It's time for my second Oneus commission!! I'm so happy with the kinds of prompts I've been given so far because each one has been a new challenge for me, and this one is no exception! I've never been good with anything creepy or suspenseful, so if you have any feedback for me I welcome it with open arms!

This is posted with the commissioner's permission. I will also be publishing it on my AO3 account.

Triggering materials include: gore, suspense

~~~

The gravel crunched beneath his feet. What was normally a comforting sound for him had turned into what felt like a death sentence.

It was too loud.

No matter how carefully he tried to set his foot down, each rock and individual grain of dirt screamed, 'Right here! He's right here!'

And it was when he heard the sound of a second set of footsteps that he knew his life was truly over.

Leedo let out a long sigh and sat back in his leather computer chair while rereading the chapter he was working on. He needed to make sure that every single detail was perfect, although it was scenes like this that always challenged him the most.

As a best-selling author, Leedo had a reputation to uphold. His publicist was expecting at least five chapters from him by the end of next week and he only had one done, which meant this was crunch time.

And even with that thought in his mind, he needed a little break.

The writer spun his chair around to watch the fire dancing in his stone hearth. He always found the flames so hypnotizing would often watch them for up to an hour at a time.

But now was not the time to do that, especially when he felt his stomach rumble, reminding him that he had yet to eat anything all day.

Leedo ran a hand through his bleach blonde hair and took his round glasses off to set them on his desk before shuffling into his kitchen to figure out what he wanted to eat.

The hardwood floors were cold beneath his bare feet. It was a strange feeling that he both loved and hated. The cold sent a nice, refreshing shock through his system but eventually it got to be took much and he had to wear slippers to keep his feet warm.

It would start to get better the longer he stayed here too.

When Leedo had become a best-selling author for two books in a row, he had purchased a cabin located in the middle of the mountains so he could get away from the stress of the city. It was so easy for him to eat overwhelmed there with all the people, fans, just... everything.

Even given his situation, Leedo just had to get away sometimes to recharge.

Which was something his publicist just did not seem to understand.

Leedo noticed a green flashing light out the corner of his eye and ignored it, instead electing to open his refrigerator. The shelves were noticeably empty. He pursed his lips and sighed; he knew he should have stopped to shop before driving up here.

At least there was a little town with a small grocery store only an hour away where he could go and restock.

After checking the expiration dates and finding they were ok, Leedo pulled out the last two eggs he had and cracked them open into a frying pan once it was hot enough. While those cooked, he looked in his pantry to see if there was anything else and thankfully found some microwaveable ramen. It wasn't the most satisfying meal, but it would be enough for tonight.

He quickly popped the ramen into the microwave and started cooking it, then set another timer for the same amount of time and set it on the counter next to his oven. He monitored his eggs, flipping them when needed, then went back to the microwave when the light on the top of his timer started flashing.

That was soon joined by the flashing green light in the corner of the room and Leedo sighed. He wasn't going to do anything until he finished making his dinner.

He added a few different seasonings to the ramen, sticking to just using the noodles, to hopefully give it some more flavor before topping it with both eggs. Then he grabbed some chopsticks and went back to his desk to settle into the chair where he would spend the majority of the next two weeks.

Leedo licked his lips after breaking the eggs opened and watched as the creamy yolk seeped into the noodles.

His moment was ruined once more by a light flashing on his desk.

Leedo finally gave in and pulled forward a desk phone that had a special screen attached to the top of it that had the name 'Slave Driver' flashing on the front of it. He chuckled at his own dark humor before pressing the accept button.

His publicist appeared on half of the screen while a woman appeared on the other half. They both waved in greeting and Leedo nodded back.

He watched his publicist's lips moving out of the corner of his eyes, then watched the woman as she signed everything to him. "Gunhak! Finally, why must you ignore me? You know how much I hate it."

Leedo sighed and looked at his publicist before speaking. "Sorry, Hwanwoong. I was fixing dinner."

"Fixing dinner? Fixing dinner! I swear, Gunhak, you're going to drive me insane." Hwanwoong pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Leedo? I swear, Hwanwoong, you're already driving me insane."

