Nothing but Darkness

by Maria Ann Green

  She starts to thrash around, though no amount of kicking will free her ankles from my gloved hands. For some reason, she hasn’t started screaming, which is helpful this time. Typically I’d like to savor in her torment, but at the moment I don’t know how close or far away a house with inhabitants is, so quieter is better tonight.

  Before she has a chance to change her mind, I rip off a long strip of duct tape and slap it across her face, dropping her ankles for her wrists instead. That way she can’t tear the tape off.

  And I continue to drag her across the harsh landscape. I laugh as rough bark, rocks, and whatever else pull and rip at her skin as her own weight works against her. I watch as tears stream down her face. She should have known better than to hitchhike. It isn’t safe. And with me she never had a chance. The minute she walked up to my car, her hope flew away with the cold wind.

  “Normally, I’d banter back and forth with you, give you a speech about how much fun I’m about to have, delight in your last efforts to fight, but not tonight. My delay of gratification skills seems to be diminishing the longer I go between playdates with pretty little things like you. So tonight, fuck the side dishes, we’re going straight to the entrée.”

  Her eyes go dim as I finish. Their spark faded, yet I still need the blood.

  I kneel down, wrapping my fingers around her throat. My gloves are cold against her skin, and her fight fails quickly. She kicks and claws at my back for a few moments, but as her brain struggles without oxygen she goes limp. All that’s left with movement are her eyes. I watch her eyes closely, my adrenaline surging. It spikes in an addicting pattern as I watch her face turn red. Her pupils dilate, and her gaze goes unfocused.

  Finally she welcomes the death I’m about to bestow upon her, and again my body feels alight with electricity. I’m amazed how I’ve been lucky enough to have another different experience. This will never get old.

  Soon she’s dead, yet I continue holding her throat. I never want to come down from my high. But a new feeling creeps into me. Again I’ve had an exhilarating experience of taking a life, and again I want to pair it with a sexual one. But I don’t want to chance any more evidence than necessary, so I refrain.

  I’ll just have to see Bee when I get home tonight, no matter the hour.

  The thought kicks me into a hurried cleanup mode, and I get to work.

  As I start to dig the hole to bury her in, I hear the snap of a twig and my heart stops. But before I can turn around, a horribly familiar voice scrapes at my eardrums.

  “Holy fucking shit. And you said I was crazy.”

  “Hello, Eva,” I answer.

  I turn around slowly to a gun pointed at my chest.

  How the fuck am I going to get out of this one?

  “Now they’ll have to give me my job back, or at least give me your job, when I tell the police and Dan what you’ve been doing when you’re not at work.”

  My god, she seriously is a crazy fucking bitch.

  I thought she’d stopped following me. I thought my luck had turned around.

  I guess I thought wrong.

  “I think we can come to an agreement here, Eva. I know your survival instincts are as strong as my need for self-preservation.” I need to come up with some plan. How can I take her down while she holds a gun…without getting shot in the process? My mind is racing, but nothing of substance comes to the surface.

  “No, what’s going to happen is you following me to my car, then I’ll handcuff you inside and take you to jail where you’ll confess everything.” Her voice is more menacing with each syllable, and her features get wider. Her face muscles twitch, and she glances around a few times. Is she hearing things? With shifty eyes, shaking arms, and bared teeth like a dog, I can tell she’s about to lose it, and I don’t want to be standing in line with the gun when she does.

  “I don’t think so.”

  I strive to sound calm while every muscle is strained to the breaking point.

  And then to my left I hear another rustle that shouldn’t be there. Someone else is here. Who the fuck else could it be? Have the police followed Eva and come to take me away? But I recognize the pattern of the steps, and it’s much worse than the police being here.

  Before I can take another breath, Bee launches herself at Eva, knocking her over in one swift move. When they both tumble to the ground I reach for the discarded gun, ready to shoot Eva, except I don’t have a shot. I won’t hit Bee, and the two aren’t separated enough as they wrestle in the dirt.

  First Bee is on top, and then somehow she’s underneath Eva again. Dirt is flying, and I do nothing but hold my breath. Hair gets pulled. There’s the dull thump of fist finding thinly covered bone.

  But then Bee gets the upper hand, straddling Eva.

  “You picked the wrong girl’s boyfriend to mess with.”

  Bee’s voice is as calm as mine was when trying to reason with Eva, but I have the suspicion she isn’t faking hers. She’s the one in control.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Eva’s question comes out in a shriek.

  “The last person you’re ever going to see.” Bee pulls out a plastic bag from her pocket and presses it against Eva’s face, blocking every hole for oxygen. I continue to stand there without saying a word.

  I’m dumfounded.

  I’m confused.

  I’m horny.

  I’m in fucking shock.

  Bee watches as Eva takes her last strangled breath, and then Eva’s life is gone as quickly as the hitchhiker’s was. Bee then stands slowly, cleaning herself off before turning around to face me. When she does there’s questioning on her face.

  It all happened so fast I feel like we’ve been on fast-forward, and I’m just trying to catch up.

