She climbed the stairs two at a time, her heavy breathing filling the darkness, half afraid that someone might grab her and pull her back, and finally sighed in relief when she stumbled towards the daylight filling the living room.

What were you thinking, Sarah Wilson? And where’s your damn fear of being touched when you need it!

She placed a hand on her neck and took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

And why does he have to be so damn attractive … Pull yourself together! Really! A madman that’s not even Human! How many more degrees of danger-do-not-touch can there be?”

The doorbell rang a third time before she could reach it and, remembering Alexis’ recommendations, she peered through the peeping hole before opening it, certain she’d find Anne’s smiling face waiting on the other side. She could hardly contain her disbelief as she immediately recognized the man standing on the porch. And her indignant hands opened the door in one move.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded in a half croaked voice and John seemed caught off guard by her hostile reception. Still it didn’t took him long to pull himself together, straightening the collar of his coat as he raised his head to stare at her.

“I’m the one who should be asking you that! I called your home several times, yesterday, but no one picked up! Not even at night!” he added accusingly and Sarah frowned in disbelief.

“And what? Have you been following me?” she asked and immediately realized that could not be. She hadn’t left the house since Alexis had brought her there. And if John had seen her back then he’d most certainly have called the police or something like that. “How did you know I was staying here?” she demanded and he simply pointed at the small bump in her pocket where she kept her cellphone.

“You called your sister, yesterday night. Today you called your lawyer,” he declared, gently pushing her to a side so that he could go in.

“You’ve been monitoring my cell?!” Sarah insisted, following him incredulously. She knew all too well how annoyingly persistent John could be, and that he had at his disposal almost unlimited resources due to his family’s connections. But monitoring her phone?! Forget outrageous, it was simply unbelievable!

“I had to keep tabs on you, since you’re constantly avoiding me. Whose house is this? I know it doesn’t belong to your family. It’s registered to some woman named Anne Stanford who, according to her registry, never even finished high school,” he reported with the same cold, professional tone he normally used to present his scientific results, and peered into the living room with a critical expression.

“John, get out.”

He looked back at her and arched an eyebrow, taking a step towards her.

“Where is he?”

“He who? This is my friend’s house. And why do I have to explain myself?”

“Friend …” he repeated the word dryly, and, before she could escape him, grabbed her by her hair, forcing her to look up at him. Sarah moaned in pain, clawing at his hand, trying to get free. Panic swallowed her whole, making it harder to breathe, as an irrational despair took over her mind.

“Let go!”

“As it seems, your little problem with being touched can be easily solved with a bit of force,” he pointed out maliciously, watching as she tried to get free. “Is that it, Sarah? You like this? I’m sure you do, or you wouldn’t be walking around, obviously flaunting those bruises. And to think I thought you were just a prude. When you actually like this stuff!” He pulled her hard and Sarah grounded her teeth before kicking him with all her strength. The roar that escaped his lips made him release her, and Sarah ran towards the living room, half blinded by tears. She screamed when a hand grabbed her again, pulling her back, and the fingers that dug into her cheeks left her nauseated.

“No!”

“You bitch! I bet you’re one of those that say no but mean yes.” He laughed.

A blast echoed all around them, leaving her dizzy and almost deaf. For an instant everything was silent and all she could hear was her own sobbing. She knew immediately that the threat was gone, although there was an arm wrapped around her waist, holding her against a warm, firm body. And only then she noticed the intense, violent anger permeating the air around her.

Startled, she raised her head and took a hand to her lips to muffle a horrified gasp as she saw John, sprawled on the floor against the corridor wall, as if he’d been thrown through the air like a lifeless doll. Relief made her shudder when she saw him move, moaning in pain and trying to stand up, which only made the anger filling the room even more ferocious.

“The hell!? Who are you?” John demanded, still rubbing the back of his head as he winced in pain, and using the wall for support, finally managed to get back on his feet.

Sarah felt her heart jump urgently. John had no idea of the danger he was in. Even more so since he was a clearly an expendable Human Being.

“I see. So this is the big guy you chose to smack you around.”

Sarah held the arm surrounding her, feeling it suddenly tense, although she knew she’d never be able to stop him if he decided to kill John.

“Go away, John! Just leave!” she asked, pleadingly, but John didn’t seem to be in a hurry, taking his time to straighten his coat.