The look of utter disgust Leedo received from the tiny man had him clutching his stomach and laughing. He noticed that even the interpreter was having a hard time containing her smile.

Leedo had been deaf ever since he was a little boy. He had fallen extremely ill and it resulted in him losing his hearing. He had already been a decent speaker, so he was able to take some speech therapy classes and was able to read lips fairly well, but having an interpreter on the call was a comfort for him after he and his family had taken the time to learn sign language.

"Fine. Leedo. Why didn't you tell me you were going to the cabin?"

"I didn't realize I needed to tell you my every location."

"Oh, you just think you're so funny, don't you? Do you have any idea how hard the company is, excuse the expression, but squeezing my balls right now?! I already had to fight to get you this extension, so why must you make it even harder for me by skipping town?"

Even though Leedo couldn't hear him, he knew Hwanwoong had to be whining right now. The way his face was scrunched up and he kept flinging his hands around his head just reinforced how stressed out he was.

And it wasn't something Leedo did on purpose, but Hwanwoong could be a little overbearing sometimes. "I'm sorry, Woong. I promise I'm going to get those chapters done, maybe more. But that depends on how many times you call me and interrupt. You know I need to get away to think sometimes."

He watched as his publicist buried his face in his hands and shook his head back and forth. "Fine. Just... please get it done. I'm begging you. No games, no tricks, just please get me those chapters."

For a moment Leedo felt bad for Hwanwoong. His bosses must really be awful to make him feel this way. "I will do the best I can."

Hwanwoong dragged his hands down his face and gave a grim smile. "Alright. Thank you. I'll try not to bug you too much, but... please don't make me call and call and call and call."

"Good night, Woong." Leedo shook his head with another chuckle before signing thank you to the interpreter and pressing the end button.

Once the screen went blank, Leedo sat back in his chair and turned to face the fire. He always felt a little sad after talking with Hwanwoong, and not because of anything that the publicist had done, but there was always that longing to be able to hear again.

He could remember what fire crackling sounded like. Or at least... he thought he did. Maybe it was just his imagination by now.

For a couple of years, he had tried getting cochlear implants, but they never quite worked right and it just wasn't something he was used to. And by the time he had tried, he was already used to living in a silent world, so when he discovered he didn't like them he was ok with not keeping them.

After several more minutes ticked by, Leedo finally turned back to his computer and let his fingers return to the keys they knew so well. He closed his eyes and let his mind slip into the imaginary world he had created. Getting into the mind of his character helped the story along and it even surprised him as the author.

Then as if they had a mind of their own, Leedo found his keys dancing over the keyboard in a flurry of motion. Letters appeared on the screen almost faster than Leedo could read them.

He had once heard that the clacking of keys was soothing to some people, and even though he couldn't hear it, in a way it was soothing to him too. Each time he felt the weight of his fingers push down on the keys it was another letting being stamped into his very soul, giving him more fuel to keep writing.

Leedo loved every single second of it.

Hours could pass by in mere seconds when he got like this. It was how he had managed to get his first book done in less than a year. And now that it had sold well enough that he didn't have to carry on a full-time job, Leedo figured he could get books out in even less time if he really wanted to.

Before he knew it, the fire had grown low and needed to be restocked.

With a heavy sigh and then a groan while stretching his arms above his head, Leedo stood to grab some more wood.

A sudden chill ran down his spine and he glanced at the window across the room.

There was a shadow moving outside it.

Leedo shook his head and looked again, trying to see what it was, but there was nothing there. Everything was perfectly still.

A flicker of light distracted him and Leedo turned to start stoking the fire to get heat going in the room again.

But he couldn't shake the feeling now that he was being watched.

It completely drew his focus and even though he had easily just knocked a chapter of his book out, the words swam on the page and he couldn't make sense of anything.

His eyes kept flicking up to the window, waiting for any sign of movement or to confirm that he wasn't crazy.

He received no answers.

Leedo rubbed his head and chewed on his tongue. It was probably time for him to stop for the night. He was at one of the big climaxes of his story, maybe his mind was just drained and needed some rest.

