The Tranquil Predator ✔️

Chapter 33

Patricia's Pov

**** TRIGGER WARNING: THESE PARTS INCLUDE VIOLENCE AND BLOOD WHICH MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR FEW READERS****

I was running for minutes now. I started to lose my stamina because of that.

My ankle was aching but I had no choice but to run. And I did that. The huge trees towered over me, shading me from the moonlight. It was pitch black and I didn't know where I was going. I didn't even know whether Praveen was behind me or not. I didn't have the guts to look behind my back. I raced forward and saw the tall dark outlines of the trees blur as I passed by them.

I was tired, and I could feel a stinging pain in my upper thighs. My legs were giving up because of the exertion but I kept on going because I had not given up mentally. The adrenaline in my body helped me to keep moving forward. But how far could I even go? I had to stop at some point.

Had I lost him? Can I stop now and find a tree to climb? Should I call Arjun and inform him of my whereabouts?

"Yes I should do that!", I panted and pulled out my phone. There was one text from him:

Where are you? Are you safe? Where is Praveen?

I can't find you anywhere in the house.

"So he is in the house now. Wow!", I said in a sarcastic voice. Arjun had come quicker than I expected. Maybe I should have stayed, he would have saved me and caught Praveen. But instead, I was out in the open now, with Praveen somewhere.

I shivered at the thought of being alone and defenseless in the woods with Praveen. But what's done is done. The only thing I can do now is think about what to do next.

"Texting will take time, so I better call Arjun and inform him asap", I thought as I scanned through my contact list to find his number. Arjun picked up in seconds and blasted the phone:

"Patricia! Where are you? I told you to hide! Where is Praveen? Are you okay? The house is empty! Where are you two?"

"Arjun, please shut up!", I whisper yelled.

There was a pin drop silence on the other side of the line. Looking around at my surroundings, to check whether anyone is there or not, I said, "I am in the woods, on the backside of the house. I ran straight for a couple of kilometers. Come quickly". And cut the call immediately because I heard a twig snap, somewhere in a distance.

Peering in the direction of the sound, I concentrated and backed up. Was it Praveen? There was a sharp and heavy rock near my feet. I picked it up and held it with both hands.

So, new plan. I fight.

Negotiating didn't work. Escaping was useless. Now fight. Was I scared? Yes, I couldn't get rid of the cold shiver that was running down my spine. But I had to stay calm and strong because my life depended on it.

I had noticed, he had no strap attached to his thigh when he came. So he is probably carrying the knife in his hand because he has nowhere to put it. The plan was, I will throw this rock at Praveen, aiming for his head. His head is already injured because I had smashed my vase on it. So another blow will be lethal. He will instinctively drop the knife and hold his head. That is when I will take the weapon and stab him. I will attack him from the back so that he does not see me approaching him. Once the knife is in deep, I will run back to the house and I hope I am lucky enough to bump into Arjun. I am not a murderer like him. My goal is not to kill him, but to protect myself

The deathly silence of the forest had amplified my hearing senses. For I was alert of everything. Be it either the monkeys up in the trees that looked down at me or the small insects on the ground that scurried away from my feet. It was as if they were in a coliseum and were getting ready to watch a gladiator fight.

Getting a whiff of his scent, I turned around instantly and saw him standing in front of me with a knife in his hand and a grim look on his face. He had lost his jovial smile and thus, looked at me with deadly eyes.

"Enough games Patricia, you know you are weaker than me", he snarled.

"Is that so? Then why am I not dead yet? This weak little city girl is giving you a hard time isn't she?", I smirked. I had to get him agitated, show him I was not afraid. Maybe then he will come closer to kill me and I will have a proper aim.

"You bitch! Who do you think you are!", he growled in fury and charged forward to attack me.

Now!

I threw the massive rock on his head and my aim was perfect. As expected, Praveen screamed in agony and held his head. Blood trickled down his head, and he had dropped the knife.

I grabbed it and crawled behind Praveen to hide from his view. He fell to the ground and was curled into a fetal position. He was facing the ground holding his head with his hands. He writhed with pain and was too distracted to look at me.

Positioning myself properly, I was about to strike when suddenly he turned around and grabbed my arm which had the knife. Pulling me towards him, he turned around again and pinned me to the floor. My head hit the rock hard ground and I was too stunned to figure out what just happened. Before I could wriggle myself out of his grasp, he sat on my hips, held both of my hands, and twisted them, dislocating the bones. A blood-curdling cry escaped my mouth as the pain shot up to my brain. My hands fell limp to my sides and he snatched the knife from my hold. My eyes welled up with tears.

I had lost the fight.

"Strong, but not strong enough", he growled. "This ends now"

I started crying. Maybe this was it. My plan failed. Maybe I was not supposed to survive. But at least, I fought. I fought till the very end. I didn't quit.

I was choking on my tears, and I couldn't find anything to say. He held my head in place and angled the knife to the side of my neck.

Closing my eyes, I waited for him to strike.

BANG!

The sound blasted my ears. And the cold knife clumsily fell on my neck. I felt few drops of some liquid splatter on my face. The heavyweight which had pinned me down, shifted to the side. A loud thump and the shuffling of monkeys up in the trees was heard, after which the forest returned to its usual silence.

I opened my eyes and saw there was no Praveen. Picking myself up, I looked ahead and I was not ready for the sight ahead of me. Praveen lay there, motionless on the ground. Part of his head was missing, Part of it was smeared in a dark liquid. That same liquid was splattered everywhere, on the ground and on the bark of the trees. I was too dazed to figure out what I was looking at. I lifted my injured arm and wiped my cheeks with my palm. It was when I saw my palm, I realised what that liquid was.

Blood. It was everywhere. It was on my face too.

A shrill scream of horror escaped my mouth. My eyes wouldn't leave the body ahead of me and I was just too terrified. I could hear a pair of footsteps getting louder behind me but I was too shocked to turn around to see who it was.

Arjun came from behind and wrapped one of his arms around my waist to pull me away from the body and the other one over my eyes to cover them shut. He didn't want me to see what he had done.

As promised, he had put a bullet through the Tranquil Predator's head, or in other words, he had blown Praveen's brains out.

"Shh, don't look. It's alright, I am here. You are safe", he said in a soothing voice. I curled into his arms and started crying heavily. My cries were muffled on his shoulder, but I still whimpered.

He caressed my head, and soon the world around me became black. The darkness engulfed me and I fainted in his arms.

A/N:

Story isn't finished by the way. Not yet. :)