All Monsters are Human

Third Coffin

Well, this was a terrifying turn of events. I was walking next to an apparent crazy person. This guy was definitely weird. In any other world he could have been a model, but in this world he was a deranged lunatic, a handsome one at that.

I shook my head. I couldn't bring myself to view him in that way, not when he was holding me hostage. After leaving my house we walked down the street. Just round the corner was a car. It looked kind of beat up and I wondered if it would even start.

The lights flashed as the doors were unlocked. I stood at the passenger side staring at the door. My charming abducter was standing opposite at the driver's door. He was analysing me with that cold, blue gaze.

"Better get in before I lose my temper." He opened his door.

I mimicked him and sat in the passenger seat. I could have run away then, but he probably would have taken two strides and caught me. I shut the door and was unsurprised when the locks clicked.

To my shock, the car started and he put it in reverse and turned until we were facing the other way. I watched as he shifted gears and the car moved forward. This was it. I could barely believe this was happening.

"What about my parents?" I mumbled. He turned his attention to me breifly.

"What about them?" He shrugged.

"They will notice i'm gone and they'll find me, freak." I seethed, curling myself into a corner.

He smirked and I noticed his eye brow quirked when he did that. It was like he found the whole situation amusing.

"We'll be far away by the time they notice," He replied, thrumming his thumb against the steering wheel. "It's Andy, by the way. Not, freak."

I glared at him with as much venom as I could muster and was surprised when he stopped the car, seemingly in the middle of the road. He slowly angled his head at me then with the speed of a striking cobra he flew forward, grasping my wrist and yanking me closer.

"Call me freak again and I will cut out your pretty, little tongue, kitten." He grinned when I squirmed and whimpered. "Hmm, I love it when you make those cute, little noises."

He leaned closer, inhaling my scent. I froze in absolute horror. I felt his warm breath caress my skin and another whimper slipped out. I felt him chuckle against my skin before he pulled back.

"What's my name, babe?" I hated the nicknames.

"A-andy?" I stammered, and he grinned again.

He started the car again and continued to drive down the street. I stayed awake, watching him. I was scared he might kill me in my sleep.

We eventually stopped driving after about three hours. I had no idea where we were and I was more scared than I had ever been in my life. I opened my car door and followed Andy. I realised we were at a hotel.

It looked like a normal family hotel. I freaked out when he grabbed my hand and started walking with me towards the entrance. We got to the front desk and paused in front of it, waiting for someone.

A young woman appeared and smiled broadly at us. I felt the knife press against my wrist and smiled back.

"Welcome to The Red Fox hotel," The woman didn't seem to sense anything amiss. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, there," Andy was all smiles. He almost seemed normal, almost. "Just going to visit her parents for the weekend, isn't that right honey?"

"Yeah, can we please have a room?" My throat clenched. "For two, please?"

It took everything in me not to vomit and I hadn't failed to notice he said we were visiting my parents. I wanted to cry. He was deliberately rubbing it in. The woman typed a few things in.

"Can it be a ground floor room, please?" Andy glanced at me. I nodded in agreement.

The woman smiled and went to retrieve a key for us. Whilst she was gone I tilted my head to observe Andy. He narrowed his eyes at me and smirked when he realised I was upset about the lie we'd come up with.

The woman returned and handed him the key. He accepted and was all smiles again. I followed him towards the double doors and out into the hallway. Our room was down the hall and to the right.

He unlocked the door and motioned for me to enter, which I did. I went and sat on the bed. I stared as my captor shut and bolted the door. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and I noticed he was wearing a Misfits t-shirt.

He was rail thin, but I could see the muscles on his arms along with all the brightly coloured tattoos. He dragged a hand through his hair and his eyes landed on me. He had me here now and I wondered what his plan was.

He sat opposite me on a chair and leaned back, observing me with amusement. I was toying with the strap of my bag and feeling terrified.

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked, very aware that he had leaned forward.

"I'm not sure. I've been watching you for about three weeks now. I've never had someone
live for so long. I can't tell whether it's fun, or boring." He smiled, looking almost innocent.

"Watching me?" I queried. I had to know if it was him.

"Yeah, watching you. I couldn't help myself." Andy ran another hand through his hair.

"My parents-" I whispered.

"Don't matter." He snapped, suddenly becoming hostile.

I nodded, but continued to think of a way to escape. He stood abruptly and I shrank back. I shuffled back when he sat next to me.

"Flick?" Andy smiled. I was a little surprised he knew my nickname.

"Yes, that's what everyone calls me." I replied, uncurling myself a bit.

"Why does everyone call you that?" He sounded genuienly interested now.

"I like old films and stuff," I shifted, uncomfortably.

Should I be prepared to beg for my life again? I waited for him to say something, but he continued to watch me for a few moments. I took a shuddering breath.

The bed shifted as Andy moved to lay down. His eyes flicked to my face, waiting for me to join him. I let out a sniffle and I felt the bed move again as he sat up on his elbows.

"Come on, don't cry." His fingers ghosted across my knuckles.

"You abducted me." I sobbed. "I just want to go home."

My body curled in on itself and I broke down. I felt the bed shift again and Andy was pulling me closer. His arms went round me and I, initially tried to escape, but gave up in the end.

His fingers traced through my hair, smoothing it out. I felt him gently pull the hair tie out, letting my brown hair down so he could lace his fingers through it.

I was still sobbing and was trying not to like how it felt. He was being so gentle with me now. I whimpered when his fingers trailed down the back of my neck. My breathing was starting to even out. Andy seemed calmer now, perhaps I could reason with him.

