I gasped desperately. My feet dug into the forest floor but that didn't matter. All I could focus on was running away.
I thought I could over run this but I tumbled only to be devoured by the bitter cold. I didn't dare look back. My heartbeat hammered against my ribs echoing like the drums of a hunted animal. I felt like an animal.
I tore through the forest floor.
It felt like everything around me held its breath.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins abut all I could was cry. And pray.
I knew there was no one to catch me if I fell-except him.
And there was no one to ruin me… except him.
I ran faster, stumbling over roots hidden beneath the snow, bruising knees and ankles, but I couldn't stop. The trees towered. I slipped behind one of the tallest oaks, my entire body shaking with the force of suppressed breaths. I pressed my hands over my mouth, biting down hard on a knuckle to muffle any sound. Tears blurred my vision, and I pressed my back to the cold bark, praying it would hide me, praying it would shield me.
But silence can be a curse. In that quiet that the predator strikes.
Only if I could buy some time, and find the road, or…. My thoughts stilled.
Then I heard it-a low chuckle, barely above a whisper, carried on the wind. It slid over my skin like a knife dipped in ice.
I didn't hear him chasing me earlier and all I could recall was the time he chased me down the basement. Only this time, it was different.
"Is this how you want to play now?" his voice drifted through the dark, and I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could vanish. "Running and hiding? You do realise that it only makes this hunt sweeter."
Hunt. It was a hunt for him.
The tree wasn't enough to hide from the vile tinge of his words vibrating down to my bones. The snow, once so white, so innocent, seemed to take on the shadows he cast.
I felt him near. How did he… how did he even managed to get so close?
Was this the place, where my body would be buried? I swallowed hard, pressing my hands to my chest, willing my heart to quiet. Afraid if he could hear it too.
"I would gladly play hide and seek if that's what you want," His voice was closer now rolling through the eerie silence. "But little traitors like you never make it to the end."
The snow crunched nearby and the sound became heavier, like death itself drawing closer. I closed my eyes tighter, praying he wouldn't see me, but knowing I'd never been that lucky.
"Come on out, little bird."
My heart threatened to leap from my chest and every instinct screamed to run, but I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The cold seeped deeper, and I trembled harder, my body betraying me with every violent shake.
Another step, closer now, his boots crunching the snow with a weight that felt like he was walking all over me.
"So you're not coming out, huh?" I could imagine a scowl on his face. I shook my head supressing my cried with both of my palms. "You have two minutes to think and come out or I'm burning this whole fucking forest to the ground."
My eyes widened. He couldn't be… serious, right? He wouldn't dare to. He was just bluffing. There was no way he could burn the snow…
My eyes widened when I heard more footsteps and they were urgent. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw them. Men carrying large gallons of what looked like gasoline. The fat that the snow had stopped falling and the forest had only oak and some dry vegetation made it worse.
I swallowed hard as panic clawed up my throat and I watched the men unscrew the caps, gasoline sloshed and splattered across the ground. The air was thick with the pungent smell of fuel, and the realization hit me like a slap-he wasn't bluffing. The snow, packed in hard from days before, wouldn't save the forest. Not with the bare oaks and dead leaves scattered around.
I clenched my teeth, every nerve begging me to stay hidden, but I knew what he wanted. I knew he wouldn't stop.
He was a psycho.
"Unless you want to burn to crisp," his voice turned softer.
I had to make a decision. I could keep hiding, gamble that he'd give up, that he wouldn't burn everything around him just to flush me out. Or... I could step forward and face him, let him see the terror he'd planted in me, face-to-face.
My heart thundered, but the sound of gasoline hitting the forest floor echoed louder. The men continued, ruthless, their movements quick and practiced.
"One," Judas muttered and I heard unmistakable click of lighter.
He couldn't be…
I pressed a shaking hand to my mouth, but the whimper escaped. And I knew, with a bone-deep certainty, that he'd heard it.
"Two,"
My eyes burned with the gasoline. Shit. He was unhinged.
"Three." My eyes widened as he lighted his cigar and threw the lighter on the ground as gasoline quickly caught the flames. The men around him stepped back but he… he stood there, in middle of the forest as everything around him caught fire.
I quickly backed away as dry leaves in front of me caught fire. Burning embers flew in air, and with the warmth, I felt strange coldness.
The smoke billowed around me, thick and suffocating. I staggered, my throat raw and lungs burning with every desperate gasp for air. The bark of the oak tree behind me sizzled, flames licking up its side, and in a frantic moment, I pressed myself lower to the ground. But it didn't matter. I could feel him-his eyes on me, even though the blazing forest, as if the fire itself was his doing.
And then, he was there.
My vision swam, but the glint of his polished, dark leather boots stood stark against the ash-covered ground. I tried to push back, scramble to my feet, but his hand shot out, cold and unyielding as it closed around my throat. My pulse hammered beneath his grip, and he slowly tilted my head back, forcing me to look up into those eyes-eyes that held a twisted satisfaction.
"Aha, there's my little traitor." His voice was low, as he tilted his head.
I clawed at his fingers, but he didn't so much as flinch. His smirk deepened, and he tightened his hold just enough to make my breath come out in gasps. I knew better than to plead; I'd seen how he looked at those who did.
And with flames around him, he looked devil himself.
Still, the fire crackled louder, inching closer, devouring everything in its path. I fought to turn my head, the smoke stinging my eyes, but he forced me to stay focused on him, a predator savouring the power he held over his prey.
"Did you really think you could hide from me?" he drawled.
I didn't answer; I couldn't. All I could do was stare, meeting his icy gaze, praying that the flames would somehow pass us by, that this nightmare would end.
But as he leaned down, his face inches from mine, I realized-he didn't plan on letting me go.
"Now, tell me," he murmured, his breath hot against my face, "didn't anyone ever teach you the consequences of betrayal?"
My eyes widened again and this time, he didn't loosen his grip. Black dots appeared in front of my eyes, desperation clawed at my senses. But all I could feel was heat and see was flames. And amidst them, it was him. That's when reality sunk in. Even if I'd die, my ashes would could never hide from him.