Page 34 of Immersed
“You taste like fear,” he whispered. “Sweet. Addictive. I can’t get enough.”
Teeth grazed the sensitive skin where neck met shoulder, then bit down—not hard enough to break skin, but enough to make Levi cry out. The sound seemed to please the stranger, who soothed the bite with his tongue before moving to create another mark.
“This is so much more satisfying than just killing you,” he murmured against Levi’s skin, lips brushing against the fresh bite mark. “Don’t you think? More... complete.”
Desperation gave Levi strength he didn’t know he possessed. He twisted, managing to free one hand from beneath his body. His elbow shot backward, connecting with the stranger’s face in a solid impact that brought a satisfying grunt of pain.
His head snapped back, blood spurting from his nose. His grip loosened enough for Levi to scramble forward on his elbows, breaking free from beneath his weight.
“You little—” The stranger’s voice held genuine surprise as he wiped blood from his face, staring at the crimson smear across his fingers with something like wonder. “No one’s made me bleed in... I can’t remember how long.”
Levi’s moment of triumph was short-lived. The stranger recovered quickly, lunging forward to grab his ankle. One powerful yank dragged Levi backward across the floor, splinters catching on his jeans before the stranger flipped him over, pinning him on his back this time.
Blood dripped from his nose, spattering onto Levi’s face as he loomed over him. The stranger’s weight settled heavily across Levi’ships, knees bracketing his thighs. The new position brought an unmistakable hardness pressing against him through their clothes, making Levi’s stomach twist with horror.
“Look what you did,” he said, touching his bleeding nose with something approaching fascination. He didn’t sound angry—he sounded thrilled. His blood-smeared lips curved into a smile as he gazed down at Levi.
Levi’s hands pushed against the stranger’s chest, a futile attempt to dislodge him. The stranger caught his wrists, pinning them above his head with one hand. The other wiped more blood from his nose, then smeared it across Levi’s cheek.
“Red suits you,” he huffed, his hips rolling downward in a slow, deliberate motion that made Levi’s breath hitch.
Levi turned his face away, squeezing his eyes shut. “P-please don’t do this.”
“Do what?” The stranger’s voice dropped to a whisper, his breath hot against Levi’s ear. “You’re supposed to die, Levi. That’s how this works.” His hips moved again, more insistent this time. “But maybe there are different kinds of death. Little deaths. The French have a term for it, you know.”
Horror dawned as Levi understood the stranger’s meaning. His eyes flew open, panic surging through his system with renewed force.
“N-no,” he gasped, struggling beneath the weight pinning him down. “No, no, n-no—”
“Shhh,” he soothed, his free hand stroking Levi’s hair. Something shifted in his expression—the predatory smile softening into something that might have been affection as he grabbed his knife. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it good for you.”
“Just to keep you still,” he explained, taking on the tone of someone reassuring a frightened child as he positioned the tip against Levi’spalm, the metal cold against his skin. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
The blade plunged downward, impaling Levi’s hand against the wooden floor. Agony exploded through his nervous system as the knife penetrated flesh and muscle before embedding deep in the floorboards beneath. His scream echoed through the abandoned building.
“Perfect,” the stranger said cheerfully, releasing Levi’s other wrist to admire his work. Blood pooled around the blade, seeping into the cracks between floorboards. “Now you won’t go anywhere.”
A terrible stillness descended over the room, broken only by Levi’s ragged breathing and the stranger’s soft, satisfied sounds. The knife pinning Levi’s hand to the floor created a grotesque focal point between them—steel embedded through flesh into wood, a symbol of his trapped existence.
The stranger stroked his hair as he settled more comfortably across Levi’s thighs. “The hard part’s over now. Everything else will be good, I promise.”
Levi’s chest heaved with panicked breaths, each inhalation burning through his lungs. The pain radiating from his impaled hand overwhelmed his senses, transforming the edges of his vision into a pulsing red haze.
The stranger shifted his weight, creating friction that elicited an involuntary physical response despite Levi’s terror. Those mismatched eyes darkened as he noticed, a smile of pure satisfaction spreading across his blood-streaked features.
“There you are,” he murmured, rolling his hips in another slow, deliberate motion. “Your body knows what’s happening even if your mind refuses to accept it.”
Tears leaked from the corners of Levi’s eyes, tracking across his temples and into his hair. He turned his face away, unable to bear thestranger’s scrutiny, but a firm hand gripped his jaw, forcing him to meet that unsettling gaze again.
“I’ve watched you die four times now.” His thumb traced the curve of Levi’s lower lip with disturbing tenderness. “Each time felt... incomplete. Hollow. This is better. This is what we’re meant for.”
Revulsion surged through Levi’s system. He bucked upward with desperate strength, trying to dislodge the weight pinning him down. The movement only caused the knife in his hand to tear wider, sending fresh pain exploding up his arm as the blade shifted against bone.
“Don’t fight.” His hand slid from Levi’s chest to his exposed stomach, fingers splaying across trembling muscles. “You’ll only hurt yourself more.”
“St-stop,” Levi managed, the word catching in his throat. “P-please—”
He pressed two fingers against Levi’s lips, silencing him. His other hand moved to Levi’s throat, applying light pressure—not enough to cut off air entirely, but sufficient to restrict it, to emphasize Levi’s complete vulnerability.