“Sarah is mine!” The roar that echoed from the chest glued to her back echoed all over the room, making the windows tremble and leaving her speechless.

“Sure she is. I bet you even put a leash on her. Well, in any case you better get ready, pal. ’Cause women like her never belong to only one guy. I always knew there was a wild side to her. Just never thought she’d be up to this kind of stuff. My loss, I guess.”

“John!” she shouted at him, feeling vexed at his words, and in the next instant he’d set her free. The arm that she’d been holding on to with all her strength just slipped between her fingers, and a shadow ran past her like a gust of wind. “Alexis! No!”

A new blast made her cringe and run towards them, urgently trying to understand what had happened. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw John’s pale face, apparently still untouched, framed by two hard fists. The wall had cracked where he’d hit it, and small pieces of white plaster fell on the floor.

“And we … we’ll talk about this another time … mister Alexis … You have no idea of whom you’re dealing with,” John still had the courage to say and Alexis growled at him, his eyes gleaming ferociously, making John cringe against the wall as if he feared he might bite him next.

“Just leave, John … please …” Sarah pleaded once again, as she tried to force Alexis to lower one of his arms and release him, but John just squatted down and quickly slid beneath his arm, towards the door.

“This isn’t over, Sarah. And we still have the matter of your sister to discuss. I’ll call you later,” he declared but a new growl was enough to hurriedly send him out the door and towards the red car he’d park in front of the house.

Sarah stood there, watching as he started the car and drove up the road, and only then noticed how she was shaking nervously.

The sound of heavy breathing made her look back in time to see him leaning against the wall, fighting for every breath, barely able to stand, almost as if he’d been mortally wounded. She immediately recalled what he’d told her, about his intolerance to daylight, and rushed to close the front door that had remained opened, leading to a bright sunny day.

“For crying out loud!” she claimed angrily, rushing to the living room, urgently closing the blinds she had opened before. “Why did you come up here right in the middle of the day?!” she demanded, running back to him, and her heart hurt when she saw his knees buckle, almost making him fall.

Worried, not knowing what to do, she pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and tried to lead him towards the darkness awaiting him beyond the door on the other side of the living room.

“You allowed a Human to enter my home, when I explicitly told you not to …”

“Well, I’m sorry if I allowed a Human to enter your home!” she replied acidly at the tone of despise that had filled his voice. “Just in case you still haven’t noticed, I’m a Human too. Besides, it’s not like he’s a stranger or anything. He’s my colleague from work and I’ve known him for more than ten years.”

Alexis growled again and stumbled on the floor, forcing her to use all her strength to stop him from falling, dragging her with him. His whole body was shaking and the hand she held to keep his arm in place was cold and sweaty. Seeing how week he was now, she wondered how he’d been able to stand up just until a second ago, much less threaten John like he’d done. His body was screaming in pain, his mind lost in hatred and despise.

“He’s a worthless Human Being … and you’re still defending him …”

“You don’t even know him! John is an extremely well accomplished scientist. He’ll probably end up discovering the vaccine against cancer,” she declared between clenched teeth, focusing on using all her strength just to make him give another step. She couldn’t help feeling it like a personal attack, every time he criticized the Human Race with such contempt.

“And you keep defending him …”

“I’m not defending him!” she countered, her concern for him making her even more susceptible to his annoying words. Because once more she’d been the reason why he was hurting right now … “If I defended someone in that room was you, from yourself! And what the hell was that about I belonging to you?”

She opened the door and Alexis held on to the door frame, pulling himself towards the thick darkness on the other side.

“Sarah … come with me …” he asked, reaching out for her, but she took a step back, taking refuge in the light, shaking her head.

“I don’t know who you hate more, if yourself or us, Humans. You say you’ll protect me and I don’t doubt you will, and yet you hate my entire Race. And I can’t blame you for that but … Staying next to you is just … tiring and painful,” she told him, averting her gaze, and saw him slowly lower his hand. The pain that coursed through her was like burning fire, almost compelling her to try and comfort him again.

No, Sarah. It can’t be. If you don’t keep your distance you’ll end up having a nervous breakdown. Your mind needs silence and rest, she told herself, but still the instinct to help spoke louder. She turned to him, ready to go back on her own word, but all she saw was an open door to absolute darkness.

* If you want to know more about this book or simply access earlier updates, please visit the official site at http://carpersanti.net/gaea/

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