There was silence in the room. And now the wall clock could be heard as the second hand moved. Cluck, cluck, cluck. Silence and the clock. Two minutes had passed now since he got down from the bed. It was almost ten. When he got up from the floor and walked to pick up his jacket, he heard the doorbell ring again.
Ding dong! Ding dong!
And the uneasiness came back. His heart started throbbing menacingly and he felt his head boil up resulting in the sweat that trickled down his face. His mind plundered into thoughts of what to do, as he paced up and down the room. He finally looked at the bedroom window once again. He headed over to it, swiveled the curtains aside, and opened it. A gust of cold wind swept in the room instantly and he sneered at the slightest feel of it.
There and then, he heard a voice behind him. Not the clock. Not the second hand. Not the footsteps and clearly not the rainfall. It was the sound given off by a person who was gasping for air.
It couldn't be!
He slowly turned around and saw her getting up from her lying posture, one hand on her neck, the other one trying to feel the environment around her. It was like seeing a ghost; in flesh and blood. And time began moving fast once again. His head felt hotter than ever and his breaths became heavier than the ones prior. And after what seemed like a millennium, their eyes met once again.
She took a second to react! She quickly slouched herself down the bed, coughing her way into existence. Her eyes saw the little they could and with all the strength she had, she moved towards the bedroom door.
"No!" He yelled behind her.
She looked back and saw him and gasped once again. He quickly raced over the bed to the other side of the room to where she was before she had any chance to get out. She was almost through the door when he reached for her and he pulled her back in by the grab and pull of her arm. She held onto the door's frame with all the strength that she had in her other free hand. Not again! This wasn't happening! She let go of the frame and turned around to connect the palm of her hand with the cheek of his face. Before he had time to react, she kicked him in his groin and when he finally let go of her, she pushed him away with both of her hands and he fell to the calling floor.
"Fuck you!" She yelled as tears slithered down her face. She then turned for the door once again and as fast as her legs could carry her battled body, she ran outside the room. It took all the energy she had in her to make a step, let alone multiply that into a sprint. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! The floor beneath got hammered mercilessly as she found her way to the stairs. And in a snap of a finger, he was up again, chasing after her. She quickly raced to the stairs but he wasn't that far away. He grabbed her once again by her hand and pulled her close to him, her back facing him. He held on tighter, like a lover.
"Ayden let me goooo!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as he locked her once again in his arms. She swayed around trying to get him off balance, threw some kicks in the air, and shook her body as much as she could. Nothing did what it was supposed to do. "Let me go! Let me go!" She continued as she tried to shake him off. But he didn't even falter a flinch. He locked her in his arms and dragged her back to the bedroom. She kicked and kicked, trying to find that one window of opportunity. Dear Lord, not today. Not today!
As she saw the distance between her and the staircase increase, she cried out to the top of her lungs. "Somebody help me! Help!" Her chest went up and down and she shook her body several times in an attempt to get off his hook. "Ayden I'm begging you… please don't do this." He offered no response.
When he was about to lock the door, Ingrid saw the unsuspecting arm and took a chance. She bit him with one powerful snap that made him let go instantly. She made a run for it again. She dashed back to the stairs as he followed once more, faster. She took two steps down before he grabbed her by the back of her head and smacked it against the stair wall. The pain felt like a thousand hammers cracking her skull open at once. She dropped down for a moment. Before he had any time to take any further action, she was up again. She staggered her way down the staircase. Her vision was faint again and there was a cut on her forehead where red blood squeezed through. When she was about to take a turn to the stairs heading downstairs he quickly grabbed her once again by her hair and turned her around so that she was facing him.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked him with a heavy voice. "Ayden please…." She shook her head several times. "Don't… don't do this. I want to live." Tears were snaking down her cheeks. "AYDEN I'M BEGGING YOU!"
With one powerful shove, he pushed her away and she landed on the steps. Roll and roll she went down. Her face met a step at one moment. Her ankle on another. Her belly rummaged into some too and it must have taken forever for her by the time she was finally down. She lay motionless again. For a while.
Ding dong! The doorbell went again.
She crouched up to a seating posture once again as he watched from the top of the staircase. His eyes shifted from her to the direction of the main door that was much closer to her than him. Ding dong! He quickly headed towards her and she was up in an instant too. Her muscles were torn apart, and her body was aching too. She held onto the railings as she stood up and quickly ran to the main door. She heard him approach faster behind her and her aching sore bare feet carried her away as fast as they could, as hard as it was.