Snippet Saturday: Who's there? a tidbit from 'Wraith'

Should I run? Should I fight? Should I give myself over willingly? How far would I get if I fled? Is it an Inborn, the originals of vampire kind? Or a Wraith, the hunters and executioners? Another Halfborn like Innocence and I? What did they have planned for me? I've slaughtered nearly a hundred people since returning home, most of them known and open cases, would that be a death sentence? Even if it wasn't, would they find out what I was? The unnatural child that was supposedly killed years prior?

I listened closer. The footsteps approached, and I could almost picture the person nearing my front porch steps. I could tell it was one person. They were alone, and I wondered if they were sent to take me out, why there weren't more?

I heard the first foot make contact with the steps. I went to the window, unlatched it, and worked to wiggle it free. It squealed in protest. The person approaching my door stopped.

“Well, that's just awesome,” I said under my breath. “Man up, Coral. You've brought this on yourself.”

Several moments went by before my uninvited guest began to move towards the door again. I listened as they came closer, and I decided to walk to the door to greet them. Albeit, I tiptoed, trying not to make a sound on my way out of my bedroom and down the hall to the living room. It completely slipped my mind, until it was too late, that if this Born was any good with their senses, they'd know I was getting closer to them even if I didn't make a sound. That knowledge entered my thought process right before I stopped in front of the door.

I briefly wondered why they hadn't knocked. Then I heard a muffled noise coming through the door. It sounded like they were whispering, but I couldn't tell what they were saying because the language was unfamiliar to me and unlike anything I’d ever heard before. What I could tell, though, was my visitor was male.

I stood and waited. I thought about opening the door with a straight-forwardness, demanding what the guy wanted, but the fear that my demise may very well be on the other side of that door kept me from doing that.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. I turned to go to the sofa and sit at fifteen minutes, and that's when the knock rang throughout the living room. I jumped, nearly leaving my skin on the floor if that was at all possible.

I froze for what seemed like an eternity, gathering myself and steadying my heart. I wondered if I still had time to flee, but instead, I drew in a deep breath and released it in a calming fashion. Then I repeated the process until the muscles relaxed in my shoulders. Finally, I turned back to the door and gripped the handle, turning it as slowly as possible. I pulled the door open, and my eyes fell on the man in front of me.