Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
*****
Indisputably, my life has been very bland thus far. Living conditions and the like have been exceptional; no complaints there. The same with my education and university. Every day, I sit at the same well paying office job my conscious mind always wished to obtain years ago.
Yet, there's the rub; it's all been routine for me. Work, home life, schooling; not a day goes by where drastically different events occur. Unfortunately, I could never grasp what was missing to spice things up for me.
My boss was the messenger that spared me this monotonous eternity. He's an elderly man, with a friendly personality and great work ethic you'd swear could only be found in fiction. Bless the poor soul, for he had recently had a crisis in the workplace.
Profusely sweating and tearing up, he made mention of the fact his whole life he strived only for success and progression. Multitudes of opportunities passed him by, the kicker being never finding his one true love. He feared to live and pass alone, unable to share the moments of joy, sorrow and more with someone that loved him the same.
His words had effectively encouraged me to achieve just that. A woman who I could love, freeing me from this soulless existence in a rut.
This left me with troubled esteem. No way did I have the courage to start introductions face to face, so I took up using the first dating app I saw in the app store. Reviews made it look promising, so my evening was spent creating a realistic, hopefully interesting, profile. I realized matches and messages wouldn't show up overnight, so my expectations remained grounded for the duration a week.
Almost coincidentally, a message finally came through on Friday. It is the 13th of the month that didn't raise any superstition from me, so I eagerly opened it. At first, no profile picture loaded; just the default profile icon. Though after a second or two, my screen glitched out and revealed the image of stunning beauty.
A flawless Hispanic woman with emerald eyes made a sensual pout to the camera. Long black hair, and visible cleavage produced by the largest chest I've ever seen, she was all my preferences combined into one picture. Hastily, I read what she sent.
Sandria- "Hey stud, I was looking over your profile and it caught my eye. A handsome man such as yourself must have plenty of cool things going on in his life."
Not even considering this could just be someone pulling a prank on me, I gave an embellished reply.
Me- "Oh yeah. Life gets real around here; just had to bring my boss to hospital last week. Poor guy suffered a minor heart attack."
This back and forth of replies continued well into the night, and then again before work the next day. Learning so much about this woman's personality and struggles, I sincerely sympathized with her. My heart beating quickly whenever I started typing away another message
After another few days of conversing and receiving beautiful pictures, it was her that initiated the next step of our relationship.
Sandria- "I've enjoyed chatting with you. We should meet up in person. What do you say? I'll give you until the end of the day to decide, cutie."
Ecstatic at this development, I didn't even try to hide my excitement. Friends at work congratulated me for starting to "settle down", as they put it. Whilst I had no idea if I and Sandria would go that far, my hopes were high.
So, at the end of my workday, I simply replied yes, and sprinted out of the building. With a smirk on my face and a surprisingly growing tent in my loins, I waited desperately for Sandria to message back.
None immediately came. Shrugging my shoulders and putting the device in my pocket, I got in my car for the ride home.
Once parked in the drive, I stepped out a gave a long sigh. The anticipation was practically torturing, as I buried the urge to slip my phone back out. Walking over to my front door, I gave myself a moment of self-reflection. Closing my eyes, I mentally told myself to calm down and play it cool. Rushing into things would only lead to mistakes.
Reinvigorated, I opened my eyes and felt my expression sink. Gone was my house; no, not just my house. My normal surroundings were all different. No house, street, or neighborhood in sight.
Darkness clouded my eyes mostly, with dim lights above every few feet or so. Stale air and no wind caught me short of breath. Clutching a hand to my chest, my hair stood on end. Whatever this place was, it held no care for me.
Then, I heard something off in the distance. Crunching debris, perhaps evidence of this dilapidated inside area falling apart at the seams. The urge to call out in case my hypothesis was incorrect remained strong. Yet, I found I could make no utterings of any kind.
What seemed to be 20 minutes of loneliness pass, as my cautious exploration of this place yielded nothing of help. Frustrating to be sure, but I feared to have an outburst of anger, in case I am caught off guard.
Caught off guard by what? Am I not alone here?
"No, you are not." The most melodious female voice I ever heard stated.
I heard it directly in my ear, but quickly looking around proved not another soul was here. But then, the crunching sound again, though it had a pattern this time. Almost like...footsteps. Blinking frantically in fear, I fell to the ground and huddled up in a pitiful attempt to keep myself safe.
"Aww, so cute..." The same voice whispered in my ear.
Except for this time, I felt breathing against my neck. Trembling, I forced myself to lift my head and look. A whispy, black cloak caught my eye; flowing in a nonexistent breeze. Looking up, this was not human at all.
The head was more serpentine in shape, with gray skin devoid of hair. Facial features could not be found, save for a large humanoid mouth. With thick jet black lips, this thing smiled as it looked at me with no eyes.
My instinct to scream out in fear triggered, but I still couldn't speak, or even move now. I remained shaking, as the creature smiled.
"I'm so glad you decided to meet me in person. I've been longing for a man for an eternity!" The female creature desperately explained.
The abomination's words came across as nonsensical, I would never wish to see this thing of my own volition. But, I did agree to an in-person chat with Sandria. At this point, my mind concluded that the person didn't exist. All just a ploy crafted by living hell which I had naively fallen for.