There he is, standing like a statue that scares the ever-loving hell out of me the moment I see him. I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t think he’d be out in the open, standing there and waiting, though it is like him to put the terror in me. He knows how much I love it.
I’m not sure if he’s trying to make me fall in love with Shadow the way I did with him, or if he plans to come clean one day. I don’t know what his end game is, with this other persona. And I guess it doesn’t really matter because I’ve already made up my mind.
A loud boom of thunder has me jumping again, and there’s this odd quiet like the storm has stopped, even though I know it hasn’t. But all goes quiet, until he yells.
“Run!”
My stomach twists, my heart skips a beat, and my feet start moving before I even have to think about it.
I whirl around, going back the way I came, rushing for the stairs. As I round the corner for the stairwell, I look back and find him walking briskly toward me like some Michael Myer’s shit. My chest gets another flutter, and instead of going down, I go up.
I race up the steps, taking them two at a time, the light jumping back and forth from pumping my arms. My lungs are burning once I get to the top, and so are the muscles in my legs. This floor, like the bottom two, opens up into a big room, only there are walls here and there, making this feel like a maze.
Could it be anymore perfect?
I run in and out of them, around them, until I’m out of breath and need a break. I flick the flashlight off, and press my back to the wall and try to ease my breathing. My chest burns as I take in slow breaths and let them out just as slowly.
I don’t want him to find me so quickly, but I need to catch my breath or this game may not last much longer.
Because of the storm, I can’t hear a damn thing, and it’s even louder up here with the rain pouring on the roof. The wind feels stronger up here too. I swear I feel the building shaking.
Jaxon could be anywhere, but he’s up here somewhere. He could be right behind me, at the other end of the building… I won’t know because I can’t hear his footsteps, and that makes it all the more exciting. It’s so dark in here that I can’t see a damn thing either, and I don’t want to risk putting the flashlight on. I have no idea how he is seeing in here to get by.
In this situation, he has the upper hand. He knows what he’s doing. He’s prepared for this. He’s the hunter… he has to be better.
When thunder hits, I count the seconds for the lightning—three—and when it lights up the room, I look around for an escape. There is an open room to my left, and I came from around the corner on my right, but I don’t know this place wellenough to run through it blind. I could trip on anything, run into a sharp object. This place feels like a tetanus cesspool.
Slow and steady is the way to go. Maybe when he doesn’t see the light, he’ll think I went back downstairs.
Lightning flashes again. The coast is clear, so I carefully move my way along the wall to my left. Once I reach the broken chair, I’ll go across the room, take a few more steps, then move around that corner. And I should have another flash of lightning to help guide me.
My heart is pounding, the taste of dirt is in my mouth. I’m sweating even though it’s breezy up here and the rain is cool.
I make it to the chair, then wait for the lightning. I dash across and move along that wall until I reach the end and go around it. Problem is, I don’t know where this goes or what is here. Maybe I should have gone back. The next flash of light comes quicker, and I see I’m in a long hall. There are no doorways along the sides, but there is a turn to the left at the end. Guess this is where I’m going. At least I can navigate it in the dark.
As I move further down, I realize another issue. There are no windows, meaning the lightning doesn’t reach, and I hardly see anything.
I reach the end and wait for the faint flash of lightning to see down the hallway I’m about to go down to make sure it’s intact. This building is old, and the floor could be missing, and the last thing I need is to fall in here.
With my back to the corner, and my heart beating harshly, I stare back the way I came, waiting for it to light up.
When it does, there he is. Walking toward me with a purpose, maybe fifty feet away. I yelp as I break out into a run, thankfully having caught a glimpse out of my peripheral enough to see that there is, in fact, a floor. I fidget with the flashlight and click on the light, because even though it’s giving away where I am, there’s no way I can do this blind. It’s too dangerous.
The light illuminates the area ahead of me, which is another long hallway that leads to another large room with broken tables and chairs, and creepy ass mannequins. I’m a few feet into it when I realize my problem.
It’s a dead end.
Chapter Forty-One
Jaxon
I’ve already been to this warehouse. Memorized each floor as best I could. The third was the most difficult because of the maze-like structures, but I know where the main means of egress are, and the stairwells and doors.
I hadn’t planned on herding her up this way, she did that all on her own, but boy am I glad she did.
The moment I saw her shoot down the hallway, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew there was only one way to go from there. There is no turning back, at least, not if she wants to get past me. Which, of course, isn’t the plan anyway.
But now I have her trapped like a scared mouse.
