I`ve had this story stashed away in my documents for a while, recently decided to give it a whirl. As a reminder, this story is dark, and has a fair share of adult themes. You`ve been warned! Anyways, I hope you guys like it :3 All feedback heavily appreciated.

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Fear and shock.

Two emotions, both very different but yet they were often found in the same places. It`s not like you particularly paid attention to your emotions, but it was hard not to today. Whirling around, you dove behind a dumpster, not exactly something you were too enthusiastic about. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Fighting back the urge to throw up, you scooted closer to the cold metal, your nose crinkling at the smell.

Everything was still for the next few moments, nothing moved, nothing stirred. The only audible sound was the beating of your heart; fierce and strong as it hammered against your ribcage. Instinctively your hand pressed over your lips, muffling your breathing as you tried to integrate into the quietness. Silently you wished the world would just swallow you up; hide you, if only for a moment. But it didn`t. Nothing happened, and perhaps that would be okay as well. Perhaps everything would be okay.

As if on cue you heard soft footsteps, your peace of mind shattering in an instant. Your body couldn`t help but tense as you prayed the darkness would hide you. Coyly your eyes wandered to the bricked wall a little ahead of you; indicating the end of the alleyway. You were trapped in here. It`s not like you were trying to get cornered, a girl could only run so fast before tiring; even with adrenaline pumping through her veins. Unfortunately for you this was the case. There was no way you could`ve kept running, you needed a break, you needed to hide. You needed him to not notice you.

The footsteps continued now, becoming louder with each passing seconds. To your dismay he was coming into the alley. But why? How did he know you were hiding here? Well… perhaps he didn`t. Of course, he didn`t. There was no way he saw you go in here, there was no way he knew. This was probably a precaution of sorts, he`d simply glance around to be sure then leave. There was no way he`d notice you behind the dumpster; the shadows provided enough cover.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped, the sharp whistling of wind replacing the silence.

You closed your eyes, waiting, praying, hoping.

(Earlier that Night)~

You had come home with a bag full of books and papers, your laptop in your arms; pressed against your chest. Sighing, you had opened the front door, placing your items on a table before walking into the washroom without a word. Your towel was where you had left it, hanging on the rack, simply waiting for you. After acknowledging it you preceded to take your clothes off, tossing them aside before you turned on the shower. The hot water felt good against your skin; melting away the stress of the day.

Life sucked.

You felt petty and privileged for thinking like that, but it was true. Your life was so boring, so plain, and so full of work. There was no time for breakfast when you had so much sleep to catch up on, the daily load of university homework and classes had you booked. Not to mention how difficult it was to juggle school with your job. If only your boss wasn`t so strict, if only he`d give you a little more free-time. But then, how would you pay for this place?

It wasn`t always so bad.

It used to be a lot easier a few months ago, back when you lived with your roommate; Claire. She wasn`t exceptionally nice, but the two of you did get along, in all honestly she was kind of funny. Like the big sister you never wanted, but couldn`t help appreciating. She helped you pay rent, even going as far as to help you study. You weren`t childhood friends or anything, instead you had met by chance. She needed a place, you needed a place, and splitting the rent sounded like a good idea at the time.

Too bad she left so abruptly, leaving you nothing but a note? The nerve of some people.

Silently you began working shampoo into your hair before angling your head underneath the showerhead. Your attention turned to the drain as you got the shampoo out, watching the bubbly water trail down your body. It was better to distract yourself with simple things. Far better then pondering all the things you had yet to do. Three essays? A huge reading list? And work first thing tomorrow morning? Damn, now you`re thinking about it.

Shaking the thoughts off, you turned off the shower, pulling away the curtain as you reached for your towel. Quickly you dried yourself off, wrapping the towel around your body before stepping out. You couldn`t help but shiver as your skin came in contact with the cold. It was autumn, and the heating was far too expensive. You rather save your money to pay for it during the winter. For now you`d just have to endure.

Easily you pulled open the door, slipping down the hallway and into your bedroom to find some clothes. Your bedroom was pretty simple; a small bed, desk, and dresser. Most of your things were littered onto your desk, the rest of your belongings were packed into the dresser. Speaking of said belongings, you crouched down in front of the dresser; pulling open a drawer before rummaging around for clothes. You weren`t really picky at the moment, plucking out a pair of undergarments on random before slipping them on. You moved your attention to another drawer as you reached for a plain sweater. The wool material felt nice, providing some much needed warmth.

Deciding it would go well with a pair of track pants, you began searching for some, when suddenly your heard a sound. Immediately you froze. It wasn`t just any sound, not like the creaking of wood, or wind against a window. Instead it was very distinct, very vocal, very human.

You couldn`t help the gasp that escaped your lips as you turned around, your emotions flickering between shock and fear. There, leaning against an opposing wall was a man. If you could even call him that. His face was mutilated and destroyed, his skin sickeningly white, his eyes large and frantic, his smile... oh god his smile. You weren`t sure what terrified you more. His appearance, or the fact that he was holding a knife. A freaking knife!

