Monster (Cartoon Cat x Reader)

Round Two: Begin

You paced the room you had grown all too accustomed to, waiting for Cartoon Cat to return and the game to begin. You kept weighing your options in your head, trying to think through the consequences of each. You could use the additional "players" as a smokescreen for your own escape, but they would probably either die or be captured in your place. You knew from experience that Cartoon Cat was only nice towards you during your recovery because he needed you alive to continue his games. You didn't want to imagine what he would do if he found a more interesting player than you... or what he would do to the strangers in the maze if they bored him. Either way, the option left a bad taste in your mouth.

The second choice was no more appealing. You could run interference, act as a distraction, and hope to any deity that may be listening Cartoon Cat kept his focus on you. It would give the other poor souls in the maze time to find an exit, provided you made yourself the most "interesting" thing in there. And the most vulnerable... a feat that may well get you put out of commission while he hunted the strangers.

The only other option remaining, then, was to find as many of the strangers as possible and work as a group to escape. If all else failed, you might be able to protect them from your captor's wrath. Again, this option was incredibly risky. You would have to sacrifice stealth for speed, and pray your senses were sharp enough to locate the people.

All of these options, of course, hinged on Cartoon Cat's behavior. If he put priority on getting you, you could easily run diversion. If he decided to hunt them first, though.... well, you knew you couldn't leave them to die on good conscience. Which left finding the group first... which was not an easy feat.

You sorted through your memories, gathering information from your hazy and blurred together recollections.

"Okay, he's unnaturally fast, but prefers to stalk rather than just run down his prey..." You muttered out loud to yourself. "He's incredibly elastic, taking whatever shape is most useful at a particular point in time..." Your pacing sped up a touch. "His arms can apparently stretch infinitely, which he uses to ambush and capture his prey... Sharp claws that can cut pretty deep with minimal effort... Sadistic tendencies and a generally unsettling appearance"

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me." You spun around, coming face to face with that grin you hated so much. Cartoon Cat was a bit on the shorter side this time, only an inch or two taller than you were. Your heartbeat slowed to a reasonable pace, though it was still slightly faster than normal.

Once again, you stayed silent. You knew what was coming. He knew what was coming. What else was there for you to say? Those cold black eyes glittered with a familiar predatory light as they looked you over. "Not so chatty anymore, huh? That's fine. Soon enough, I'll get to hear that lovely scream of yours."

You shuddered and moved around him towards the door. If things went well, he wouldn't be hearing any screams tonight. Least of all yours. You were skeptical that would be the case, but a girl could hope. "Ready to begin?" You nodded, tensing yourself to run.

"Five." You bolted the rest of the way to the door, throwing it open and skidding across the dusty floor towards the stairs.

"Four." You took a risk and bounded down the steps two at a time. In spite of how many near misses you had, you made it down and made a dash for it down the hallway.

"Three." You tossed open random doors, your only thought on getting as far away as possible before the hunt began.

"Two." Darkness closed in around you, forcing you to slow down and feel your way around the halls and rooms. You fought to quiet your heavy breaths, trying to move quietly now.

"One."

Howdy all! I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, I couldn't find a way to make it longer....

But, thanks to my schedule being more available, updates are able to come much more quickly for all my stories, so don't worry about anymore three-month breaks.

With that being said, I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see y'all in the next chapter!