He knew she’d come back. She had to. Even better, she didn’t have that stupid glow anymore. Unfortunately, she still had the rat. He hated dogs, and they hated him. He was never invisible to them. They seemed to hate the smell of him, and could sense him when he got too close. It didn’t matter, the rat couldn’t protect her from him.

He’d known all along she couldn’t stay away. She was stupid to even try. She needed him to keep her invisible. Without him she was just some slut who’d been corrupted like all the rest of the women of the world. It was too late now though. He’d have to punish her before he destroyed her. It would be good for her to see what she could have had. How powerful he was, and she could have been by his side, she could have had everything, if only she had waited for him. He was finally ready to take her.

He cleaned himself up in one of the shelters. The worst part was making himself visible. One of the houses had scissors so he gave himself a haircut. He wasn’t surprised how much money he made begging in the street. People were more than willing to give the clean, good-looking guy money when he asked. Some story about running out of gas always worked. These were the same people he could make himself invisible for after this was all over.

He’d found an old guy at a table at the gun show. Someone selling his own guns; he got the guy talking and pretty soon the guy was just about giving him a gun. It had been too easy really. The old man had told him he didn’t have to do a background check since he was just a regular guy and not a dealer. It was just too perfect. The guy had even thrown in a free box of ammunition.

He needed to get one of the houses ready. He still had to find boards to cover the windows so no nosy neighbors could look in. And something to muffle her screams when he broke her, made her pure again. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He’d wait until he had everything he needed. Then he was coming for her.