Yeah, that was it...

The author made sure to save his work, checking it three times, and closed his laptop. He placed a special grate in front of the fireplace that would keep the flames or wood from escaping, but would also allow it to keep burning to keep the room warm, before shuffling down the hall to his bedroom.

It was a simple, but lavish looking room. He had chosen a deep mahogany theme and a dark red paint to tie it all together, along with the brick that made up the fireplace in this room.

He was deep enough in the mountains that he needed heat in almost every room and there was something more satisfying about using a fire than a normal heating system.

The warm glow was soothing to him as well, so he made quick work of getting the fireplace situated in his room before changing into some flannel pajamas, brushing his teeth and doing his skin routine, and slipping under his plush covers.

He sank in immediately and hummed. Everything was just the way he liked it, especially the mound of blankets on top of him. He loved to nestle in and hide away from everything, almost as if they could be a shield.

All thoughts of the shadow slipped from his mind the drowsier he got. This was his safe place.

That is... until a breeze kissed Leedo's cheek several hours later.

He brought one hand up to rub it and groaned before nuzzling his pillow to try and drift off again.

But the breeze didn't stop.

Leedo's forehead scrunched up as he squeezed his eyes shut. Why was there a breeze? He didn't leave the window open last night. He never, ever left the window open.

He sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then glanced at the single window in his bedroom.

The curtains swayed, confirming the breeze he had felt.

How odd.

Leedo scrambled out of bed and hurried over to see what was going on.

He froze when he saw a hole in the glass pane. There were several cracks coming off it, but thankfully the entire window didn't shatter.

Leedo turned and kept his eyes on the floor, trying find what broke his window. He ended up finding a rounder rock underneath his bed. Just as he was about to disregard it, thinking that maybe a wild animal had managed to kick it just right, he saw some red on it.

Slowly, he rotated the rock in his hand. His mouth opened a little in shock when he saw that there was a red heart painted on it.

He immediately dropped the rock and took a couple of steps back. Then he glanced at his hand and noticed that it was now dark red. And whatever it was... it was thick too. His curiosity kicked in and he lifted it to his nose to see if he could figure out what it was.

Leedo felt his stomach flip several times when the metallic scent filled his nostrils.

Blood.

The heart was painted on in blood.

He immediately ran to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet, clutching his stomach with his other hand. All he did was dry heave a few times, but he still felt incredibly lightheaded.

Who would do something like this?

It took Leedo several minutes to calm his racing heart and feel comfortable enough to leave the bathroom, and even then, he could feel how wobbly his steps were.

He returned to his bedroom and stared at the window, secretly hoping that he was going to wake up from this strange dream any time now.

But when he blinked twenty times and it was still there, he knew that it had really happened.

The first thing Leedo did was track down a board to place over with window. He was incredibly lucky in the sense that the garage on the property had a lot of old plywood and other materials in it from when the previous owners did some modifications to the house. He made quick work of nailing it into the wall so that it covered the entire window.

Feeling much better, Leedo returned to his study to try and write again for a little bit. He only had four chapters to go and he didn't feel like explaining things to Hwanwoong. Maybe this was just one freak incident.

Writing would be the perfect way to distract himself.

He was only a couple of hours in when a yellow light in the corner of the room started to flash. Leedo paused and stared directly at it.

The light was connected to his doorbell.

"Aish, why is there someone here?" He muttered to himself. He pushed himself away from his desk. Maybe one of his neighbors needed something. He had only ever met a couple of them, and only because they had come to introduce themselves once they noticed he had moved in.

Thoughts of the broken window pressed against his mind and Leedo quickly turned to find something to protect himself, just in case. The only thing he could find, however, was an umbrella he kept in the corner by the door.

It was better than nothing.

Leedo held it close to his body and slowly leaned over to look out of the peephole.

There was no one there...

He knew he hadn't imagined the flashing light; he was too trained to focus on it because he relied on it so much.

Going against his better judgement, Leedo opened the door and poked his head outside. There was still no sign of someone being there.

