Page 73 of Snowman

His voice rose, anger bleeding into each word he spat. "Is that what you want? To see me behind bars?"

"No!" My hands pressed flat against his chest, and I pushed again, tears stinging my eyes. "How could you even think of that?"

I kept pushing him, words tumbling out. "Do you think I could stand that? Watching you waste away because of this? Because of him?"

My fists beat against his chest now, anger rising inside me. He staggered back, and his back hit the wall with a dull thud.

Above him, a deer skull with sprawling antlers hung on the wall. The force of his body knocked it loose, and it fewn, landing hard against his leg. He shouted in pain, dropping to one knee. I rushed toward him, but he didn't look at me.

His eyes were locked on the skull, his chest heaving as he stared at it. His breathing slowed, then deepened, the sound growing heavier each second.

"Thor?" I said, kneeling next to him.

He didn't answer.

His fingers reached for the skull, shaking slightly as he picked it up.

"Thor, stop," I pleaded, but he wasn't listening. He was somewhere else.

Slowly, he pulled the antlers up to his face, twisting off the wood mount at the back. I watched, frozen, as he placed the skull over his head.

The empty lifeless sockets stared back at me.

"Thor?" My voice trembled.

I staggered to my feet. He turned to me, the antlers swaying as he moved.

Thor I knew was gone. All that was left was this…thing.

"Thor, please." My voice cracked, but he didn't respond.

He stepped forward, tilting his head like he was scanning me.

Then he laughed. It wasn't his laugh, this was deeper, rougher, and wrong in every way.

"Oh, birdie, birdie," he said, his voice a low rasp. "You're the one who won't leave my fucking mind, huh?"

I stumbled back, panicking.

He moved closer, closing the distance between us in seconds. His hand shot out, taking my arm and pulling me against him.

He leaned in, his mask with antlers hovering inches from my face, and his tongue dragged across my cheek, leaving a trail that made me shudder.

My stomach flipped, and I tried to twist away, but his hands tightened around me.

He leaned into my ear, growling."Run."

This wasn't Snowman. This wasn't Thor. Someone else was in his body, someone I didn't recognize.

My heart raced as I pushed him hard, watching him stumble backward onto the bed.

I didn't wait to see if he got up. I just ran. My feet slid on the hallway tiles as I scrambled toward the stairs.

I could barely breathe.

My whole body felt like it was moving through molasses, but I forced myself forward. The mirrored glass staircase caught the low light and, I knew, this was the beginning of a nightmare. I grabbed the railing, my sweaty palms slipping as I ran, stumbling down.

At the last second, I made the mistake of looking back.

---