"Andy, please let me go." I lifted my head slightly to look at him.

"You know I can't do that, kitten." He sighed, and closed his eyes.

My body was fighting sleep, but I finally succumbed to it and fell into an uneasy sleep. My dreams, which were usually very normal were nightmarish.

I awoke to a hollow feeling in my stomach and an empty room. Andy was gone. I sat up and stumbled off the bed. I grasped the door handle and jiggled it, only to realise it was locked from the outside.

I suddenly remembered we were on the ground floor. I hurried to the window, flicking up the locks. They opened, but only enough that I could fit half my arm out. They must have been child proof.

I heard the door unlocking and panicked. If Andy saw me by the window he may get angry and lord knows what that would mean for me. I rushed to the bed and sat down just in time.

He walked in and stared at me with undisguised suspicion. I managed a weak smile at him. My stomach had decided it was hungry and gurgled.

"Can we order room service?" I asked, hoping he would agree.

"We need to leave now." He snapped.

I sighed and clambered off the bed, grabbing my bag and my smaller camera bag. We left the room and walked in relative silence.

"Do you still have the picture of the cat?" He asked, surprising me.

I remembered that he had been there when I had taken the picture. I only wished I had seen him and called the police.

"I do. It's on my camera. Do you like cats?" I mumbled.

To my shock, he smiled, "Yeah, I like animals more than people."

Our walk was quiet again and I followed him into the lobby. It was quite early and the reception desk was empty. I could see the employee in the back. I wasn't at all shocked when we just walked out the building.

"Did you pay?" I called out as Andy circled the car.

He unlocked it and shrugged. I glowered at him and shook my head. We would definitely have the police after us. This made me extremely happy. I couldn't hide my smile.

I got in the car and buckled up. Enjoy the ride, you crazy weirdo. The police will be after us for not only the hotel, but also all the other crimes you've obviously commited.

"Bet you think the police will get me?" Andy had clearly noticed my joy. "I'm very good at disposing of the evidence, shall we say. And as for the hotel? I have friends that can deal with that."

My face paled significantly. He had people that knew of his crimes and these same people were all right with what he was doing. He started the car and pulled out the driving space. I peered out the window, watching as people arrived and left the hotel. How I envied their freedom. Time to make awkward conversation.

"Where are we going?" I asked, watching as the car chugged onto the motorway.

"My place." He simply replied.

I was very surprised that he actually had a home. I suspected that he had many homes though, given what he did in his spare time. I shifted in the seat, staring at the road as it spanned ahead.

"Think of this as an adventure." Andy said, his eyes still trained on the road.

"You said it was either fun, or boring. What happens if I become boring?" I had remembered that and it honestly scared me.

"Then I'll dispose of you." Was the simple response.

We drove for what felt like ages, but the clock in the car said it was only half eleven. We arrived in a small town that I had never been to. The car was parked and I trailed after Andy. He seemed to know where he was going and paused at a block of flats.

He pulled out a key fob and swiped it until the doors opened. I followed obediently. We climbed the stairs and he unlocked one of the flats, letting me in. It was very clean and quite large.

"Welcome to my home," He walked past me. "For the time being anyway."

I nodded and looked around. The lounge was massive with an open-plan kitchen. Across the way I could see the door leading to the bathroom. I was still feeling a little sick so knowing where the bathroom was would be handy.

"Make yourself at home." Andy smiled, sitting on the couch.

The words 'I hate you' came into my mind and I could feel Andy watching me. When I looked up he was smirking. Maybe he sensed my disdain for him.

"You hate me, right?" He asked, casually.

I had never hated anyone before, but I was so scared and I just wanted to see my parents again. The doorbell went and before I could form a response, Andy was across the room and answering it.

I could hear voices at the end of the hallway and Andy strolled back in followed by a man in a suit and a younger guy. The man in the suit was older with a slight beard and a kindly face. The younger man was slender and had a cold look in his eyes.

I was frozen, rooted to the spot, staring at their police badges on their belts. These men worked for the police and I knew that this situation was hopeless.

"As I was saying we had a report about a guy leaving a nearby hotel without paying." The older guy was saying.

"Did you sort it?" Andy replied. He was in the kitchen, getting two beers out the fridge.

The younger police officer suddenly noticed me and a serpentine grin appeared on his face. He slinked over and I backed away.

"Well, hello. Who's your pretty, little friend, Andy?" He chuckled, grabbing my arm.

I shrieked and tried to remove my arm. I stared at the older officer, but he merely shrugged and allowed it to continue. The younger man pulled me closer and I squirmed to escape.

Andy appeared again, handing the older guy his drink and grabbing my other arm, yanking me away. I couldn't say I was relieved, but at least Andy had saved me.

"She's my friend and I think it's clear she doesn't like you, Sam," Andy snapped, pushing me behind him.

He handed the younger officer, Sam, a drink and his blue eyes narrowed at me. I stepped away and left the room.

"I wasn't gonna hurt her. I just wanted some fun." I could still hear Sam.

I went to the bathroom and locked myself in. I could hear them talking and after a while I heard the front door open and slam shut. Someone knocked on the bathroom door.

"Open the door, kitten." Andy didn't sound angry so I stood and unlocked the door.

He was leaning on the door frame, watching me with something akin to concern in his eyes. I flinched when he reached out, tracing a hand down my face, catching a few stray tears.

"Stay out of Sam's way," His tone was cold though and I shrank back.

He seemed to sense my growing fear and before I could protest he was hugging me. One arm wrapped round my waist and the other came up to smooth my hair and I let myself enjoy the gentleness.

Notes