Until he looked down.

A small, wrapped package was sitting on the mat in front of his door.

Leedo felt his mouth go dry and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

He had received gifts from fans before, but they had all been at official signings and something that had embarrassed him just as much as the fan. He was always touched at the time and effort his fans put into the gifts, and he still had every one of them tucked away in a safe place for when he needed encouragement.

But this... this sent up so many red flags.

He glanced at the forest around his cabin for any sign of someone waiting for him to accept the gift. When he saw no one, Leedo crept outside and picked up the box. It wasn't light, but it wasn't super heavy either.

There was no way he was going to open it though, not with what he woke up to this morning.

Leedo immediately walked to the end of his drive, his head swiveling left and right constantly, to deposit it in the trash can.

Then he jogged back to his cabin and locked the door behind him before going to make sure every window was locked, and every curtain was drawn.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the night, so by the time he went to bed with half of his next chapter finished, Leedo was starting to think he had imagined it.

Even the following morning was normal. Leedo took the time to make himself a good breakfast to help keep himself calm. He had been happy to see just enough ingredients in his fridge to make biscuits and gravy, but this would be his last meal before he would have to go out and buy food.

He found his mind straying back to his book as he stirred the gravy in slow circles while waiting for it to bubble. It took him down a path he hadn't thought of before, and as soon as the gravy was at a good place Leedo ran to his office to jot down his ideas before he forgot.

Normally he kept pads and pens all around his cabin but the one in his kitchen was missing. He had most likely placed it somewhere else in the house and forgotten to return it to its place. it wouldn't be the first time.

Satisfied with his idea, Leedo smiled and ruffled his blonde hair. He made his way back to the kitchen, pushing his glasses up his nose, and quirked his lips to the side as he thought about how much he wanted to eat.

Then he froze.

All his dishes for cooking had been moved and a plate of food was waiting for him on the counter. He could see the steam curling from it in beautiful, enticing streams.

Sitting next to it was a piece of paper from his missing notepad.

Leedo turned in a circle, expecting to see someone standing in the corner, but there was no one there.

He could feel his heart pounding in his head as he took a few slow steps forward. His eyes kept flicking between the piece of paper and around his home.

When he was finally close enough, he carefully picked up the piece of paper. His trembling hands were immediately given away by how much the note flickered in the air. Leedo tried to take a deep breath to calm himself but wasn't successful.

Even so, he lifted the note up and let his eyes flick over it.

Did you not like my present? I made it especially for you. It doesn't matter, though, for soon we will be together my love.

Leedo immediately cried out and dropped the note. His hand flew over his heart and he fled from the kitchen.

He wasn't going to put up with this anymore.

With every thought focused on calling the police, he ran to his office where he was once more forced to freeze.

Leedo's eyes grew wide at the wrapped present sitting neatly on his desk.

There was someone in his house.

The author turned and backed into the nearest wall. He clutched his shirt over his heart and continued to try and take deep, although shuddering, breaths.

He could feel a panic attack coming on.

How had they been able to get into his house?

Who were they?

Tears came to Leedo's eyes when the next thing he thought of was how much he wished he could hear. It would make things so much easier right now. The intruder could be bashing in his windows or throwing everything around in the kitchen and he'd never know it.

When he saw no sign of movement, Leedo chanced running to his desk to call the police. His phone was programmed to immediately link in an interpreter as well, and they were the first one to appear on the screen.

He had a hard time keeping his hands under control. The shaking made it so much harder to keep his signs clear, but he could tell the interpreter knew he was scared.

They signed for him to calm down and take a deep breath right as the other half of the screen had three dots appear on it, indicating a dispatcher was on the line with the interpreter.

Leedo watched their lips as they spoke and they signed a little bit of it too out of habit, but the interpreter gave his name and location and a little bit of what was going on.

It was when the interpreter started to sign directly to Leedo that everything went wrong.

The screen went black and Leedo cried out in anguish.

He started pressing every button he could to bring it back to life, but it was completely dead.

His phone line had been cut.

