A third victim was found. A single mother of two young girls who’d disappeared after leaving for a friend’s birthday celebration in the town centre. Her remains were discovered strewn in scarlet carnage on the east side of the common. The TV and papers were full of conjecture about the killers identity and motives. News teams cruised the streets touting for information as rumours of escaped maniacs surfaced and spread like wildfire.

Mags listened to the broadcast as she washed up the breakfast things. Outside the window a vagrant November morning lurked, ragged and cold. She pulled on her coat and braced herself before stepping outside. She drove past scraps of greenery and houses huddled against the chill. A newsagents hoarding bore the legend Town In Fear as she turned off the high street and onto the ring road heading out of the sprawl.

She worked for a double-glazing company at a trading estate on the edge of the downs. It was a good job that paid well. She spent her days typing letters and invoices and discretely raising her voice above the hum from the shop floor to answer and transfer calls on the switchboard. She had a reputation for reliability and professionalism and was well regarded.

She worked diligently through the day but, as the sun lowered, the hills began to mass darkly against the office window and kindled a growing disquiet. Stopping on the way home she paused on the windswept vista of the supermarket car park and lifted her head as though scenting the air. Inside she marked the scrutiny on the faces of women and the men’s watchfulness. The queue buzzed with talk of victims and predictions of more to come as musak jingled indifferently.

Arriving home she switched on the TV. A police officer urged women to be cautious but not to let fear inhibit them from getting on with their lives.
What life? She thought distracted. Her gaze swept the room. It was homely and comfortable, dotted by melted pools of light and velvet throws draped like hedonists across the sofa yet she craved a companion to share it with. It was so difficult in her position to forge relationships. At times the solitude palled.

At work the next day the restive mood made her less sanguine than usual and drew speculative looks.

‘You OK Mags?’ Mr Dawlish, her boss enquired.

But she only smiled and bowed her head.

During lunch she sat in the toilet cubicle and cried. It was getting on for that time of the month. She guessed that’s why she felt so low but it was hitting her unusually hard. She longed to escape to her little sanctuary. Regaining her composure, she washed her face and re-applied her make-up. When she was completely calm Mags took the leather pouch from her bag and injected herself.

As she emerged a shape peeled from a doorway and moved towards her. She gave a start then relaxed as she recognised the new deputy manager.

‘Hallo Mags,’ he began awkwardly.

‘Nathan,’ she nodded brusquely, unable to cope with pleasantries. ‘Excuse me,’ she added, moving to get past him on the narrow walkway. Squeezing by her foot snagged on the metal strut of the balustrade. Pitching forward she uttered a sharp cry.

In retrospect it was laughable how corny the moment was. He caught her easily, and tightly in his arms. She felt his body, hard and warm against her and traced the scent of his skin as her cheek brushed his.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Yes, sorry…yes fine.’ She stuttered.

But the words were a mere formality. Their eyes remained locked, widened by some preternatural recognition until Mags pushed herself away and hurried towards her office. She spent the rest of the afternoon mechanically filing letters and answering the phone, her thoughts lost amidst a turmoil. She had stumbled-literally-upon the cause of the agitation that had so plagued her lately. She felt no surprise as she left that evening to see him lounging under a streetlight by her car. He straightened as he saw her and smiled.

He took her to a pub tucked into a fold of the Downs. They ordered Steak cooked rare then lingered over their drinks, cocooned amidst the throng taking refuge from the night beneath the low beams.

‘I feel I’ve acted in a very forward manner, forgive me.’

Mags shook her head, smiling at the decorous, lightly accented words. She could barely believe he had been in sight all this time. That she had greeted him politely each day, passed the time and watched him go by with barely a glance yet failed to recognize who he really was. In that moment of proximity, with his scent filling her mind it was as though a mist had lifted.

‘I never usually proposition women I work with.’

‘I only wish you‘d done it sooner.’ She lowered her eyes, thrilled despite herself by the pleasure her words ignited in him.

‘Mags,’ he spoke her name slowly. ‘Short for…’

‘Magda, my parents were from Hungary.’

He smiled enlightened. ‘Of course.’

They stayed until last orders, sharing history, hopes and sorrows. He had only arrived from Europe two months ago. At one point he admitted he’d been watching her for weeks knowing there was something special about her.

‘Do you realise how lucky we are to have found each other?’ he spoke softly.

She nodded.

He dropped her back at her car extracting a promise that they would do this again soon, and then he kissed her.

She drove home and let herself into the flat. Every sense in her body was singing. She went to the window and gazed out.

‘Lucky!’ she murmured bitterly.

***

The third victims ex boyfriend had been questioned then released without charge. Nobody was surprised. More snippets of information leaked out. On TV a woman walking her dog on the night of the murder was interviewed. She claimed to have seen a figure skulking in the trees on the common. As the dog began barking it had melted away.

Mags listened as she hurried to get ready. She pulled on her coat as a horn sounded. Rushing down she climbed into Nathan’s car and reached across to kiss his cheek. They had stolen a day from work and ‘be damned if anyone guesses,’ he’d uttered with charming hubris. Since last week they were spending every spare moment together.

Two nights ago they made love for the first time in the marble light from a three quarter moon at the window. As she came he had uttered a growl of ownership and thrust the final strokes into her body. She cast sideways glances at his face as he drove, now handsome and content. Her memory contrasted the feral glare on his features in those final grunting moments as lovemaking had turned to a rutting fuck. Despite herself she felt a mixture of unease and leaden arousal.

