The Hunted

Chapter 1- Light

"Everything seemed still. All I could see was my prey taking its last breath as I readied myself for another kill. I knew at that moment... I... am the hunter."
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My head throbbed in pain as I regained consciousness. I felt myself being dragged, a black cloth hindered my vision. I was fading in and out of consciousness. I heard a man grunt as he lifted me up and carried me on his shoulder. After some minutes, the man threw me down on a hard wooden floor. He removed the cover off my face and I saw that I was in an old, ramshackled wooden cabin. My hands and legs were tied up tightly, I couldn't move at all.

My eyes were still adjusting to the light after countless hours of darkness, so I couldn't see his face. I saw him taking something out of a cabinet, then he walked towards me and held me up by the collar, opened the door and took me outside. The surroundings were blindingly white. Gradually, my eyes adjusted to the exposure and I saw that I was in a snow covered area with nothing but trees all around.

My body froze when I saw him cocking a shotgun. I thought that he was going to kill me right then and there, but he put the gun aside and untied me.

"W-Why... Why have you b-brought me here? Why a-are you fr-freeing me?" I asked, shivering, partially because of the cold but mainly because of the fear.

"To kill you..." He laughed, I tried to focus on his face but I couldn't do so because my vision was blurry, "but I'll give you a fair chance to live. You can run... but know that I will be hunting for you." He picked his gun back up and held it firmly.

There was a short moment of silence, confusion overtook my senses as he shouted, "Now, run!"

I immediately stood up and started running. My feet kept sinking in the deep snow as I dashed across into the cover of the distant trees, hoping that he wouldn't shoot me dead like a helpless fleeing deer. I kept running straight as fast as I could for the first few minutes and later slowed down because of exhaustion. I stopped and took cover near a tree and checked my pockets, I didn't have anything, not even my phone. All I had was my full sleeved woollen shirt, a silver watch, denim jeans and sneakers.

I kept walking for hours, hoping to find a shelter or a civilisation. I roamed around without gaining any progress, the sun went down and night slowly crept up across the sky. I kept wandering around until I saw a faint light coming from somewhere between the trees. I went near and saw a camp. Three tents were set up and there was a bonfire lit up between them.

"Hello? Anyone here? I need help..." I called out, expecting someone to come out of those tents.

A chilling breeze flowed past and to my demise, nobody answered.

I warmed myself in the heat of the fire. It's crackling sound soothed me. After a few moments, I went closer to one of the tents.

"I'm coming in, hope you don't mind." I still expected an answer.

Just as I entered the tent, I saw two men lying inside, even in the dim light from bonfire, I could understand that they were dead. Both of them had slash marks on their throats. The fact that the fire was still burning meant that they were killed recently.

Suddenly, I heard the howling of the wolves coming from somewhere nearby. I knew they weren't the ones who killed these people, they were there for food. I knew who had killed them and that meant that the person, that hunter, was still nearby. I ran out of the tent and fled the place. I didn't take a firewood because if I did, the hunter could easily spot me in the darkness.

I kept running without thinking anything. My foot hit a rock and I fell down face first into the soft snow.

With the cold and exhaustion tiring me, I lifted my head. I shook my head and focused my gaze in front of me. In the subtle moonlight, I saw a whole pack of wolves moving towards me.