Several seconds passed before Noha understood the situation.
"What is this guy talking about?"
"What is he doing here?"
"Come on, take my hand," he said while smiling at Noha.
"This is not a good time to smile."
"Something has been following me," Noha could barely catch his breath.
Quickly, he took his hand. It was too cold, and his touch was soft.
"I know, come on, follow me," he said, pointing towards the cabin.
This man walked ahead of Noha, not letting go of his hand. Noha simply couldn't let go; he didn't know if it was out of fear or some other reason. This guy was incredibly tall, much taller than Noha, and he was already quite tall. He wore a three-piece black suit. "Maybe he's one of the party guests," Noha thought to himself.
The cabin was completely dark, but this man seemed to know exactly where he was going. It was as if he could see in the dark. Noha quickly dismissed that idea. Soon, they arrived at what seemed to be a closet. This man opened the door, and with a quick movement, he pulled Noha and himself inside. He closed the door, and soon everything was in complete darkness and silence, where only their breaths could be heard. Noha felt dizzy; he didn't know why he had blindly followed this man into a small closet where they were so close that their bodies were lightly touching. Noha wanted to ask him questions, but all the words got stuck in his throat.
A few seconds passed. Noha could feel this man staring at him, even though he couldn't see anything. He could hear both of their breaths; his own gradually became more ragged. His neck and cheeks were burning, his mouth went completely dry, and breathing became increasingly difficult.
A few seconds passed. Noha could feel this man staring at him, even though he couldn't see anything. He could hear both of their breaths; his own suddenly felt a soft touch caressing one of his cheeks. All his skin prickled, and his breathing became more ragged. He couldn't pull away; his body wanted to feel his soft touch on his skin. "Noha, have you gone completely crazy? What the hell are you doing letting this guy touch you?" His own gradually became more ragged. His neck and cheeks were burning, his mouth went completely dry, and breathing became increasingly difficult.
His body ignored him, just staying there, hypnotized by the soft touch.
"What's that smell? Is that you?" this man asked with a broken voice.
"What are you talking about?" Noha was completely confused.
Suddenly, this man took one of Noha's hands and brought it close to his face. Noha could feel him sniffing his hand and his soft lips caressing it. Noha felt like his body had stopped obeying him; he only wanted to keep feeling his lips on his skin. "Maybe if he bit me, it would be better," Noha thought for a moment. He had completely lost his mind; that was obvious.
"I didn't expect to find something so delicious in the forest tonight. Do you know you're driving me crazy?"
"No, I don't know what you're talking about," Noha was about to forget how to breathe. His lower body felt heavy and throbbing. What the hell was wrong with him?
This man seemed to become more and more lustful every second, and soon their bodies were completely pressed together. With one of his hands, he took the nape of Noha's neck and began to sniff it. His breath made Noha's skin burn so much that a small moan escaped his lips. He couldn't stand it; he felt like his body would melt at any moment.
"We can't do this here," this man whispered in Noha's ear, but Noha had already lost his sanity and was clinging to his shoulders.
"I want to devour you, you're driving me crazy, you smell so delicious," he sniffed his neck one last time and let go.
"Hey," Noha said, with a somewhat desperate voice.
"This can't happen now. I'll keep you safe; you must go back to the party."
"I don't understand anything. What is that thing? What's happening?" Noha had both hands on his face; his body was burning, he wasn't himself.
"That thing is a demonic spirit; it tricked you to catch you."
"Let's go now." He took his hand again, and they headed to the back of the cabin.
They walked quickly. Noha still didn't understand how this guy could see anything; he felt like he was in a dream where he was being dragged from one side to the other uncontrollably. In a few minutes, he began to hear the music again, saw the lights of the mansion, and regained his vision as they got closer and closer. As they approached the mansion, he could see Kai, looking worried, with some of the other employees.
Just before reaching them, the man let go of his hand. Noha felt like something inside his chest was being pinched. During the time they were together, he hadn't dared to look at his face, but when he felt him let go, he felt the need to see it. He didn't want to forget it; it was more than clear that he had lost his mind that night. He looked younger than Noha had thought, maybe in his late twenties, with gray hair, pale skin, and very intense blue eyes. Noha couldn't help but lose his breath; his mouth was dry again.
"I'll see you later. Don't go back to the forest..."
"Th-thank you for saving me," Noha whispered, feeling ashamed. He hadn't been acting like himself.
"Don't thank me," was the last thing he said before heading towards the mansion and disappearing into the crowd. Noha didn't stop looking at him until he was gone.
All of that had seemed like a dream. His body felt empty, his mind was a mess. He just stood there in the middle of the mansion's back garden, lost in his thoughts; his gaze was vacant, and his fingers were tingling. Suddenly, Kai appeared behind Noha.
"Where the hell have you been?" Kai's voice sounded like a reprimand, but his eyes showed concern, though Noha couldn't say a word.
"Noha, what's wrong? Please answer me, what happened? Let's go inside, it's cold."
Noha wanted to tell him that everything was fine, but his body simply wouldn't obey him; his skin was burning. They went inside the mansion. Kai took Noha to the staff room, gave him a cup of tea and his jacket. Half an hour later, Noha was able to think clearly again. He felt ashamed; lately, he kept worrying everyone.
"I'm sorry, Kai. I heard a noise in the forest, walked further than I thought, and got a little lost. Everything's fine," Noha could barely speak, but he didn't want Kai to keep worrying about him. He didn't even know what the hell had happened.
He didn't know who the hell that guy was. Why had his body behaved so lustfully? Never in his life had he felt such a need. Had he gone crazy? Had he imagined it all? What was his name? "I have too many questions to ask him, but I'm afraid that if I'm near him, I'll forget how to breathe."
After a few minutes, Kai went back to work. Noha stayed in the staff room until the party ended. At Kai's request, he would do both of their tasks. Kai couldn't hide that he was worried about Noha's situation; deep down, Noha had always known. Kai feared that one day Noha would completely break. He forced himself to act normal for the rest of the night until they could go home. He returned to the hotel almost at dawn, took a shower, and got into bed. He wanted to forget that night; he wanted to go back to normal.