In her mind, Mal saw Tex.
She wasn't surprised, really. She understood now Tex was obsessed with her. It was why he'd taken her, claimed her, marked her. It wasn't love, the furthest thing from it. It was just innate desire, a need to have her there, always. She'd had to kill him. She'd had to. So --
Wait. Wait. Tex was dead. She was almost positive that hadn't been a dream. A nightmare, maybe, but a real one. She'd hurt him, and then he'd come after her, and she'd killed him, stabbed him a hundred thousand times until it felt like she was drowning, boiling in his blood. She began to fight, struggle harder, even though she knew it was useless. The blood was everywhere. It always would be.
And she could feel that blood now, streaking her face, drying in her hair, splashed across her belly and her arms. She'd never get away from it, she realized. Just like she'd never get away from him. She had tried to run and in the process had shackled herself to him, ever more Frankenstein's monster by the minute. Even if he was dead. She'd chained herself to a corpse.
The realization came around the same time she felt a cold hand close around her wrist, touch her face.
And she woke up.
Tex, or rather, Tex's corpse hovered there in front of her, and she screamed, bucking away.
"I'm sorry!" she shrieked, caught between fighting back and just running. "I'm sorry, I never wanted to kill you, I never meant...I'm sorry. Please, just leave me alone, please -- please!"
She wasn't surprised, really. She understood now Tex was obsessed with her. It was why he'd taken her, claimed her, marked her. It wasn't love, the furthest thing from it. It was just innate desire, a need to have her there, always. She'd had to kill him. She'd had to. So --
Wait. Wait. Tex was dead. She was almost positive that hadn't been a dream. A nightmare, maybe, but a real one. She'd hurt him, and then he'd come after her, and she'd killed him, stabbed him a hundred thousand times until it felt like she was drowning, boiling in his blood. She began to fight, struggle harder, even though she knew it was useless. The blood was everywhere. It always would be.
And she could feel that blood now, streaking her face, drying in her hair, splashed across her belly and her arms. She'd never get away from it, she realized. Just like she'd never get away from him. She had tried to run and in the process had shackled herself to him, ever more Frankenstein's monster by the minute. Even if he was dead. She'd chained herself to a corpse.
The realization came around the same time she felt a cold hand close around her wrist, touch her face.
And she woke up.
Tex, or rather, Tex's corpse hovered there in front of her, and she screamed, bucking away.
"I'm sorry!" she shrieked, caught between fighting back and just running. "I'm sorry, I never wanted to kill you, I never meant...I'm sorry. Please, just leave me alone, please -- please!"