“You are mine Gwendolyn, as much as I am yours.”
I shook my head, trying to dispel his words and thoughts that were swirling in my mind. “You’re wrong.”
“Then run, Gwendolyn.” His whisper had heat pulling in my belly and trickling down my thighs. “But know that every step you take, every breath you breathe, ismine.”
With that, I tore out of his grasp and sprinted forward, a surge of adrenaline pumping through me, but it was futile, every corner I turned, every new path was leading me back to him, and I felt his presence closing in. “You zig, I zag,” he taunted.
I turned again, desperate to find a way out, to escape but he was there,everywhere,emerging from the shadows like a dark fantasy made flesh. “You’re only prolonging the inevitable.”
He loomed closer, and I felt the tension crackle in the air between us. “What exactly do you want from me?” I dared to ask.
“I want you to give in,” he replied, his gaze piercing through me. “To embrace what you feel, the fear, the desire, and understand that they are both a part of you now. Let me show you how beautiful it can be.”
For a moment, I was lost in the depths of his eyes, something swirling with an allure I couldn’t resist, and I realized I was starting to feel something beyond fear, a reckoning of acceptance or what was to come, I couldn’t decide, but I found that it ate away at my fear.
Perhaps the maze wasn’t my enemy after all. Perhaps it was the beginning of something else, a lifeafterdeath, so to speak.
And maybe, I didn’t want to run anymore.
Chapter Eight
Gwendolyn
Kasper covered the ground toward me at an inhumane rate and it just confirmed my suspicions of what he was,a ghost.I felt it in my bones as his shadowy figure loomed closer, a predator closing in on its prey. I could feel the cold grip of the maze as it tightened around me, as it corralled me to where it wanted me to go, whispering secrets that danced just beyond my reach and understanding, and yet, I ran, unwilling to give in.
The air thickened around me, each breath heavier than the last as I continued moving, my thundering heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my rib cage. The night continued to envelop me, creating a layer of invisibility that tried to lure me in with its secrets, urging me to yield to my fear. I could hear him behind me, his presence a ghostly wisp that danced just out of sight, tantalizingly close yet always out of reach.
“Gwendolyn,” Kasper's voice slithered through the air like smoke, curling around my mind, “you can’t escape.”
I pushed myself harder, my legs screaming in protest, but the instinct to flee was primal, raw, an unfiltered response to the hunt I found myself in. Every corner I turned, every path I took, the maze seemed to conspire with him, funneling me deeper into its heart. I could feel the walls of stalks closing in, the hedgescontinued their whispering, their tendrils reaching toward me like grasping hands, close,tooclose.
But then, I rounded a corner and stumbled into a clearing, a perfect circle nestled within the maze, the moon overhead casting an ethereal glow upon the ground. It felt like a trap, a stage set for a performance I was the unrehearsed understudy for. I skidded to a halt as I took it all in, refraining from a slow clap at all the theatrics of the evening.
I turned to face the presence that had been hunting me, a breath caught in my throat as I prepared for him to emerge. A stillness that would be most unnerving to some, the silence now stretching out like a taut string ready to snap. Then, he appeared, gliding into the clearing as if the shadows themselves had birthed him. Kasper’s eyes finally locked onto mine, and I was enamored with him. This evening, it was much more than I could have asked for, but I was tired now, my legs burning with exertion, and I was becoming bored.
With my thoughts of boredom, the stalks around us seemed to pulse, breathing in sync with my own breaths, they appeared to reach for me, to caress me, as if they’d been waiting for me.
“I always wondered what it was like, being the victim,” I said, my voice softening, the mask I kept steadily in place slipping, revealing the truth behind my…fear.
For a fleeting moment, Kasper faltered, his expression shifting from predatory delight to something akin to confusion and it wascute.It made me want to clap my hands together in glee. The maze responded, whether it was to him or to me, I was unsure. The stalks swaying as if stirred by a sudden breeze, they began embracing me rather than consuming me. I felt the weight of its acknowledgement, its acceptance.
“Gwendolyn, have you been hiding something from me? Something…important?”
“Perhaps.”
Chapter Nine
Gwendolyn
Three weeks ago
The dimly lit basement reeked of sweat and fear,pathetic.I knelt beside my victim, a man who had made a sport of stalking women, orgirls,relishing in their fear as if it were a fine wine. He lay on the cold concrete, bound and gagged, his eyes wide with confusion and his body trembling with terror. I had planned this moment meticulously, like I always did.
As I tightened the last knot of rope around his wrists, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I paused,a flicker of annoyance crossing my mind. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen, it was Clara. Always the one to check in, always the one with the worst timing. I answered because I always answered her calls.
“Hey, Gwendolyn!” Her bright voice carried through the line and I smiled at the irony. “I was just thinking about you. I wish you would have decided to come here with me.”
I forced a full smile, even though she couldn’t see me. “You say that every time you call,” I replied, struggling to keep my tone free of annoyance as I focused on the task at hand. I could hear her chatting animatedly about classes and parties, but my mind was elsewhere, my adrenaline spiking as I was prepared for what was to come.