Right then, he knew that he needed to get out of there.

Leedo ran for the front door without worrying about grabbing anything. Whoever was in his house could rob him blind. The only thing he needed were his car keys, which were hanging next to the door.

Only they weren't.

Leedo slammed into the wall and then started pawing at it as if that would make his keys appear. He crouched down and locked on the floor too.

They were nowhere to be found.

Uncontrollable sobs started to leave the author. He had no idea what was going on and he wanted nothing more than to be able to leave.

Deciding that he would run make a run for it, Leedo stood up and went to open the door.

His fear grew even more when the door wouldn't open. He reached up to unlock it and that was when he noticed that the lock had been changed so that the keyhole was on this side...

Leedo was locked inside his own home.

"What do you want?!" He shouted while pressing his back to the door. "Sh-Show yourself!"

The way his front door was positioned, all he could see was the living area in front of him. The hall to the left led to the kitchen and the hall to the right led to the study, and on the far side of the study was his bedroom.

So, the intruder didn't need to show themselves in order to do what they did next.

Leedo yelped when the present slide across his hardwood floor to stop right in front of him. It now had a note attached to it saying, open me.

"N-No. I'm not playing this game! Show yourself!"

All the lights flickered in his home in response and Leedo slide to the floor while fisting his hair. He tried to think of any way he could get out of this, but he had nothing...

The door behind him was locked, his cell phone was in his bedroom but that would be useless because there was no service out here, and his main phoneline was cut.

And the only thing he could stare at was that damn present.

As much as he didn't want to, the only thing Leedo could think of to keep himself safe was to play along with the intruders wishes.

His entire body shook as he crawled forward on his hands and knees. He pulled the present to him and pulled at the paper. It ripped slowly, oh so slowly... Leedo knew if he could hear it, he would probably compare it to tearing his heart open.

The box beneath the paper was plain and tapped simply, so he was able to rip that off as well.

Inside was a folded note. Leedo read that first and felt all the color drained from his face when he read 'you and me forever'.

Once more, Leedo reached inside the box and he felt something soft. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat while he gently pulled it out.

He was quite sure his heart would give out or explode any moment now.

In his had was a perfectly made doll of himself. It was in a cute style, with wide eyes and a stitched-on nose and mouth, but it had been dressed with plastic glasses and a suit. And sewn to it was a girl, made in a similar style, with black hair and hearts in her eyes, and... a wedding dress.

Leedo couldn't stop staring at it. He had been worried it might be a crazed fan... but this was so much worse...

His lower lip trembled and he could feel his hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

With a small sniff, he looked down both hallways, half expecting to see someone standing there waiting for him. Instead, there was a suit hanging in the doorway. It was a haunting image that swam before his eyes.

He needed to get out of here...

Leedo bit his lip to try and stop the trembling and he stood. Each footstep he took felt like he was dragging his feet through the thickest, gloopiest mud ever. He could see his house spinning in the corner of his eyes.

He found yet another note on the suit. Always and forever.

The author swayed in place and felt like he was going to pass out. There was no way this was happening right now. And yet he knew he still needed to play along.

Leedo grabbed the suit and walked into his bedroom. He examined every inch of the room, waiting for the intruder to announce themselves, but it wasn't until he turned back around and noticed his bedroom door was shut that he knew he was truly trapped.

He dropped the suit and dolls on the floor and ran forward. "Please! Please let me out! I'll give you anything you want, just let me go!" He pounded on the door and tried with all his might to turn the locked handle.

It wouldn't budge.

A note slipped under the door. All I want is you.

Once again Leedo sobbed and covered his mouth. He started looked around for anything that might help him.

Then his eyes fell to the boarded-up window.

He ran forward and started pulling at it, instantly grateful that it was only nailed in. He could feel them starting to give and he pulled harder.

After a few more tugs, the board came free and he immediately turned it to slam it into the glass. He knew the sound would give him away, so he used his fist to break anything else that would block his way before climbing through it.

Both hands were sliced open in several places, but he hardly noticed.

