Free Prey by Carlos King Page A

reaches the end of the hallway. She presses her back against the wall and squats down. Trying her best not to panic, she takes a deep breath before peeking around the corner. The faint incoming glow from the outside street lights outlines the shape of her uninvited visitor.
    Jade’s heart is beating through her chest.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 10
     
     
     
    Standing outside of her balcony window is the same young man that has been trying to convince her that he’s Alex Henley. She can hardly see his face, but she’d recognize that heavy trench coat anywhere.
    He has his head and hands pressed against the glass, peeking inside the dark apartment. To avoid being seen, she pulls her head back around the corner. She folds her arms on top of her legs and lowers her head, her anxiety mounting. She’s trying her best to keep her fears at bay, but the overwhelming buildup is proving to be too much for her to bear. Jade lowers her head and whimpers softly as tears begin to roll down her cheek.
    The shattering of glass behind her causes her to scream. Alex has smashed through the balcony window and is now in the apartment.
    “Jade!” he called out. “Where are you?! Jade!”
    Jade says nothing. She tightly places her hands over her mouth, hoping to muffle any potential sounds she may inadvertently make. Alex blindly walks through the living room, tripping and stumbling with nearly every step.
    “Jade!” he shouted once again.
    He continues to aimlessly move through the pitch-black apartment. Alex isn’t aware of it, but he’s slowly closing the distance between him and Jade. Jade, on the other hand, is fully conscious to his enclosing range. If she holds her current position any longer it’s all but guaranteed Alex will stumble over her. Not waiting for this to happen, she gets up and bolts to her bedroom.
    “Jade, wait!” Alex shouted, chasing behind her.
    Jade runs into her bedroom and slams the door shut and locks it. She dashes over to the nightstand, her intent set on getting to her phone. Sadly, this task proves to be a lot more difficult than originally anticipated when she discovers her phone isn’t where she thought it was. With the room shrouded in darkness, her chances for finding the phone right away are slim to none.
    The bedroom door is forcefully torn from its frame, dislodged in a way that no normal human could ever duplicate.
    Jade lets out a blood-curdling scream. She runs to the furthest corner of her room and crouches to the floor, crying uncontrollably.
    In through the doorframe walks Alex. The room is too dark for either person to see each other clearly. However, Alex uses Jade’s crying to pinpoint her whereabouts. His hearing leads him into the corner where she’s taken refuge. Alex kneels in front of her and gently places his hand on her shoulder.
    “I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her in a soothing tone. Jade reluctantly looks up at Alex, her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry about barging in like this. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I had to find out if you were okay.”
    “What do you want?” she asked, her voice trembling.
    “I want you to come with me.”
    Fighting off her tears, Jade pleads, “Please don’t hurt me.”
    “I’m not the one you need to be worried about, Jade. As we speak, there’s a demon making his way to this apartment. That’s why I’m here. I sensed him coming and got back here as fast as I could. When I saw all of your lights out I thought I was too late.”
    “Please, can you just leave me alone?”
    “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that this time.” Alex takes Jade by the arm and stands her up. “I’m not going to hurt you, Jade. I promise. But we don’t have time to debate this anymore. So, since you won’t follow me willingly, I’ll make you follow me, forcefully.” He keeps a balanced grip on Jade’s arm, making sure it isn’t too firm to the point where it could hurt,