Page 25 of The Teddy Bear's Prize

Now, he’s nowhere to be found. The TV is still on crackling static that causes the shadows in the room to shift and sway like a living thing. He wouldn’t have left without telling me, would he?

“Okay, this is getting kind of creepy.”

Lightning flashes and the crash of thunder hits, shaking the house.

I shut off the tv and toss the remote onto the couch and start back towards the bedroom. Shadows dance across the kitchen window in the burst of light, calling me towards the back door like a moth to a flame.

A prickle of recognition causes the hair on my neck to stand on end. I’ve seen this movie before. I've had this dream. Anticipation coils in my stomach with a sick twist of fear and desire, making my knees weak.

I will chase you whenever you want me to.No, he couldn’t possibly be playing psycho killer, could he?

I turn the handle, the metal cool against my palm, the sharp scent of cold rain hitting my senses and reminding me of that first night. I close my eyes, thinking about how the smell will hang on his clothes, his skin, his hair.

The rattle of thunder shakes me from my thrall, my heart pounding in my chest.

It’s pouring. The warm glow of the patio light barely cuts through the darkness, like a veil has come down around me, obscuring my view.

“Tobias?” My voice struggles to cut through the noise from the rain on my metal roof or the howling winds whipping the trees into a frenzied state.

I take a step forward and the shoulders of my shirt stick to my skin, but I’m still lured by the promise of shadows just past the light from my house.

Careful, little doe. You’re going to get wet.

Tobias’ voice wraps around me like silk. I don’t just hear it; I feel it.

“Yeah? Well, you’re going to catch a cold. Not to mention the neighbors might call the cops on your shadow puppets.” I fold my arms against my chest, squinting out into the storm.

They can’t see me and I’m thinking you can’t either.

Lightning crashes and there he is, standing out in the center of the yard soaked to the bone with his black tee stretching across lean muscle. He looks even more gray in the twilight with those twisting black markings across his bare arms and neck, but it’s his glowing red eyes behind a white hockey mask that root me to my spot.

Look at you, caught in my snare. Would you like for me to set you free?

Out of the corner of my eye I can see his shadows shifting, pressing in closer until they are wrapping me in their warmth to keep me from shaking. Their touch is a gentle caress in contrast to the creature standing in front of me, fully playing the monster.

No,I think.

“Yes,” I stammer, wishing I was feeling his body pressed against me instead of his power.

You forget I that can read your mind,Tobias purrs, Let’s play a game of hide-and-seek, little doe, when I find you, I get to fuck you.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a game,” I rasp out a laugh, “What if I don’t want to play?”

The sky lights up and Tobias is gone, I’m wondering if he was even standing there in the firstplace. There’s no way to know what powers he has been hiding up his sleeve.

All you have to do is say ‘olive’ and I will stop.

“Okay,” I bite my lip to keep from giggling as I search for him between each pulse of lightning. I take a step back towards the house, his shadows melting away.

I’ll even give you a thirty-second head start. Ready?

Heat settles low in my stomach, thrumming against my core and my heart races in my chest, waiting. Another bolt of lightning and he’s standing there, just past the patio, shadows twisting around him.

Go.

I run back into the house, my legs feel heavy, my skin prickling with awareness as I close and lock the back door, counting in my head.One. Two. Three. Four.

It looks like the rain is coming down harder now, thunder shaking the house, the yard nothing but the dull gray mist of falling rain and Tobias is nowhere to be seen.

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