Leedo ran at a full sprint through the trees.

It was already starting to get dark, which meant he was running out of time. This deep in the mountains, daylight didn't stick around for very long. There was no saying what kind of predator he would run into out here and never know until it was too late.

With that thought, Leedo glanced over his shoulder and screamed when he saw a shadow running after him.

He had always been athletic in school, but there was something about this situation that made him feel like there was no escape. Each time his foot made contact with the ground felt like he was pulling some of the earth up with him, weighing him down more and more until he would never be able to move again.

And he knew he was lost. His panic had caused him to run blindly into the trees without any thought as to which direction he should go.

There were neighboring houses, but the area had been purchases and laid out so that no house was in direct line of sight or even within normal sound distance of each other.

But there was a major road a few kilometers away that people used to cut through the mountains. And it curved around where his house was located, so unless he was still extremely unlucky and picked the wrong way, he was almost guaranteed to come across it.

Leedo put on another burst of speed as his mind whirred with information that could help him. An average runner could run a kilometer in under ten minutes from what he could remember. If he could just stay ahead of the crazed fan and pace himself, then maybe he could make it, even if it would be at least thirty minutes of straight running.

He had never been an avid runner, but adrenaline was a strange thing.

The trees were his greatest obstacle right now. With not having a pattern, he constantly had to weave through them, often stumbling to the side and slamming into one. All of it slowed down his progress, and each time he looked over his shoulder Leedo felt like the shadow was getting closer.

And in truth, it was.

Leedo had no concept of time, but he had to have been running for at least twenty minutes now. His lungs burned and he could feel a stitch in his side.

When his mind focused on that for too long, he lost focus on where his feet where and cried out when he tripped over a rock.

This was it.

Leedo tried to push himself off the ground, sobs tearing from his throat once more, but it was too late.

He felt the girl's body slam into him and they rolled through the trees together.

For just a second he thought he saw the light of a car in the distance, but his attention was yanked away from it when he was pinned on his back.

The girl straddled his hips wrestled with his body until he was laying on top of his hands, completely trapped beneath him.

Leedo's chest heaved as he tried to intake as much oxygen as possible. She was breathing hard too, but she didn't seem as phased as he was. Her face was hidden inside a large, black hood, which she pulled back to reveal a maniacal grin.

If Leedo wasn't scared for his life, he would actually find her quite beautiful. She had large, almost shaped eyes that in the fading light looked to be a soft shade of green. Her black hair fell in perfect ringlets around her face and she... was incredibly strong for how little she was.

Leedo squirmed beneath her, trying to free his hands, until he felt a hand at his throat.

His eyes grew wide and he froze.

Her lips started to move and out of habit Leedo's eyes flicked to them to figure out what she was saying. They moved slow and precise, something that his true fans would do to help him understand what they were saying without an interpreter...

"Why would you run from me my love?" She reached up with her other hand and stroked his cheek.

Leedo wanted to jerk away from the touch, but the hand on his throat flexed a little in warning.

"Everything was going to perfectly. I don't understand. We are meant to be together."

"I d-don't even know you." Leedo whimpered.

Hurt flashed across her eyes and she dropped the hand at his cheek for a moment, but then brought it up to straighten out his glasses and run her delicate fingers through his hair. "Oh, but you do. I'm Cassie."

It took a moment for Leedo to register what she was talking about, but then all reality seemed to stop.

"There it is." Cassie cooed, still carding her fingers in his hair. "After reading your book, I knew we were meant to be. A foreign exchange student with locks of molten onyx and eyes of pristine green?" She quoted one of the descriptions of the main girl in his first book. Cassie. The only survivor who escaped only because thoughts of her lover, who had been hospitalized because of the main antagonist, kept her going.

If this girl's name really was Cassie, then she must have inserted herself into the character and felt like Leedo had written the book for her.

"P-Please, Cassie..." He started, but was cut off when the girl closed her eyes and smiled.

"Say my name again." She said. The strokes of his hair grew rougher and Leedo winced. "Say it!" Leedo could tell she was yelling from the veins that appeared on her throat.