They spent the day traipsing the downs and woodland. Leafless trees crowded the hills and scratched at the monochrome sky. Holding hands they prowled the woods, their heightened senses keenly aware of the life slumbering beneath the rocks and earth. They headed towards a pub as the afternoon began to bruise towards dusk. It was here that Mags finally plucked up the courage and told him about her sanctuary.

Her heart sank as she saw the anger cloud his brow. He commented sharply.

‘You don’t need that! You have me now, I’ll keep you safe.’

‘It’s not about keeping me safe.’

‘So it’s not a sanctuary, it’s a cage?’

Mags bowed her head, the silence eased by the muted chatter around them. People leading their normal uncomplicated lives, she thought wistfully. She took a breath and tried again.

‘I bought the place when properties around here were dirt cheap,’ she said in a desperate, conversational vein. ‘It’s probably worth a bomb now.’

She looked up, bidden by his silence. His expression was flat; staring down at her bag, opened to reveal the leather case containing the syringe and ampoules.

‘It’s a beautiful place I know you’ll like it.’ Her voice dropped, pleading.

‘Like taking a cure,’ he muttered acidly. ‘Do you think I’m sick Magda?’

‘We have each other, you don’t need…’

But Nathan had risen and crossed to the bar to pay the bill. The silence followed them as they drove home and he dropped her at the flat, refusing to come in.

She spent the night slumped defeated on the couch, staring unseeing at the TV. The next day at work she was told that Nathan had handed in his notice.

***

Aweek later she phoned in sick, citing her time of the month. She packed a small case and went to the car. It took a half hour to drive from the town into the heart of the countryside. The cottage stood in its little rutted track, isolated and alone. She made herself comfortable attending to the usual routines of unpacking, preparing the fire and making a pot of tea.

Usually she would spend her day walking or reading in front of the glowing hearth, but today a tense mood assailed her. She paced, staring out at the bleak sky and willing the night to arrive. Eventually she sank to the couch and wept.

There was a step at the doorway. She looked up to see Nathan standing on the threshold. His eyes were raw, his cheeks unshaven.

She choked back a sob. ‘How did you find me?’

He smiled ruefully. ‘It wasn’t hard. There isn’t another place for miles around. I put two and two together.’ He crossed to the couch and took her in his arms whispering her name. ‘Magda!’

She wished she could nestle into him forever, relinquishing all responsibility but eventually she asked the question, hardly daring to hope. ‘Does this mean you’ve changed your mind?’

He gave a conciliatory smile and shook his head. ‘I’ve come to show you we can live our lives as we’re supposed to. I’m your sanctuary now.’ He stroked her cheek. ‘We’re meant to be together Magda, you know that.’

She swallowed but forced a bright smile onto her face and nodded.

His relief was palpable and miraculous. They clung to each other. After a time he fetched a bottle of wine from his car. Mags took the bottle into the kitchen. Coming back with two full glasses she joined him at the window to watch the clouds melt away to reveal a crystalline evening. They toasted the coming night.

‘The first of many,’ he affirmed.

The tension in the air became electric. Nathan left her standing at the window. When she turned he was naked, smiling at her, ready. ‘It’s going to be wonderful, the two of us together.’

She took a deep breath. ‘I want you to know, I wish things could have been different.’

His smile faltered. ‘What are you talking about?’

She reached into the bureau under the window and pulled out the slim silver blade secreted there.

He bared his teeth and moved towards her but suddenly his legs gave way. He fell to the floor astounded and weakened.

She stared at him. ‘I used some of the ampoules from my case.

‘Why,’ he gaped breathlessly. ‘I can hardly move. Magda, why are you doing this?’

She spoke carefully. ‘To let you know how it felt for them Nathan, those women, just before you killed them and they knew they were helpless.’ She pointed the blade at him. ‘This is how it feels.’

That’s how it’s supposed to feel,’ he growled. ‘That’s what they are…prey.’

‘Not any more, not these days. I tried to persuade you but you’re like a fanatic, insisting on the old ways no matter what the consequences.’

For a moment he stared dumbfounded then sneered. ‘Tamed little beast of burden,’ he taunted. ‘Dosing your self every week, hiding away each month when even that can’t help,’ He laughed bitterly. ‘Did you really think I’d want to be saved for that Magda? I’m a predator, nothing can change me.’

‘You do it because you want to, not because you have to.’

He laughed. ‘You’re despicable.’

Mags closed her eyes, letting the spite wash over her. She had been such a fool to hope but at least she had tried. The thought was a miserly comfort.

He was too noble to plead or beg. ‘At least if you have to do this, do it the honourable way.’

She thought for a moment and put down the knife. She crossed to the window and watched the last ragged clouds flee the scene. Silver light crept across the sill, its glow played on a precarious tear at her eye. She undid the clasp of her dress and stepped out of it to stand naked.

She turned. ‘I love you!’

Her face erupted. Spasms wracked her hunched body as it burned beneath the sprouting wiry pelt. A series of agonized roars tore at the night. She straightened, flexed and her eyes glowed ember. A snarl lifted the corner of her mouth to reveal saliva and jagged bone. Nathan gazed at her resigned, rendered helpless and unchanged. She lurched from the window towards him, leaping into a crimson mist.

When it was done, she fled from the sanctuary and raced across the empty fields and valleys. She took down a lone deer in the woods and flushed a hare from the undergrowth, tearing and ripping with unfocused rage. When headlights on a nearby road speared the hills she turned and plunged back into the trees. Eventually, spent and fatigued, she loped to a windswept crest, her silhouette a black cameo against the fulsome moon, solitary and alone, always alone.

Raising her head to its complacent face she howled her anguish.