Page 28 of Immersed
The others. Levi’s stomach twisted. The blood on the blade—on the stranger’s hands. Fresh blood.
“What did you do to them?”
“What I wanted to do to you.” The stranger took a step forward, moonlight illuminating the flecks of gore on his otherwise immaculate face. “But it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t... satisfying.”
The admission sent ice through Levi’s veins. The stranger killed them, looking for him. Specifically for him.
Levi’s fingers moved to the hoodie tied around his waist. With deliberate slowness, he untied the knot, calculating the distance to the tree line. If he could just get enough of a head start...
“Taking that off?” The stranger’s eyes tracked Levi’s movements with predatory focus. “You look different without those baggy clothes.” His gaze traveled down Levi’s arms, exposed by the t-shirt. “I like it. I can see more of you.”
The intimate observation made Levi’s skin crawl. He let the hoodie fall to the ground, muscles tensing to sprint.
“I wonder what else you’re hiding,” the stranger said, then swung the axe.
Levi braced for pain in his head or neck, but agony exploded through Levi’s foot as the blade buried itself in flesh and bone, pinning him to the ground. His scream echoed across the water as he collapsed, hands scrabbling uselessly at his ankle.
“Now you’ll stay,” the stranger said, crouching beside him. “Now we can finish what we started.”
Levi curled forward, gripping his leg as blood poured from the mangled flesh, soaking into the rocky shore.It’s not real. It’s just a game. The pain isn’t real.
But the agony consuming his foot felt utterly authentic. The splintered bone jutting through his skin looked solid. The stranger’s breath against his ear felt moist and alive as he leaned closer.
“We have all night now,” he whispered. “Just you and me.”
“Does it hurt?” he asked, voice soft with genuine curiosity as he knelt beside Levi. “Your face is so expressive. I can see everything you’re feeling.”
Levi bit down hard on his lower lip, tasting copper. He wouldn’t give the stranger the satisfaction of an answer.
“I don’t want you dead yet,” the stranger continued, leaning closer. His fingers brushed Levi’s cheek, wiping away a tear Levi hadn’t realized had fallen. “Not when we’re just getting to know each other properly.”
The touch lingered, thumb tracing the curve of Levi’s cheekbone. The stranger’s hand was cool against his feverish skin, almost comforting in its gentleness.
“I could help you,” the stranger offered, gesturing toward the mangled foot. “Bandage it. Stop the bleeding.” His lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach those impossible eyes. “For a price.”
“What price?” he managed.
The stranger’s fingers traced Levi’s jawline, tilting his face upward. “A kiss.”
Before Levi could respond—before he could process the request—the stranger’s mouth was on his. The kiss was gentle, almost sweet, nothing like the violence Levi came to expect. The stranger’s lips moved against his gently, his hot tongue darting out to lick along the seam of his lips as one hand cradled the back of Levi’s head.
For one terrible moment, Levi’s pain-addled mind couldn’t process what was happening. The gentleness was so unexpected, so at odds with everything else, that he began to part his lips—
Levi jerked back, disgust and self-loathing surging through his chest. He spat to the side, trying to erase the taste of the stranger from his mouth.
“Don’t touch me,” he snapped.
The stranger sat back on his heels, studying Levi’s face. Something like hurt flickered across his perfect features—so convincing it might have been real.
“You almost kissed me back,” he said quietly. “For a moment, you stopped fighting.”
Shame burned hotter than the pain in Levi’s foot. “I was in shock. I was—”
“You were responding.” The stranger’s voice held no mockery, just quiet certainty. He turned to gaze at the river flowing beside them, moonlight dancing across its surface. “It’s beautiful, isn’tit? The water.”
Levi followed his gaze, disoriented by the shift in conversation. The river glimmered like black silk, rippling with silver highlights where moonbeams touched its surface.
“Drowning is peaceful, they say.” The stranger’s voice took on a dreamy quality. “After the initial panic. After you stop fighting.” He turned back to Levi, eyes soft with something almost like compassion. “The body eventually surrenders. Accepts its fate.”
