Contest Entries

Contest Entry #3

*Entry for a story based off of picture*

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Evading Death

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Bang

The cell door being thrown open.

Clank

A guard yanking my chains.

Clink

The keys on his belt.

Thump

My pounding heart.

A rough hand grabs my shoulder and shoves me forward, I stumble like a child in an attempt to regain my balance. The chains that bind my ankles make movement difficult, hindering my natural grace. Another shove from behind gets me moving again.
"Hurry up," the guard orders in a low voice, "I want to get this over with."

He almost sounds sad, or perhaps that is fear I'm sensing. Whether that fear is caused by myself or the one whom I am to be brought before I cannot tell, all I know that blood will be spilt this night.

We begin our trek down a dimly lit hallway. The cold, stone floor chills my bare feet and my wrists ache from the cuffs that bind them together. My dark hair is grimy from my days spent chained to a wall in that filty cell. I cannot recall how many days it has been since I was captured, or how they had managed to take me in the first place for that matter.

Perhaps it was pure chance that I'd crossed their path when I was too weary to fight, or Fate was playing her games once again. Whatever the reason was does not matter now. I am here now and I am ready to face what lies in my path. We soon arrive at a door that is guarded by two armed men. They open the door and let us pass without a word. One of them smirks at me as I pass but I ignore him. Sometimes the best way to irk someone who is trying to get a reaction from you is to look forward and keep your head down.

Inside the room four torches are lit, hanging on the walls, illuminating the wooden table where my captor sits. His hands are clasped together in front of him, resting casually on the table. His narrow, snake-like eyes meet mine, his lips are curled back in a sneer.

The guard shoves me into the empty chair that sits across from Snake Man, as I have come to call him. I do not know his name, only that he hates me and wants to see me dead. I notice that a long knife, a whip, and a club are lying on the table. My eyes linger on the whip the longest and I can't stop the shudder that runs down my spine. Snake Man notices and his wicked smile grows. He motions for the two other guards to leave the room. Leaving himself, the guard who brought me here, and myself.

I let my eyes wander to my chained wrists, the metal has rubbed the skin raw, fresh as well as dried blood covers my hands.
"Are you afraid?"
My captor asks, his voice smooth. Sighing, I force myself to look up and meet his gaze. Instead of responding I simply stare at him. My blue eyes never blink, and despite the tightness in my chest and the pounding of my heart, my cold gaze seems to nerve him.

When he accepts that I won't speak he reaches over and grasps the hilt of the knife. Lifting it up my eyes follow the blade as he tosses it into the air before catching it again in his hand.
"I have been waiting a long time for this," he continues after a moment of silence, "to have you in my grasp, killing you with my own hands, no longer having to worry about you ruining my plans."
That last part catches my interest, though I keep my face impassive. Snake Man looks at me, studies me, tries to figure out what exactly it is I'm feeling.
But I will not let him.