The Predator's Loop

Chapter 9: No longer my intention

Adhira:

My eyes fluttered open again. This time, I was determined to find a way to avoid any encounters with Nyx for as long as possible. She was starting to act up out of boredom and it seemed as if she wanted to play with her prey before the kill. And I wasn't willing to take that torture any longer. She didn't even let me take a proper nap last day. The emotional strain was too much to handle. And I needed rest. I was certain that I would never stand a chance against her and this was a punishment bestowed upon us for our carelessness.

I walked in a direction completely away from the hill and the tower. I walked through the dense trees to find a quiet spot. I just wanted to nap before she found me. I picked up my pace to jog through as the wind blew across my face. Canopies hovered high above me, possibly covering Nyx's line of view.

The gravel and coarse soil crunched beneath my sandals. I slowed down as beads of sweat began to gather on my forehead and my breath heaved. I had covered a considerable distance. Walking around a boulder, I found the mouth of a large cave made of stone. I hesitantly took silent steps to explore the insides. The light seemed to reach in, dimly illuminating the dead end. Nobody was around and so I decided to lay down on the side to conceal myself.

I dozed off with my head against my knees and my back to a dark corner. My breath slowed down and my fatigue pulled me into sleep.

Survival. Survival. That was all that ran through my mind. I knew it was an innate instinct to want to survive... although I had absolutely no reason to. Was I scared of death? Maybe I was. Nobody knows what lay ahead of permanent sleep. I've heard terrifying stories of people feeling pain even after they're deemed dead. Going to heaven after seemed like a hoax to make the idea of death less dreadful.

The heaviness of my grief suffocated me as I walked through the rubble of my home. Empty roads, the stillness in the air and the eerie silence. Soon, anticipation replaced the sadness. A shiver traveled down my spine as I realized there were no people in the rubble.

Not a word left my mouth as I looked around, frantically searched around. I sprinted away from my home and whipped my head left to right trying to find anyone. Silent madness filled my head as I longed to see the people who were wiped without a trace.

Tears fell as I began shoving rubble aside near an unknown house like an insane person. I longed to see some life, some noise, or someone's voice. Just about anything to save my sanity. I screamed in frustration only to not hear my own voice.

The nightmare immediately dispersed as I was jolted awake by a voice. Relief immediately filled me at the sound of a voice.

"No, please don't hurt her. I'll do anything," she begged.

"Oh sure you will," a gruff voice taunted her.

The enormous man came into my line of view as he stared at me with a sneer. I gulped looking at the sheer size of his stature. He was surely a shifter and had olive skin and brown eyes. The girl who tried to stop him looked human with blue eyes, unnaturally pink hair, and pale skin.

I was certainly confused until he grabbed me by my arm and shoved the girl away forcibly. It was then that I knew something was terribly wrong. He pinned me against the wall as I began to struggle in perplexity.

"I wonder who's toy you are. But you sure do look more interesting than the one that I was given," he smirked.

I still shook my head not quite catching on with what he wanted. The dream probably fogged my brain.

He eyed me down and tore my shirt down the middle. Horror and realization hit me making me scream my lungs out.

"I didn't even hurt you yet. How feisty, " he chuckled.