Chapter 131 Blood
>>Seraphina
Panic surged through me like an electric shock, setting every nerve on edge as I frantically scrambled to shut the door, to keep the danger at bay.
Oh My God!
Why is he here!?!? Why was Hulio, the debt collector who I almost killed here before running to the beach, here??!? How did he find me? Or this apartment at that!!? This place is nowhere near where I lived previously.
But my trembling hands fumbled with the latch, betraying my desperation as I struggled against the inevitable. With each futile attempt to close the door, the gangster's presence loomed larger. I pushed against the door to close it but he pushed against it to keep it from closing as he tried to make his way in.
"Please," I pleaded, my voice trembling with fear, "Just leave us alone."
Midway the realization hit me that he most likely followed me here.
My words fell on deaf ears as Hulio's steely resolve met my feeble resistance. With a forceful shove, the door lurched open, sending me stumbling backward in a frantic attempt to maintain my footing but I couldn't, I fell butt flat on the floor.
"Leave you alone," He walked in, "After what you did to me?" He pointed at his head, "I'm not leaving without having my way with you today," His face was filled with resentment, "But I'm going to kill you first."
The sudden intrusion sent a jolt of terror coursing through me but I scrambled to my feet. I backed away, my heart pounding in my chest. But there was no way out, he was blocking the way out and I had no weapon on me this time.
I glanced back and saw Eris, she was standing near the couch with a worried expression on her face. She didn't make a sound and stood there still but the tears were silently making their way down her cheeks.
Oh no,
I have to protect her too! Right then, with a menacing glint in his eyes, Hulio closed the distance between us, his movements calculated and predatory. His intentions were clear, and terror surged through me the moment I noticed him.
I turned around to run but where could I run in this small space. I shouldn't have done that. In my attempt to run, I turned around and gave him the leverage to grab my hair from the back. He took a fist full and yanked me back causing my body to jolt and fall back.
In a desperate bid for survival, I lashed out, my instincts kicking into overdrive as I fought to fend off the impending threat. He sat over me,restraining my legs, trying to take control.
"You bloody pervert!!" My hands groped for anything within reach, grasping at straws in a futile attempt to stave off the encroaching darkness, "Get off me!!!" Every fiber of my being screamed for escape. But as the struggle reached its climax, a grim realization dawned upon me, "Eris,"
"You bitch!!" He slapped my cheek, sending a burning sensation in my skin. My mind went blank for a moment, but I knew I couldn't just give in.
Eris is seeing all of this! I can't let her see this! She's just a child! This will traumatize her!
"Eris!!" I had my priorities straight, "Run and lock the room!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. My sister flinched but listened to me and ran towards the bedroom.
Hulio didn't even spare her a glance, he just wrapped his fingers around my neck, his grip like a vice as he closed in, intent on snuffing out the flicker of resistance that burned within me.
"You people sold the house, haven't you!" I replied, "I made a deposit today as well!" I tried to claw his meaty hands, while he attempted to knock me out, "I'm giving you the money. You have no reason to come here!!"
"This isn't about that," His body weight began to crush me, "You tried to kill me, you little bitch!" He pressed down his thumbs on my neck, blocking my oxygen. My head tilted backwards, facing the open apartment door.
On the other hand, I heard the bedroom get locked and amidst the painful and humiliating scene, I felt a little better knowing Eris would be safe.
Water welled in the corner of my eyes as I felt myself suffocate, that's when a shadow of a person casted on my face from the opposite end. It was like someone had stepped into the main door frame that led into the apartment, it was left open when the gangster forced his way in.
???
I didn't have the strength to look properly, my vision had gotten blurry after all. But I felt something bone chilling in the air yet before I could fully comprehend what was happening, with a swift, fluid motion, someone moved with the grace of a predator, closing the distance between himself and the assailant in a heartbeat.
The sound of bone meeting flesh echoed through the room, accompanied by a sickening thud that reverberated in the silence that followed. There was an attempt to scream but it went silent suddenly.
Before I knew it, I could breathe again, the grip around my neck was gone and so was the weight on me.
But something wet dropped on my clothes and skin.
Huh?
It took me a moment to get my mind to stabilize enough that I got myself to sit up. My vision cleared up a little as the tears that were welling up in my eyes fell down my cheeks but the moment I saw the view in front of me, my skin stood up in a violent form of defense.
Blood had sprayed in a crimson arc, painting the walls in a grotesque tableau of violence.
What the hell!? My heart that was already drumming like crazy, began to thud like it was ready to jump out of my chest.
I stood frozen in shock, my eyes wide with disbelief as I witnessed the brutal view.
What was even more terrifying was who had done it, "I was in a bad mood the whole day," He said, "And then it got even worse of this shit."
My pupils shaked when I saw the man standing next to all the blood.
Azef
He had a thin spray of blood on the left side of his face, but with that cold expression of his, it looked like he was a cold blooded murderer.
The air hung heavy with the metallic tang of blood with Hulio lay crumpled on the ground, a lifeless husk which was violently killed. I couldn't even look at it. Azef stood tall and resolute, his gaze unwavering as he surveyed the aftermath of the confrontation.
There was no fear, no remorse, no tension on his face or in his body. All of his aura was calm, as if he had done nothing wrong. As if, he was used to doing things like these.
The sudden view of violence sent shockwaves of fear rippling through me, freezing me in place as I bore witness to the brutal display before me. My heart hammered against my ribcage like crazy, till it was the only thing I could hear.
The metallic scent of blood coated my senses in a sickening haze. In that moment, the lines between reality and nightmare blurred, and I felt a suffocating sense of dread descend upon me like a shroud.
Azef finally turned to look at me after making sure he had done his job right, then stepped towards me, "Are you alright-" He moved his hand towards me, attempting to provide some support to help me up from the floor.
But I violently moved away from him in fear which caused him to freeze. I didn't like this one bit, there was so much fear in me, way more than when Hulio was attacking me. And if I wanted one thing to happen, that was to Azef to never touch me.
I wanted him gone, out of my sight. And I never wanted to see him again
Azef stared into my eyes, his gray eyes seemed lighter for a moment and his cold uninterested expression turned to anger.
He stepped closer to me, crouched down and grabbed my hair, pulling me closer, "Why are you scared of me?" His grip was even stronger than Hulio's, "I saved your life," I didn't understand why he would get so angry at me all of the sudden when he didn't even bat an eye at murder.
I couldn't look away. I was too scared to. It was just one miserable thing after another. Today had been especially exhausting.
"I-," I trembled in fear, "I-I," My voice was shaky and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get any words out. How could I? There was nothing in my head.
It was blank.
But that just riled his emotions up more and he did something to hurt me further.