Masks

Chapter 28

The sound of something falling made me jerk awake and I pushed my computer to the side as I got up and looked around the room. The window was still closed and the door was locked. My gaze fell to where I'd left Masky to see the floor was empty and the belt had been slipped off.

"Great... I should've made it tighter- and not fallen asleep." I scolded myself and cautiously looked around; there weren't many places he could've hidden.

I stopped outside the closet and glared suspiciously at the closed door. It was an obvious place to hide and I wasn't about to open it and get jumped. A noise came from behind me as I backed away from the closet door and I gave a sharp breath as I spun around. Masky lunged at me from where he'd been crouched down under the desk. I ducked to the side and tripped him up as he stumbled past. Hands grabbed my shirt as he twisted around and pulled me down with him.

He was momentarily distracted by the pain from hitting his head again and I took the opportunity to straddle him. I put one hand over his throat while using the other to attempt at restraining his wrists, which wasn't working as well as I'd thought. Despite his disoriented condition he was still stronger than I was.

"Tim, calm down." I pressed harder on his throat. "I don't want to hurt you- don't make me."

I wasn't even sure I could choke him out. Given the fight he was still putting up, I'd probably be pried off. "Shit, does he still have his folding knife?"

As expected, he managed to pull me off and flipped our positions. I stared up at him, trying to twist my arm free as I tried to figure out how I was going to knock him out again. If it was a matter of wearing him out then all I could really do was hope this was working. I struggled in his grip a few more seconds before managing to break one hand free. A swift blow to the side of his head unbalanced him.

"Tim... I'm sorry for this." I kneed him just below the gut and grabbed a fist full of his hair, wrenching him to the side as he gave a winded shout of pain.

He slowly shifted onto his stomach but I jumped him before he could push himself back up. I once again grabbed his hair, this time being more careful not to agitate the injury on the back of his head, and searched his pockets for the folding knife. Masky began thrashing once more as I found it and I tightened my grip. It stopped abruptly as I sharply pushed his head back to the floor. I felt fresh blood rub onto my arm as it brushed against the back of his head.

"Great... he's bleeding again." I chucked the knife across the room and forced his head to the side so I could see his masked face. "I'm trying to help you."

For a moment I thought he actually listened to me, as he went still beneath me. So when he shoved upward I lost my balance and fell backward, giving a hiss of pain as I hit my head on the bed frame while my eyes teared up as his skull came into contact with my nose.

"Gross!" I shoved him forward immediately as I tasted blood in my mouth from his hair.

Masky turned, ready to attack again. I stared up at him, wishing I'd kept the knife on me instead of tossing it out of our reach. "Come on then, Masky... Give me your best shot."

His chest heaved as he swayed tiredly. I watched as he tried to stand only to fall back to his hands and knees as his wound got to him. Not wanting to waste my chance, I rolled back to my feet and swiftly lunged at him. There was a dull thunk as I slammed his head down against the metal bed frame. He jerked away from me before collapsing and going limp. A wave of relief washed through me as he finally went down and I sank to the ground next to him, exhausted from the fight. I could already feel a headache forming.