Page 30 of Deranged and Obsessed Omnibus: Vol 1

The home was two-story but tiny, and it was set back from the dirt road, partially hidden by overgrown weeds and flora from the woods. There wasn’t any movement inside, at least from what I could tell, with the windows facing me being dark. But there was an older car parked in the driveway, and I could see and smell smoke as it curled slowly up from the chimney on the other side of the cabin.

Someone was home, which would make this more challenging but not impossible. I hadn’t planned on taking a hostage—or killing another person to further my escape plan—but I’d do what I had to in order to stay free.

I felt the sudden rush of arousal and adrenaline at the thought of taking what I needed no matter the cost. But I regained focus, standing and evaluating my situation a while longer, and made sure I took in every aspect of the home’s surroundings.

The house was isolated and vulnerable. Perfect. The inhabitant didn’t know what the fuck they were in store for. But soon, they’d have their quiet world shattered.

And I was ready to be the person who brought hell upon their earth.

Chapter Three

Evelina

Night had already descended into a heavy cloak around the entire house. Realizing I couldn’t see the words on the page of the book I was reading even with the small fire I had going in the fireplace, I reached over and turned on the small table lamp on the end table by my ratty, ’70s-style couch. It would be the only light I kept on inside for the entire night, just so I wouldn’t feel so isolated.

I set my book down and reached for my mug of tea. I glanced out the living room window, observing the moon glow through the top branches of the forest. The trees swayed from the force of the wind, and the news said a storm was brewing that would last for the next several hours.

Living on the outskirts of my little town had its pros… and cons.

I loved that my two-story cabin afforded peace and privacy, but there was also the disadvantage that I was far away from everything and everyone. Not to mention this home had sat empty for a decade and the improvements I’d been doing to it since I bought the place a year ago took up all my free time.

Then, there was the solitude which was especially heavy when night fell and the fact that I was truly alone settled in. Every creak and groan of the house sounded louder—more sinister.

I took one more sip of tea, set my mug down, and was about to go back to reading when I thought I glimpsed movement right by the edge of the woods. My body went on alert, and I sat upstraighter, my focus and preparedness rising to the forefront of… everything.

My heart started racing, and I felt adrenaline spike in my bloodstream.

The dark figure was massive, but then again, maybe it was just a deer? I’d seen plenty since living this close to the woods.

“It’s just a deer,” I whispered to myself, my laser-sharp focus still on the window and the property right outside. Despite that, I got up, checked the windows and doors, and made sure everything was locked. Just in case.

The sound of the locksclickinginto place made my nerves settle a little more. With one last glance out the window and not seeing any other shadows, I headed upstairs to the bathroom to shower before bed.

I stayed in the shower longer than normal, letting the almost scalding-hot water wash over my aching muscles. I let my mind drift, relaxing under the steady pulse of the spray. Everything felt calm, peaceful even, as the heat chased away the last remnants of my tension and my full day of work.

I was lonely, and it was when I was getting ready for bed that my mind reminded me of that fact, which felt harder with each passing day.

When I turned off the water and got out, the quiet hum of the space heater I brought in to make the bathroom extra warm was all I could hear as I dried off my wet body.

When I was pleasantly warm and dry, I wrapped the towel around myself, securing it under my arm, and then I turned off the space heater, unplugged it, and took it with me as I headed into my room, using my elbow to flip off the bathroom light as I went.

Once I was in my bedroom, I set the heater on the floor by my bed and plugged it in then turned it back on. This was an old house, and the windows and insulation were shit, whichmeant the cold air outside always made itself known as it crept in through the cracks and crevices.

I stared at my bed, confusion the first thing I felt as I stared at the clothes lined up neatly across the mattress. Clothes I certainly didn’t put there when I was in here earlier before I went downstairs to read by the fire. Clothes only visible because of the scented candles I lit on my nightstand and my dresser across the room, so it would smell like lavender and chamomile in here to help me sleep when I finally came to bed.

Fear quickly replaced that confusion, and I reached out to flip the light switch on my wall.

And that’s when I felt it… a presence now in my room.

I spun to look behind me, never actually turning on the overhead light, and everything in me froze.

He stood right outside the doorway, looming in the dim light of the hallway coming from my lamp in the living room downstairs. The man had a hulking figure, massive in height and muscle, and I took a step back on instinct.

God, his presence was so overpowering that I felt it suck the air from the room.

Neither one of us spoke, and after my initial shock that I wasn’t alone faded and my eyes adjusted, I realized what he was wearing.

A dingy prison uniform.

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