The Stalker

Chapter 1

The light flickered, making the dimly lit Hollywood club parking more sinister. A woman was rummaging through her bag for her car keys. She was scantily clad with only a long but unbuttoned black leather trench coat to protect her from the evening chill. Her long hair that was tied in a loose messy bun started to fall down her shoulders as she looked hastily from left to right, as she checked for other people despite the fact that only her car was parked in that area. She started to regret that she left her friend inside the club when she felt the eerie feeling of being watched.

 She heard footsteps coming towards her direction but she didn’t dare look back for fear of what she might find. Still rummaging through her bag but failing to find the car keys, the footsteps grew louder and sounded more hurried. She cursed under her breath and started to run away from the source of sound. With her three inches red stiletto, it was not an easy task. She couldn’t control her wail of pain as she stumbled when her heels stepped on a pebble. She fell down on her knees. She removed her shoes and held them tightly like a weapon. She forced herself ready to strike whoever it is that haunts her.

Even with the pain on her scraped and bleeding knees, she hurried her pace while clutching her purple bag and red stilettos close to her chest. Her body felt cold with the autumn chill but beads of perspiration fell on her forehead as she ran with no definite place to go. She did not mind running on the cold and coarse gravel with her bare feet. She just wanted to run away as far as she can from the source of her fear. A few minutes passed but she felt like she was running for hours. She turned left and ran straight towards an alley with faint lighting. She literally ran towards the light, hoping that it will give her the salvation that she needed.

She realized her mistake the moment she saw that the alley she went into was a dead end. She leaned on the wall and cowered in fear as a looming man’s shadow emerged from the alley’s entrance. She couldn’t see the face clearly but could feel his sinister gaze. When the shadow was a yard away, she prepared to attack. She ran towards him as she screamed at the top of her lungs and raised her stiletto loaded hands. Her strike was strong but her attacker was stronger. His black leather gloved hands caught her wrists as if anticipating her attack. He pulled her towards his chest and she felt colder than before with his smell. It was too familiar. She tried to look at his face but he twisted her arm and turned her around, her back was now firmly pressed on his chest while half dragging and half carrying her to the wall. Her cheeks met the cold concrete wall and she felt his breath as he whispered in her ears.

“You should only run to meet me. Not the other way around.” She could feel his breath from the way his whole body was leaning on her, not wanting her to move even an inch.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” she choked a reply as he was pressing her face harder on the wall.

“I’m you’re number one fan. I’m the only one who can understand your desire, your wants, your needs,” his voice sounded hoarse and she shivered from the heat of his breath on her ear.

“You’re scaring me. Just let me go and I’ll do anything,” she thought it was her only chance. She wanted to plead for her safety. She knew he was stronger than her and she didn’t stand any chance of escaping unless she distracts him.

 Her captor hesitated for a minute before loosening his hold of her. She felt him reach on his front pocket for something and then he stepped back.

“Don’t move or I’ll stick this knife on your throat,” she froze in place with that warning.

 Her heart pounded hardly on her chest. She felt his hands skim from her bare feet up to her legs, she groaned in pain when he scraped her wounded knee. He  moved to his hips then waist, sliding up to her arms and then settled on her face. He caressed her cheeks before tying a piece of cloth in her eyes. Then she felt a cold metal on her cheeks then her neck. She knew it was a short bladed knife with the way he pressed it on her cheeks. She did not dare move. She even tried to control her breathing but he was bent on with his plan of touching her exposed skin with the tip of the knife. Now that he was assured that she could not see anything, her attacker turned her around to face him.

“You’ve been ignoring my messages and running away from me whenever I try to greet you. Why is that!!? Huh?!!” His voice sounded pained at first but he shouted the last question with much force that she flinched and stepped backwards, only to lean more firmly on the wall.

“I...I don’t know what you mean...” she stammered, thinking of ways to convince him that she’s innocent.

“The red envelopes. My red envelopes.”

She shivered when she realized what he was talking about.

“You sent them? I...I got scared. Just stop following me in shadows,” she whispered. Her fear for her life overcoming her anger for the months of convincing the people around her that she has a stalker which nobody believed.

“Then stop messing around with my f*****g feelings!” Her attacker’s voice sounded familiar when he screamed in frustration. She heard him took a few paces backwards and she used this chance to remove her blindfold. She was right, he was facing the other way around and was standing under the spotlight of the only street light. It was her last chance. She mustered a plan in her head before she replied.

“Show me who you are,” she nervously waited for him to turn around and when he did, she couldn’t believe what she saw.