Running Baby?

Nathaniel

My glasses were gone.

The thought slammed into me harder than the fall itself.

“No—no, no, no…” My hands clawed at the dirt, fingers digging through leaves, mud, anything. Everything was blurry. Useless. Just shapes and shadows bleeding into each other.

I couldn’t see.

Shit, I couldn’t fucking see.

Panic hit fast. Sharp. Suffocating.

They had to be here. They had to.

I dropped lower, almost flat on the ground now, patting wildly around me. My fingers brushed over roots, damp soil, something sharp that nicked my skin—

Not it.

“Where are they—” My voice came out rushed, uneven.

A scream tore through the forest somewhere behind me, accompanied by the rampaging stampede that was happening.

It was a miracle that I hadn’t been stomped on.

Frantically, I kept tapping and crawling around, searching for my glasses, which had chosen an excellent time to fall off.

My chest tightened.

Focus.

I forced my hands to slow, sweeping wider now, more deliberate. Think. I had fallen forward. They should’ve landed somewhere—

There.

A faint glint. My glasses!

Barely visible through the blur.

Relief crashed into me so hard it almost made me dizzy.

I lunged for it—

And then I felt it.

A presence.

Heavy.

Right behind me.

My body went still.

Slowly—too slowly—I looked up.

Red mask.

My stomach dropped.

He was just standing there.

Watching me.

And I saw faintly the sick smirk that curled on his lips, as his gaze ran through me, almost choking me with my own oxygen.

He took a step forward.

I moved backwards, crawling on my butt, completely forgetting and abandoning the idea of finding my glasses.

I pushed up on my heels, running toward wherever my feet could carry me, my chest contracting like my heart was ready to leap out—

He caught up to me. Red mask.

Grabbing my shoulders, he shoved me against a tree, and before I could have assimilated what was happening, a sharp grunt erupted from me as he punched my ribs hard.

Immediately, my lungs burned, and I still tried scrambling from his grip, which was useless, as another punch landed on me.

I groaned, falling to the ground, dirt and mud covering my clothes and face.

Fear lunged into my system, as my breathing turned shallow and my chest barely contracted at this rate.

My eyes were pinned to his face.

He crouched to my level. “You’re not running.”

I gripped harder on the dry leaves, which sank into my nails.

His grip on my shoulder tightened, fingers digging in like iron. I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to push against him, but it was useless. He barely moved.

“Get off me—” I snapped, my voice breaking halfway through.

Pathetic.

I hated how it sounded.

Weak.

His head tilted slightly, like he was… studying me.

Even through the mask, I could feel it. His gaze. Heavy. Focused. Like I was the only thing in this entire forest.

It made my stomach twist.

“Please—” The word slipped out before I could stop it.

Shit.

His grip tightened again.

And for a second, just a second, I thought I saw something shift in him.

Something darker.

Then a scream echoed somewhere in the forest.

Then another.

Branches snapped nearby, footsteps rushing past us, other players still running, still trying to survive.

The game was still going.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Think, Nathaniel. Think.

If I stayed here, I’d die.

If I fought him head-on, I would still die.

I curled my nails further into the dirt, and my eyes glinted as, the next second, I grabbed a fistful of dirt and dry leaves, and before he could react, I threw it straight into his face.

“Fuck—” he jerked back slightly.

That was all I needed.

I twisted out of his grip, ignoring the pain that screamed through my shoulder, and bolted.

Run.

Run.

RUN.

My feet slammed against the forest floor, slipping slightly on damp leaves, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. My vision blurred without my glasses, everything turning into shadows and shapes, but I forced myself forward anyway.

Behind me—he had already gotten up, and his movement turned more precise and demanding, like his intent was to fucking kill me.

“Shit—!” I gasped, pushing harder, my breath coming out ragged.

He was faster.

Of course he was faster.

Panic clawed up my throat.

Think. Think!

My eyes darted around wildly, trying to make sense of the blurred forest. Trees. Roots. Shadows. Nothing clear.

Then, I spotted a slope. I didn’t hesitate, as I veered sharply and jumped.

The ground disappeared beneath my feet, and suddenly I was falling—rolling down the slope, branches and rocks tearing at my skin, pain exploding everywhere at once.

I hit the bottom hard.

Air knocked out of my lungs.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t move.

Then instinct kicked in again.

I forced myself up, coughing, stumbling forward blindly.

My body screamed at me to stop.

I didn’t listen.

I ran.

And this time—

No footsteps followed.

I breathed out in relief, as I tried slowing down my movement, as every cell and organ in my body screamed in protest with every move I took.

And it was then I realized that there was no one here, as it seemed more like a small cave or something like that.

It would be hard for someone to notice it with all the madness happening up there…

A loud thud sounded, and when I whipped my head over my shoulder, to my horror, he was there.

Red mask stood there.

“Running away from me, baby?”

My heart stopped.

No.

No—no—no—

He was right there.

At the entrance.

Blocking it.

The little relief I had felt seconds ago shattered instantly, like glass under pressure. My chest tightened again, breathing turning sharp and uneven.

How—

How the hell did he—

I stumbled back instinctively, my heel scraping against the damp ground of the cave. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. The space behind me was tight, closed in, walls pressing closer the deeper it went.

A trap.

I had run straight into a fucking trap.

“Stay back—” I warned, my voice coming out hoarse, strained.

He didn’t listen.

Of course he didn’t.

“Running away from me, baby?” he repeated, voice lower now, almost amused.