Darker Still by T. S. Worthington

and screwed over people’s lives. It stretched so far beyond just the killing of the victim. That was just the beginning of a chain reaction that would terrorize an entire family and even a community. It was all part of their grandiosity and narcissism.
    “I can’t imagine how scared you must be,” Cheryl said. “I’m terrified, but if this guy was actually after me I would change my identity and move to the Antarctica or something.”
    John smiled. He liked that she was feeling up to cracking jokes and having an easy conversation, but she did prove a valid point. He was terrified, but he was used to it. You had to get used to dealing with fear or else it would paralyze you at exactly the wrong moment.
    “I am scared. I’m not going to do the macho thing and I say that I’m not afraid of anything. I’m a little beyond that age, but the fear is a good thing.”
    “How is that good?”
    “Well, it is a powerful motivator if you use it the way it is supposed to be used. I used the fear that I feel to move me to action, instead of letting it cripple me to inaction,” John said. He hoped that made sense. The rum and cokes were starting to give him a rocking good buzz also.
    “I can see that. I never really looked at it that way,” Cheryl said.
    “Well, most people don’t because they don’t have to deal with the levels of fear that someone in my line of work has had to. But people who have very dangerous jobs where their lives are on the line on a regular basis have to develop that sort of edge. It’s the edge our ancestors had in caveman times because there was possible death around every corner, every tree, cave, or blade of grass. There was something somewhere that could kill you. We have evolved away from that in recent years I think,” John said.
    He was aware that he was starting to wax way too intellectual and made a mental note to try to reign that back a little bit before he started to sound stupid.
    “You are incredibly insightful John Anderson,” Cheryl said. The way she said his name like that sent chills up his spine. He was starting to like this girl a lot and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It felt like it should have been great and he was a bit excited, but he was afraid for her to get too close to him since he had a psychopathic serial killer targeting him for sport.
    “I have my moments,” he said and before he realized what was happening he was kissing her. All of the memories of what it was like to be with a great woman came back to him all at once. It was an odd mix of newfound excitement and nostalgia. She was soft and sweet. Her lips were moist and sensuous, the way they caressed against his sent sensations of lust rolling through his body. He needed this, but he could not shake the feeling that he was doing something terrible by placing her in danger. He had to back off.
    He pulled away and took a drink.
    “What’s wrong?” Cheryl asked.
    “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” John said.
    “Why?”
    “I find you unbelievably attractive Cheryl but with the way things are right now I feel like I would be putting you in danger by getting too close to you,” John said.
    Cheryl nodded as if she had already weighed the pros and cons of this. “I understand, but I really don’t care.”
    “Well, you should care. I do care.”
    “I know you want to protect me, but honestly I would feel better protected by having you by my side than being left alone. Right now I just feel like the world is coming down on me and I have no one to lean on. You are so sweet and I can tell that you are a vessel of hope in a world that is totally devoid of it,” Cheryl said. A tear fell from her eye.
    John felt his heart melt a bit at the sentiments she had just expressed so poetically. She was speaking from her sweet heart and he knew that she really wanted to be with him. He understood that she did not feel safe and it was possible that she wasn’t, but by being with him it