Free Prey by Carlos King Page B

but not so loose to the point where she could run away.
    Alex cautiously navigates her through the apartment and out of the front door. The entire time Jade continues to resist, screaming loudly, hoping to get her neighbors attention. Jade’s plan to stir up awareness works to perfection. Neighbors are looking out there windows and some partially crack their doors, all trying to investigate the commotion. Though none of the neighbors interfere directly, quite a few get to their phones and call for help.
    By the time Alex and Jade reach the building’s stairwell, the entire third-floor has been alerted to them. Jade’s resistance has little effect on Alex, who is now leading her down the stairs.
    For some unknown reason, Alex stops dead in his tracks between the third and second floor. Jade is so busy struggling to get free that she fails to realize that they are no longer moving. Clueless and curious as to why they’re at a standstill, Jade glances over at Alex to figure out what’s going on. She notices that Alex’s eyes are fixated on something below them. His worried expression was evident even in the darkness. Jade directs her vision toward whatever it was that had Alex’s attention.
    Jade gazes down to the first floor in the same direction as Alex and spots a shadowy figure of a man standing in the corridor. Jade, Alex, and the unknown man stare at each other in an eerie silence. The luminosity of the moon accents the man’s silhouette, revealing that he’s of average height and build. What isn’t average about the unknown man is what occurs shortly after she set her eyes on him. The man’s eyes begin to glow a burning, bright red. Jade can’t believe her eyes. Alex snaps out of his trance and focuses on Jade.
    “Run, Jade,” Alex told her in a faint whisper.
    Jade keeps her eyes locked on the unknown man, whose eyes are beginning to burn so bright they’re illuminating his face and a small portion of the surrounding corridor.
    Recognizing that Jade hasn’t budged, Alex shouts at her in a more imposing tone. “Run!”
    Jade sees the urgency on Alex’s face. She takes off running up the stairs and back towards her apartment. Alex slowly eases up the stairs, refusing to take his eyes off the ominous being. When Alex nears the top of the stairwell he turns around and follows behind Jade. He manages to catch up to her just as she’s entering her apartment. They both hurry inside and Alex hurriedly shuts the door and engages all three locks.
    Short of breath, Jade chaotically asks, “What the hell was that?! Was that what you were telling me about?!”
    “It’s one of them.” Alex takes hold of Jade’s hand and guides her further into the living room.
    “Do you think those locks can keep him out?”
    Alex lets off a sarcastic chuckle. “Not likely. He’ll tear through that door like it was made of paper. Only thing those locks will do is warn us of when he’s coming in.”
    “Who the hell is he? What does he want?”
    Alex pulls Jade into the far corner of the pitch black living room. “I don’t have a clue whose body that is…but the entity inside of it goes by the name of Markus.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “It’s complicated. We’re all connected in way—angels and demons. Whenever we’re in the same vicinity of one another we become synchronized with each other. They automatically learn everything about me and I learn everything about them.”
    “So what does he want from me?”
    Alex stares Jade in her eyes, yet says nothing. The living room is exceedingly dark, but Jade can read the look on his face as plain as day.

Alex simply responds, “I need to get you out of here.”
    The front door is violently kicked off its hinges and hurdled across the living room, crashing into what’s left of the balcony door.
    Alex scoots Jade behind him, shielding her from any potential harm. Markus enters the apartment, moving at a slow, steady pace. His eyes aren’t burning as brightly as