharper as he drew closer.

Demetrius remained alert, knowing this was typically the part of the mission when things became more physical. Even the most composed being had a difficult time concealing their true nature when faced with certain death. He anticipated a sudden release of power and his muscles tensed in preparation for what may turn into a bloody fight.

What happened next was the furthest thing from his most calculated of expectations.

Jamie broke into desperate sobs. It was an ugly and uncontrolled release. Rivers of tears erupted their banks, flooding her face in seconds. Streams of equal fervour washed from her nose, competing to see her soaked. He heard the moment her breaths grew shallow, sharp intakes of air forcing themselves inside her violently. Before long, she began to choke on her own tears.

Demetrius stared, dumbfounded by the spectacle she’d made of herself. For several minutes, he stood mouth agape wondering how they’d gotten to that point. Why hadn’t her own fangs descended? Why hadn’t she ripped a hole through his chest when he was close enough?

This girl…truly thought she was dying…and did little more than succumb to absolute terror and despair.

That was a new reaction for the books, one he struggled to understand even now.

“Alright, alright, take it easy. It was just a joke.”

She didn’t hear him over her own loud wails, the volume increasing with each passing moment.

“Jamie. Jamie!”

He clamped a hand over her mouth causing her muscles to tense in anticipation for what she must’ve imagined to be the final blow.

Intent on damage control, he pulled his ears in, returning them to a more human form and position. The tail that once swung ominously also retreated, vanishing without a trace. The canines that had threatened her with the surety of death rounded themselves and shrank. All signs of savagery dissipated so that it was difficult to believe there had ever been danger to begin with.

“Calm down or you’ll wake your sister,” he said. One screaming girl was enough.

Her eyes widened at the reminder of her sleeping sister, moistening until they had once again blurred her vision.

“No, no, no. We’re done with that, remember? No more. Relax. I’m gonna remove my hand but you gotta promise that you’ll focus on breathing instead of screaming, alright? You promise?”

She blinked rapidly at him, unable to give any other form of response.

“This is important,” he said. “Promise me you won’t scream and I promise I won’t eat you.”

She nodded once, finally coming down enough to see she was being given a chance to save herself. He only needed her compliance. This night didn’t need to end in disaster for either of them.

“Good. Deep breaths now.” The boy removed his hand, hesitating a moment in case he needed to clamp her mouth shut once more.

Demetrius took a spot three steps down from her, trying to provide her with the sort of distance that might make her feel safe. It was a futile effort. Jamie continued to shake violently where she sat and while she had stopped wailing, she sat quietly sobbing. It didn’t matter what he said, it didn’t matter how many promises he made; the girl was inconsolable and determined to remain that way.

Had he known she’d react so poorly, he’d have opted for a…less frightening means of getting answers out of her. Now a heavy guilt buried itself deep inside his stomach, churning it uncomfortable. What he’d seen in her eyes was real fear; no threat lay hidden beneath the surface.

But that couldn’t be true.

He knew what he smelled and he knew what he felt. There was something, perhaps further down than even she could pull forth, but it was there and it taunted him even now. He’d been bested by a force he couldn’t comprehend and it only fuelled his desire to find the truth.

Until then, Demetrius rose with a lazy stretch. Her father would be home soon and it would be better to be gone before then. The mission had summerly been a failure and her cries had already made it clear he wouldn’t be accomplishing anything further. It was time to cut his losses and report back to his mother.

Perhaps she would have a better idea of how to gain the answers they sought.

“I’m gonna go. Don’t tell your parents, or do. I don’t reckon they’ll believe you either way.”