That, and she slapped him hard across the cheek.

"C-C-Cassie." Another slap. "Cassie! Cassie, please stop!" He started to squirm again, trying to use her weight against her to throw her off.

"But Leedo, my love, we are meant to be together! Even you said so in your story." She bent forward and let her lips ghost over his cheeks and nose.

"It w-was just a story. I d-didn't write it for anyone!" Leedo could feel his right arm start to slip free.

Cassie slapped him again and squeezed his throat. It made Leedo gasp and stop struggling. "I know you don't mean that." Her upper lip twitched as she spoke, and her eyes grew wide in rage.

She looked like a lunatic and Leedo feared for his life even more.

"I know EVERY word! Each one carefully crafted to send me a message! YOU LOVE ME!" She screeched.

Leedo scrunched his eyes and couldn't stop the whimpers coming from him. He tried to gasp for air, especially when her grip continued to get tighter and tighter.

Then she slammed his head against the ground several times. Leedo opened her eyes and could see that she was yelling at him to look at her, but that was why he had closed them. He didn't want to know anything else she had to say.

But now the constant slamming whenever he closed them was starting to cause black dots to swim across his eyes.

Or was it the fact that his air way was getting smaller and smaller.

His eyes wandered back to her lips again and Leedo wished he had never come to the cabin to get away when the formed the next words...

"We will be together. I won't let anyone else have you. You're mine! And you will be forever!" Cassie placed her other hand on Leedo's throat and squeezed.

The gasps and attempts at inhaling that came from the author probably sounded pathetic. His body started to convulse beneath the girl as it fought for the precious oxygen he needed in order to survive.

All will to fight was leaving him.

This was it. This was how he was going to die.

Maybe...

In one last, desperate attempt to save himself, Leedo focused all his spare energy and attention on pulling just one of his arms free.

He could see tears running down Cassie's face and felt a few drop onto his own as she continued to say over and over again how he belonged to her. Then it got even worse. "If you won't be with me, then your last moments on earth will be of me! And only me! I will be so ingrained in your mind that even your spirit will only be able to think of me!" She paused and gave him what could almost be a loving smile. "And then I will join you and we will truly be together forever. Just you and me, my precious Leedo."

Suddenly her lips were on his, moving as if she were trying to suck his very life from within him. Leedo groaned into the kiss and only slightly gave in as a means to distract her.

With one final tug, Leedo pulled his right arm free and quickly slammed his fist against the side of Cassie's head.

Her body fell to the side and he gasped. He could feel how raw his throat was. It continued to make it hard for him to breath, but at least he could now.

Leedo pushed through the pain and disorientation to stumble through the trees. "He-" The author tried to call for help, but his throat was so scratchy he didn't know if he even made any sound. "H-Help me! Some... one..."
A light flashed in front of him and every instinct kicked in to go toward it, even when it didn't last long.

He had to be near the main road.

"Help!" Leedo shouted, not caring if he made his throat bleed. He was desperate and he had no idea how close Cassie was.

Lights continued to zip by, and then they were joined ones that flashed red and blue.

The police!

Leedo pushed himself harder and stumbled onto the side of the road. "Hey!" He jumped in place and waved his arms over his head.

The police were already past his location, but he hoped they would turn around.

The little air he had in his lungs was suddenly knocked out of him when Cassie slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and tackling him to the ground.

They rolled onto the road, a tangle of limbs and Leedo continued to scream for help.

Cassie was out of control now. Her hands immediately went for his throat and she was talking too fast for him to register what she was saying.

All he could focus on anyway was trying to remove her hands from his bruised skin.

And they were in the worst spot too. Right in the middle of the road. And with night falling, it was going to harder for cars to see them.

Leedo thought he saw the red and blue lights get brighter, but at this point he felt like he could just be imagining all of this.

Oh how he wished this was all just a nightmare.

But he knew it was real...

He could feel his body struggling to function from the lack of oxygen again.

Cassie was unyielding, even when he clawed at her arms with his nails, digging in so deep that he drew blood.

