The Hunter and the Hunted

"After 10 minutes I begin to hunt"....as soon as those words left Damien's lips Liam shivered. Unknown terror gripped his body like a snake coiling around his very soul. He didn't have any doubt that he was being played by Damien and like a fool he had fallen into his trap. He felt frozen looking at the hungry eyes of the Devil in front of him.

Damien on the other hand was euphoric. It had been long since he had this much fun. He leisurely sat himself at the bed and looked at the numb boy in front of him, his dark eyes dancing in amusement, lips twisted into a sinister smirk.

"Tick tok Liam, you have nine mins left now....or are you that eager for your punishment. If so we can skip the foreplay and get on with the main event. What say babe?"

Liam gasped as if doused in ice cold water. His shaky feet moved on his own accord as he tumbled outside the room. Think Liam think he thought desperately. He just needed to hide for 59 minutes. The watch on his hand read 58 minutes 37 seconds.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. If he wanted to defeat the cunning beast of a man he couldn't hide in usual places. In hasty steps he rushed downstairs. To his surprise he found that there was no guards outside. His alert eyes roamed everywhere looking for a threat but he was greeted with eerie silence and deserted corridors. There was no sign of a single life.

Heart hammering he urged his tired brain to work, to come up with some plan to hide himself. His feet dragged him to the same laundry room he accidentally went earlier. In dire situation his brain sought familiarity. He felt tears pool in his eyes as he remembered Merida's kind face. He sincerely hoped Merida didn't get into trouble because of him. Blinking his tears away he looked at his watch 2 mins until Damien starts looking for him. Chewing his lips Liam weighed his best options.

The laundry room was huge with six large industrial washing machines placed at the left side of the wall. At the middle of the room there were four big folding and ironing tables. At least a dozen trollies were scattered in the room. Dirty linen and uniforms were heaped at one side and on the tables there were several half folded clean laundries as if the maids left them hastily leaving their chores unfinished. Liam considered his options. He could easily hide under the piles of the dirty laundry. Best part of the room was that there was a back exit leading to another corridor. If he stacked the trollies in front of the exit he was small enough to crawl out hiding behind the trollies and escape to the corridor unnoticed.

As Liam started to arrange the trollies the light inside the room flickered weakly and the everything went pitch black. Shit! Liam thought as he stumbled and tried to feel his surroundings blindly reaching out with his outstretched hands. His radium watch indicated his 10 minutes were up.

Liam violently flinched as he heard an eerie crackling electrical sound, then came the demonic voice through the speaker ... "ready or not here I come".

Oh God! Oh God! Please help me murmured Liam. Blinking away his tears he hid himself under the piles of clothes. His own heart beats sounded loud in his ears as he waited with baited breath.

"Liiiiiiaaaaam, where areee youuuuu?" Came a sinister singsong voice giving him goosebumps. From hundreds of speakers Damien's voice echoed through the empty corridors making it frighteningly creepy. Gritting his teeth Liam swallowed his whimpers as he felt his sanity draining away.

"Boooh!" came Damien's voice as Liam almost jumped from his hiding thinking he was caught. But the room remained silent. He was terrified, tired and hungry. He only had breakfast today or was it yesterday? How long was he held captive Liam felt confused. Thinking straight was becoming increasingly difficult. He tried to remain alert to any sounds but his battered, bruised body and petrified mind refused to cooperate with him.

He never felt more afraid in his life as he heard Damien singing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' in a slow spine chilling tune. Liam curled into himself as he desperately pressed his palms in his ears to block Damien's voice.

"Liaaaaaam, Liaaaaam, Liaaaaam" Damien began whispering in a breathy husky voice like a chant.

Liam felt going mad in terror. He pressed his palm harder in his ears as he kept on sobbing and trembling in sheer panic.

His watch indicated 1.05. God please 25 minutes more. Please please please he prayed as the speaker played a melancholy piano tune.

And then.....then everything was silent. As everything went strangely quiet Liam felt hyper aware of his surroundings. He could hear drops of water falling somewhere in a steady rhythm, 'tap…tap…tap', he could hear the rustling of winds from the half closed window as one of the window panes banged repeatedly, he could also hear the hum of the air conditioning.

His nerve was strangely taught. Something was not right he felt. What, he didn't know. But he didn't feel safe anymore, not that he felt safe before. Slowly he dug himself out of his hiding place. Still half hidden amongst the stack of unwashed clothes he tried to squint his eyes in the darkness to survey his surroundings. What he saw made his heart falter, the hair on his neck and arms rose up.

On one of the trollies right in front of him Damien was lying comfortably on his back, his head hanging from the edge of the trolly as he observed Liam upside down, his face reflecting a crazed smile.

"Gotcha!" said Damien as a blood curling scream tore from Liam.

"Noooo nooooo nooooo" he shouted. "Get away from me! Please! Please I can't take this anymore." Broke down Liam.

"But that was not the deal baby", pouted Damien. "I have won and now its time for me to enjoy my prize" said Damien with a sinister smile as he got up and approached his prey in leisurely steps and lust filled eyes.

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