Prey

Chapter 10

Doe's POV:

I was running.

The only thing that I knew that I was running through the halls of the castle.

No one else was in sight but I knew not to stop

My legs burned and lungs ached for just a moment to catch my breath.

In a time like this, I knew such a moment would never come without dire consequences.

My body ceased at the sound of a familiar female laugh echoing and bouncing off of the walls surrounding me.

Somehow I pushed myself harder, swallowing the sting in my throat and just now noticing the tears on my face.

My panic rose with each passing step, the same five words repeating themselves through my head.

I don't want to die! I don't want to die!

I didn't know where I was. I knew these halls but they weren't the same.

They were endless with no sign of safety, nowhere for me to hide.

Not a door or window in sight.

But still, I ran with the hope that something would show up before she caught me.

Before she killed me.

Three more steps and I realized that these halls were getting longer and I was starting to slow.

No... No!

My feet stopped in place, cementing themselves to the floor.

No matter how hard I pulled or begged they didn't budge.

That laugh sounded again behind me, sounding closer than before.

Much closer.

The sound caused every muscle in my body to tighten, restricting me from moving at all.

The game was over, and I had lost.

I knew immediately that I wouldn't be granted enough time to fully accept this fate, but that didn't stop me from trying.

After all I'd been through in general, you'd think it would be easier to accept death once it finally came to me.

I used to think that, and maybe at one point of my life it would have been easy.

My fists clenched in anticipation, and not even a second later, she reached me.

I felt myself get shoved forward and hit the ground with a thud, her knee pressing hard against the middle of my back.

My head, however, never hit the ground. Courtesy of her holding my head up with a hand over my mouth.

Her sharp claws pierced the skin on my cheek, while the sharp points on her other hand scraped almost teasingly across the skin of my throat.

I barely even heard my own muffled cry as her knee pressed harder into my back, now realizing that my hands had become as useless as my feet.

Her petty snicker came before her words.

"You know running is futile, yet you still try," Layla began, her claws digging harder against my neck.

"I commend you for your efforts at least," She inched her way down until she was right by my ear, "You know how much I enjoy the chase."