  She looks to the ground, shielded by her lashes, and she can’t stop wringing her hands. She wasn’t scared when attacking Eva. She wasn’t anxious killing her. But now she’s nervous to face my reaction.

  She takes a deep breath, starting to speak while looking at the ground.

  “I’ve watched you before tonight. I’ve been keeping tabs on you since we were introduced. I felt something kindred right away. I believed you were like me. Then, when I found out I was right, when I saw what you did under the protective darkness of night, I was ecstatic. I’d confirmed we like the same things. I knew who you were, and I still wanted to be with you, because we’re the same. I’m the ‘anonymous friend.’” She uses her fingers like quotation marks, pausing before going on. “I wanted to prepare you for when I’d tell you everything. I am just like you.”

  She pauses again, finally looking into my eyes.

  But the pause is briefer this time. “I know when you look inside yourself you see nothing but darkness.” I take a step toward her, discarding Eva’s gun at my feet. “Only that’s not what I see as I look inside you. I see perfection. I see a beautiful darkness that matches my own. I want to be with you in all areas. I want to do this together, instead of both of us on our own.” She looks down at her hands again as she wrings them, waiting for a reply.

  She’s so nervous it’s affecting me.

  She’s like me. She kills people. In fact, she just watched me murder someone, then did the same, and now she’s nervous about what I’m going to think.

  “I love you,” she utters.

  My brain is somewhere back in the hole I was digging for the hitchhiker, but I don’t give a fuck. My gut has done me well at every turn, and I’ve never felt stronger about anything else in my entire life. I know what I want, and I’ll never let it slip away.

  “Bee, will you marry me so we can live a life together with date nights like this all the time?”

  She flings herself into my arms, laughing, and we fall to the ground. My pants are down around my ankles faster than I knew they could fall, and her skirt is up around her waist.

  I reach behind her head, burying my hand in her hair while I push myself inside of her.

  “Yes.”

  She answers my question o
ver and over as we make love in the cold air, on a winter night, not far from Eva’s lifeless body.

  Acknowledgements

  First of all, I’d like to thank all of my amazing critique partners for every bit of help, every insightful comment and criticism they’ve given me over the years, and will hopefully continue to give. I couldn’t continue writing without such phenomenal friends. The list isn’t exhaustive, but these wonderful people include Kathryn Trattner, Carly Green, Kristin D. Van Risseghem, Heather DiAngelis, Irina Hall, Kim Graff, and Christina Robins. Thank you for liking my characters as much as me, and for always pushing me forward. I also want to thank Heather again, who doubles as my editor. Thank you for your attention to detail and your ability to help make this book strong enough to face the world.

  Thank you to all of my supporters and friends that give me everything I need to paint with my words. Thank you especially to Scarlett for dragging me to events that help me cultivate my creative side. And to my family, who pushes me to be a better person and support me even when I’m not always the best I can be.

  Also, a special thank you to Tory for pushing me, inspiring me, and telling me I could and should do this. I’m so ecstatic to have a friend reminding me to do things for myself, things that make me happy. You rock, and I’m lucky to have you in my life.

  I swear I’m almost done, but I can’t leave out the strongest women I know—my gang of embroiderists. Thank you for being amazing examples of the best kind of women, women I am lucky to know, and women I strive to be more like. You help me grow and improve all the time.

  Most importantly, thank you to my amazing husband (and our monster) who supports me without fail through every adventure and endeavor. Without you and your never-ending love, my creativity could never have the space to flourish, and projects like this book would never be finished. Thank you for loving this book even more than I did. For everything, thank you, and I love you.

  And, finally, thank you to my readers. Thank you to every single person reading this book, giving your time to me and my words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Never stop reading.

  About the Author

  Maria Green lives in Minnesota with her husband and little family—including three cats who always want to sit on her computer while she writes. She’s always loved to read and write, as far back as she can remember. She loves how writing makes her feel and how creative it lets her be. Nothing is as exciting as creating a whole world and entire people in the midst of a twisting plot.

  There’s never a time you won’t find a paperback thriller in her purse. And if you look for her, and she’s not writing, you'll probably find her curled up with one of those books and a cup of hot coffee or a glass of sweet white wine.

  She aims to paint with her words, so her readers can feel connected to her passion for writing. Maria continues to believe that though not every story is for her, and her stories aren't for everyone, every story has a reader. And she hopes you find your story.

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed reading Nothing but Darkness!

  I’d love to hear from you, or connect with you on my social media pages. You can write to me at maria.ann.green.author@gmail.com

  Find me on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2HVVXCS,

  On Facebook at www.facebook.com/MariaAnnGreenAuthor/,

  on Twitter @missmariaann, and on Instagram @mariainmadness.

  If you have enjoyed this book, look for the next in the series, Deeper into Darkness, coming soon. And if you’re so inclined, please feel free to leave a review as well.

  Thank you so much for reading and spending your time in this little world I’ve put together.

  Sincerely,

  Maria Ann Green, Author