She wasn't human anymore, just a body possessed by whatever demon that was hellbent on taking Leedo away from this earth.

Leedo placed a hand on her jaw and pushed back. It drew her attention just enough that her grip on his neck lessened by a touch, but it was enough. He brought his hand up and swung it without paying attention as to its destination.

He ended up slamming it into her left breast. Cassie screamed and sat up straight to cup it. Leedo could tell that she was yelling at him, but he was too focused on the fact that her face was lighting up.

There was a car coming.

Leedo was a kind soul who never had any intention of hurting anyone, but this was a matter of life and death.

Blue and red started to flash behind Cassie's head, and they were getting brighter, but Leedo only cared about the yellow light shining on her face.

When Cassie raised a hand to strike him again, Leedo grabbed her waist and jerked his own to the side to throw her off him.

He felt the ground vibrate and he rolled to the side in time to see Cassie get up on her knees, give him a pleading look, and then disappear under the wheels of a semitruck.

Blood splattered across the pavement and the oncoming police cars all slammed on their brakes to slide to a stop.

Leedo watched as the semi pulled off the road in slow motion. His shoulder heaved in his attempt to keep himself alive.

She was gone... He had killed her...

When that realization hit, Leedo doubled over and threw up whatever was in his stomach, which wasn't much since he hadn't eaten all day. And he hated every second of it. All the motion did was make his throat burn and the coughing that followed had him bawling from the pain.

He screamed when something touched his shoulder and he scrambled backward, only to see a police officer holding his hands up, as if to say he didn't mean any harm.

Then he surprised Leedo by signing, 'Are you Kim Gunhak?'

'Yes. Leedo.' He managed to sign back with shaking hands.

'Are you ok?' The officer looked concerned. More and more started swarming the scene behind him. 'I have an ambulance, we need to get you checked out and then we need to ask you some questions. Do you understand?'

'Yes.'

The officer waited patiently for Leedo to calm down. He helped the officer stand and kept a hand on his elbow to guide him to the ambulance.

The next several hours passed in a bit of a blur. Leedo remembered the medics examining his throat and hands and giving him pain killers. After that the officers questioned him on the events of the evening. Leedo did his best to give all the details, either by speaking or signing. He was so disoriented that neither one seemed to be right, so he switched back and forth constantly. The officer who could sign did his best to decipher it, but a professional translator arrived part way in after he was requested to come out.

The biggest surprise was when Hwanwoong came running down the road. He was clearly out of breath and had to bend over, bracing his hands on his knees, once he was done to try and gather himself.

Then he ran forward and placed his hands on Leedo's cheeks. His eyes darted over the author's body and tears appear as he started to speak, doing his best to keep his words slow. "For the love of God, Leedo, do you have any idea how worried I've been? What the hell happened here? Why didn't you call me?!"

"Hey, Woong." Leedo rasped. The relief he felt at seeing the man crashed into him and he let his head fall forward to rest on Hwanwoong's shoulder. The younger immediately wrapped his arms around him and they stood there for a long time. He could feel the vibrations from Hwanwoong's throat as he spoke with the cops off and on.

Eventually Leedo was allowed to leave, with the knowledge that there would be further questioning needed. Hwanwoong took him to his cabin to collect his things before taking Leedo back to his place to take care of him.

Because the police had managed to see most of what happened on the road, and after thorough investigation of his cabin, it was easy for everything to be dismissed as self-defense. They found out that the girl's name really was Cassie, and part of the investigation revealed a shrine to Leedo that had been built in her home.

Hwanwoong was quick to announce his immediate hiatus from writing, which was released alongside the news reports of the attacks.

Leedo also sold the cabin right away to a family that said they were going to tear it down and rebuild on the land anyway to cover up all the memories that happened there.

It took a long time and a lot of therapy, but Leedo eventually returned to writing. Everything was different for him though. He had security guards with him during promotions and tours and he moved into a building that had security in it as well. Almost his entire life was monitored, but he didn't mind.

The nightmares never left, and he never wrote anything scary ever again. The rest of his life would be haunted enough, and he didn't need to add to it.