her.
‘Whatever,’ she answered dismissively. ‘I know a place we can go. We won’t be disturbed. Just keep driving straight.’ An uneasy silence settled in the car, a silence he was at peace with, his mind already in a different time – a time shortly ahead when he, the Great Snake, would reveal his true self to her. He would coil around her and crush her, devour her, taking her body and her soul – her pointless life finally given a purpose as he consumed her. ‘Don’t get too many like you around here,’ she broke the blissful silence.
‘Like me?’ he asked, for a fleeting moment afraid she’d been somehow able to see his true being, making him reach for the knife he kept in a shoulder holster under his leather jacket, before he reminded himself that someone as futile as she could never recognize what he was until he chose to reveal himself.
‘Yeah, you know,’ she said with a condescending smile. She looked him up and down as if the answer was obvious, and suddenly it was.
‘Ah,’ he replied. ‘I understand.’
‘Sometimes I get a call to go see some of your lot in hotel rooms, but you don’t see your type cruising much. I assumed it was a cultural thing,’ she told him.
‘What’s your name?’ he asked, ignoring her observations.
‘Cantara,’ she answered. ‘My mum heard it somewhere when she was expecting me and liked it, so that’s me. Turn left up here then drive to the end of the road and turn right. A nice quiet little spot.’
‘You talk a lot,’ he told her unsmilingly. ‘The others didn’t talk too much.’
‘The others?’ she asked. ‘So I’m not your first then?’
He turned his head slowly towards her, his face a granite sculpture. ‘No,’ he told her. ‘You’re not my first.’ He followed her directions into a lifeless road with closed businesses on one side and a boarded-up building site on the other. He turned the headlights off and let the car roll to a halt by the kerb. As soon as the car stopped Cantara moved to open the passenger door, but his hand came from nowhere and gripped her tightly around the bicep. Her head spun back to look at him and for the first time he sensed fear in her – could see her eyes registering danger – but he knew she wouldn’t try to escape. Like all the others she would risk her life to get the cash she needed to buy her next fix of whatever it was she was addicted to: crack, heroin, alcohol, gambling. ‘Going somewhere?’ he asked coldly.
She managed an unconvincing smile before answering. ‘The back, of course,’ she explained. ‘We can’t do it
in the front, can we? I mean we could, but it’ll be easier in the back.’
He stared deep into her eyes before releasing his grip. ‘Okay. We’ll get in the back.’
‘Leave the engine on,’ she told him casually. ‘I don’t want to freeze my tits off.’ He half nodded and watched her climb from the car only to reappear within seconds in the back – the doors closing so quickly one after the other that he could almost detect only one slamming sound. ‘You coming or what?’ she tried to hurry him. ‘I ain’t got all night, you know.’ He took a long, silent breath to calm his surging, almost uncontrollable need to devour her. Soon – soon the Great Snake would be feeding on her young, delicate body.
He slipped from the driver’s seat and into the freezing cold night air, the contrast with the warm comfort of the car invigorating him even more – tensing and preparing the muscles in his body for the exertion that lay ahead. It was as if he could feel the Great Snake awakening – its scales shifting slightly on top of each other as it began to uncoil and flex its huge muscles – stretching its jaw in preparation for swallowing its victim whole. He enjoyed the moment for as long as he dared before opening the rear door and climbing in the back next to Cantara, who was already loosening her clothing. For a moment he could do nothing but stare at her – so
‘Whatever,’ she answered dismissively. ‘I know a place we can go. We won’t be disturbed. Just keep driving straight.’ An uneasy silence settled in the car, a silence he was at peace with, his mind already in a different time – a time shortly ahead when he, the Great Snake, would reveal his true self to her. He would coil around her and crush her, devour her, taking her body and her soul – her pointless life finally given a purpose as he consumed her. ‘Don’t get too many like you around here,’ she broke the blissful silence.
‘Like me?’ he asked, for a fleeting moment afraid she’d been somehow able to see his true being, making him reach for the knife he kept in a shoulder holster under his leather jacket, before he reminded himself that someone as futile as she could never recognize what he was until he chose to reveal himself.
‘Yeah, you know,’ she said with a condescending smile. She looked him up and down as if the answer was obvious, and suddenly it was.
‘Ah,’ he replied. ‘I understand.’
‘Sometimes I get a call to go see some of your lot in hotel rooms, but you don’t see your type cruising much. I assumed it was a cultural thing,’ she told him.
‘What’s your name?’ he asked, ignoring her observations.
‘Cantara,’ she answered. ‘My mum heard it somewhere when she was expecting me and liked it, so that’s me. Turn left up here then drive to the end of the road and turn right. A nice quiet little spot.’
‘You talk a lot,’ he told her unsmilingly. ‘The others didn’t talk too much.’
‘The others?’ she asked. ‘So I’m not your first then?’
He turned his head slowly towards her, his face a granite sculpture. ‘No,’ he told her. ‘You’re not my first.’ He followed her directions into a lifeless road with closed businesses on one side and a boarded-up building site on the other. He turned the headlights off and let the car roll to a halt by the kerb. As soon as the car stopped Cantara moved to open the passenger door, but his hand came from nowhere and gripped her tightly around the bicep. Her head spun back to look at him and for the first time he sensed fear in her – could see her eyes registering danger – but he knew she wouldn’t try to escape. Like all the others she would risk her life to get the cash she needed to buy her next fix of whatever it was she was addicted to: crack, heroin, alcohol, gambling. ‘Going somewhere?’ he asked coldly.
She managed an unconvincing smile before answering. ‘The back, of course,’ she explained. ‘We can’t do it
in the front, can we? I mean we could, but it’ll be easier in the back.’
He stared deep into her eyes before releasing his grip. ‘Okay. We’ll get in the back.’
‘Leave the engine on,’ she told him casually. ‘I don’t want to freeze my tits off.’ He half nodded and watched her climb from the car only to reappear within seconds in the back – the doors closing so quickly one after the other that he could almost detect only one slamming sound. ‘You coming or what?’ she tried to hurry him. ‘I ain’t got all night, you know.’ He took a long, silent breath to calm his surging, almost uncontrollable need to devour her. Soon – soon the Great Snake would be feeding on her young, delicate body.
He slipped from the driver’s seat and into the freezing cold night air, the contrast with the warm comfort of the car invigorating him even more – tensing and preparing the muscles in his body for the exertion that lay ahead. It was as if he could feel the Great Snake awakening – its scales shifting slightly on top of each other as it began to uncoil and flex its huge muscles – stretching its jaw in preparation for swallowing its victim whole. He enjoyed the moment for as long as he dared before opening the rear door and climbing in the back next to Cantara, who was already loosening her clothing. For a moment he could do nothing but stare at her – so
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