When Sylvia opened her eyes, she scowled at the man on the bed. Alex slept--but not at peace--for his mouth hung open, distended in a grotesque, silent scream.

His eyes refused to blink, wide with terror.

And yet Alex breathed still. So would he live for the rest of his life, his soul trapped inside a nightmarish coma.

Hell on Earth.

Draining his emotions--feeding from his dreams--had quenched her Need, at least for now. In its place nestled a quiet contentment akin to soaking in a hot bath after a freezing excursion in the depths of winter.

Now Sylvia could live.

Once again she could venture among human beings without posing a threat. She could enjoy a dinner date with Jean-Pierre at their favorite Italian restaurant. She could resume her graduate night classes.

Sylvia would sleep well tonight, knowing that she'd made the world a safer place. Until the Hunger returned and she sought out her next target.

Could Alex see her hovering over his mental prison, victorious in her claim over his soul? No one could know for certain. Not Officer Cote, who would find Alex's physical husk frozen in terror. Not the scientists who would perform all manner of tests and exploratory surgery to discover the cause.

Not even Sylvia herself.

Yet she dared to hope that Alex would realize the truth on some level. A fearsome woman had silenced him, weaving a complex web of dreams from which he could never escape.

No one would fear him again.

Satisfied, Sylvia curled her lip and vanished into the night.

THE END

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If you would like this story to be extended into a novel, please comment below. It was a joy working with these characters, and I think I'd love to explore them further. What do you think?