Temptation

Proluge Temptation

Her breath came out in jagged pants, her steps a frantic mess. She had to run as far away as she could, but the effort for running for so long was wearing on her.

She moved closer to the building walls in the dimly lit street alleys. Moving one hand to the wall for balance and the other clutching her chest. Her lungs have never been through this and felt ready to burst.

Her gloved hands scraped the wall, she had covered her body as much she could. For fear of being found. Even though she wore a deep green dress with a pleated skirt, she wore over it a blue long sleeved zipped up coat. Thick stockings covered her bare legs, with knee length leather boots with an inch wedge heal. The hood of the coat was pulled over her head, where her hair was in a tight Chignon and covered by a scarf around her face and neck.

She knew that her attire was what kept her from having been caught already. If she exposed her skin then her scent would be in the air and left on objects. Her life depended on this single escape, if she didn't get away, she would forever be trapped.

The streetlights flickered casting more shadows in the ally and making her heart race more. Each shadow seemed to be the very thing she ran from, only to be just to be a trick of the light.

A small hiss sounded in her path, she lost her balance and skidded onto the pavement. The cause of the sound ran in front her path, a small rat. Her cheek turned warm and her eyes widened in fright. She touched her gloved hand to her cheek and found in covered in drops of blood.

She hastily ripped the scarf off her head and wiped the blood clean, keeping it pressed for a few moments to starch the blood flow. Once she was content that the bleeding stopped she looked for a place to hid the scarf.

Choosing to hid it in the dumpster she pulled out her spare one from her jacket. Quickly she tied it around her hair, face, and neck.

She sprinted down the pathway as fast as she could. Feeling that her pursuer was gaining she needed to change her route. Spotting a metal ladder leading to a building roof she stepped on rung after rung.

The rooftop was bare of anything and everything. Feeling trapped being exposed in the open she searched for somewhere to head. The only option was to jump the roof to another one.

Moving as far from the ledge as she could, she sprinted toward it and pushed her foot off the stone ledge and jumped. The next roof was only ten feet away and she grasped the edge of the next building preventing her fall.

She hulled herself up but her gloved hand slipped. Her head slammed the stone wall. She reached up again and her glove was too slippery. Her other hand was loosening with each moment, she placed her free hand to her mouth and pulled the glove off.

This time she got a grip on the ledge and pulled herself up all the way and fell over with a roll. She gasped her relief. She was only able to manage to fall on her knees each time she tried to stand on her shaking legs.

A blood curdling roar resonated through the night air. Somehow she managed to stand on her feet and run to the next ledge. When she jumped she landed with a thud on the cool stone, the jump had only been five feet and easily made.

She remembered the roar, it seemed he found her bloodied scarf. He now had a trail if she continued like this. She looked around for the next roof to jump and spotted one that lead east, away from her original route. Good.

The gap was seven feet, she made it and managed to stand up instead of hitting the ground. Exhaling a shaky breath she scoped her next destination when a voice bit through the night silence.

"I will find you Temptation! There is nowhere you can go that I won't find you!" boomed a deep thick voice.

If she had any hesitation for running before it left then. Her feet moved themselves and jumped over the edge. Temptation blindly reached out and felt nothing... no stone, no ladder, no nothing. she kept her scream locked within.