The Detour

"Ho far do you live from here Anna?" Bryce asked a little fidgety now.

"Oh it's not far from here, just about six miles up the road then a right turn and another two miles after that. My house is on that road."

Looking around, Bryce noticed that the road was absolutely deserted. There were no lights anywhere to be seen. "Hey, I gotta take a leak. Can you pull over up there?" pointing to a group of trees to the side of the highway.

She didn't really want to stop, but figured if she didn't he might not make it all the way to her house and she would have a mess to clean up because he had been drinking. She pulled to the right slowly, two of her tires on the dirt and two on the pavement so she wouldn't get stuck.

Bryce opened his door, got out then closed it tightly behind him before walking off into the darkness for what Anna thought was to relieve himself. As soon as he was out of sight the voices started again, louder and fiercer this time. Violent scrapes were heard on her roof, denting the thick metal. "I've got you now, Anna." The voice echoed like a demon in the still of the night.

"BRYCE! BRYCE! Will you please hurry up?" Anna screamed in the direction he walked.

"Oh my precious little one, I just want to be with you," the voice said quieter.

Anna was trembling in her seat, That surely sounded like Bryce's voice, she thought to herself then shook her head as if she was hearing things.

As quickly as the voice and noises came, they stopped. She sat there, frozen behind the wheel for some time. Still no sign of Bryce, she called out to him once more and then decided she wasn't putting her life in danger just for some guy she'd just met so she shifted to drive and sped off.

As she steadied the car, she glanced in her rearview mirror. Bryce came running out of the trees, his eyes glowing that eerie red he spoke of in her dream. Anna screamed and put the pedal to the metal, tires smoking as she drove even faster down the deserted highway.

Only a few more minutes on this road and I will get to my exit, she thought to herself, but as she turned to look behind her she passed her exit. She slammed on her brakes to back up and attempt the exit one more time and when she did she saw Bryce morph from his human form to the lizard creature she'd heard him talk about in her dream.

Petrified, she couldn't move her feet to the gas pedal. She screamed, but no sound was heard as the creature attacked her vehicle once again, just as it did in her dream. Talons sliced through the thick metal of her roof, gouging into her chest and arms.

The car jostled about like a child with a toy. Bryce seemed to be having fun with her as he broke the driver's side window and pulled her blood soaked body from the mangled wreck, tossing her into the air a few times before he let her down.

"Try running from me now my pretty little one," Bryce said in his human voice that had once calmed her earlier. She watched in horror as he morphed from the lizard to human right before her eyes, causing her to faint momentarily. As she came to, Anna clawed at the grass and gravel beneath her, trying desperately to get away from him.

"I have been searching for a new mate Anna," Bryce said in that chilling voice. "Dyann didn't prove to be worthy," he added.

"Your dream was more real than you think Anna. I was with you, controlling your mind, telling you things you wanted to hear. Dyann was foolish to run from me. She was foolish to try to hide. She met the same fate that you too shall meet."

"No!" she cried weakly, reaching for a branch that had fallen to the ground.

"When I found you, I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd make you mine," he added, still walking slowly toward her. "You see, I've been watching you for quite some time. I thought you more than worthy to be my mate."

She ignored the pain in her arms as she swung the branch, catching Bryce in the knees and causing him to stumble slightly away from her.

"If you would have waited for me, if you didn't try to run, I would have made it worth your while to join with me," he said, stalking toward her as she struggled to right herself, using the branch for support.

"Please, just leave me alone!" she cried, stumbling and falling to the ground once more.

Bryce morphed back into the creature, his red eyes glowing brighter with anger. With one flap of his mighty wings, he was circling above Anna once more.

"You give me no choice, Anna," she heard Bryce's voice in her head. "I couldn't get to you in your dreams, but there is no escaping me now."

Anna waved the branch blindly in the air, grunting when the creature swooped low and knocked it from her hands. Her vision blurred as the pain from her wounds continued to increase. She dragged herself to her feet once more, stumbling in the direction of her car. She felt Bryce's massive talons pierce her back then a loud screech came from above her. As she lay on the cold gravel, just inches from her mangled car, she heard Bryce's voice a final time.

"Perhaps by next Halloween I shall be able to find an adequate mate," he said as he ascended into the night sky and disappeared into the darkness, watching as the life slowly drained from Anna.