"Done ignoring me?" his voice was dark and raspy, almost gratingly so. Suddenly you felt sick, this creep had just seen you naked, he watched you change. Instinctively you pulled the hem of your sweater down, trying to cover up as much of your naked legs as you could. His grin only grew wider, making you cringe as you began searching the room, wondering where your phone was. Then you realized something. Your phone, along with the rest of your belongings were still on the table outside. Perhaps that wouldn`t have been an issue if the man wasn`t blocking your path to the door.

"Who are you?" your voice was surprisingly bold, not at all reflecting the fear you felt.

"The names Jeff." He replied, moving away from the wall as he took a step closer to you, "And you?"

"Y/N. How`d you get in here?"

"Front door."

"Why are y-"

"Do you ever shut up?" he cut you off, now standing a few inches away from you.

"I-" he slapped you. Hard.

Your vision blurred for a second as you were literally thrown to the ground, the force of his hand incredibly strong. Gasping for air you tried to sit up, you hand coming to caress the stinging in your cheek. Biting back the urge to cry, you glared up at him. He only chuckled at your shocked look, taking no time to suddenly pounce on you. This time you screamed as he grabbed your wrists, pinning them down with one hand, while his other hand pressed his knife against your stomach. The feeling of cold metal so close to your skin made you quiet. The intent in his eyes told you he would easily kill you if you didn't comply.

"That`s better." He practically growled, taking in the sight of you before trailing his knife up your stomach and to your throat. "It`s been a while since I`ve had such a pretty victim." You couldn`t help but turn your head away as he leaned in close; his hot breath fanning across your face. Being so close to him, you now realized how monstrous his face truly was. His eyelids were gone, the texture of his skin leather-like. The skin around his lips was scarred and jagged, mutilated into a horrible Glasgow smile. What in the world had happened to this man?

"Like what you see?" he caught onto your staring, "Aren`t I beautiful?'

Before you could tell the bastard exactly what you thought of him, there was a noise. A loud, crashing noise; as if someone had pushed something over.

"Someone`s getting frustrated." Jeff chuckled, glancing at the door before turning to you; his eyes lighting up. "You know what? I bet you`d look much better with a brand new smile. A perfect, permanent smile." As if to emphasize his point he licked his lips, relishing in your horror. You couldn`t help but squirm and thrash as he brought his knife to your lips, digging it into your mouth before attempting to tear through your cheeks.

In one final, adrenaline-filled attempt to save yourself from a whole lot of pain, you threw your entire body upward. Somehow you managed to push him off, giving you enough time to scramble onto your feet. The first thing he did was reach for his knife, but instinctively you dashed for it first; plucking it off the ground and pointing it at him. He only stared at you furiously, his features noticeably darkening. If you weren`t holding the knife right now; you would most certainly be terrified.

"Why you little bitch." He sounded beyond angry as he glared at you with those insane eyes, silently promising you hell.

"Back up." You ordered, gesturing with the knife as you tried to get him to move away; he was still too close to the door, making escape possible.

Instead of doing as you asked, he took a step closer; completely ignoring your threat. You couldn`t help but step back as he moved closer, soon finding yourself against a wall. Even with the knife in hand you felt helpless. You didn`t have the will to stab him; to take his life. Despite what he tried to do to you, there was no way you could kill him. You weren`t a murderer.

"I don`t want to hurt you." You admitted, "Just let me leave."

"You think you can fucking hurt me? Me?!" he laughed, his tone laced with insanity, "Oh darling, I`m going to have fun with you."

You were now understanding your situation. This man was insane and he didn`t care if you had a knife; he was going to hurt you regardless. Your will to live preceded your fear and in a blur you reached for the hairdryer that was lying on your dresser; throwing it straight at his head. He managed to dodge it, but not before you flung a perfume bottle at him; this one nailing him in the face. He growled, his hand covering his face and giving you enough time to slip past him. Quickly you tore open the door, completely ignoring your phone as you turned to the front door. Your fingers were on the lock at an instant; every bit of your being hell-bent on escape.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

You faintly glanced behind yourself, noticing another man standing in your living room. This one looked almost as odd as Jeff; his eyes hidden behind a pair of worn googles. His presence explained the noises from earlier as you noticed the state of your living room; furniture had been flung over while most of your belongings littered the floor. As soon as you heard the lock click, you threw the door open, noticing the mans expression darken as you shot out the door. Instantly you ran down the hall, trying to reach the stairwell at the end. There was no time to wait for elevators considering the stranger was right behind you. You risked a quick glance behind yourself as you pulled open the stairwells door. The man was holding a pair of axes as he gained behind you. God, who were these people?!

Somehow you managed not to trip as you leapt over stair sets, trying to put as much distance between the strangers and yourself. You barely acknowledged the cold autumn air against your naked legs as you ran out through the buildings back exit. Your neighbourhood was a quiet one, few people lived here, and most would stay off the streets at night. So, the likeliness of finding someone to help you was low. Heck there was a larger chance of you running into a gang member or drug dealer instead.

You kept on running for god knows how long before you began to feel tired. Your legs burned and ached, forcing you to slow down as you glanced around for help. The streets were absolutely desolate, not a single person in sight. Hesitantly your eyes fell on an alley, before you glanced back at the streets behind you. He`d be catching up at any second.

Biting back your dread, you ran into the alley.

(Currently0~

"Th-there you are."

You practically sobbed as you opened your eyes, your gaze landing on the axe-wielding stranger. He was crouching in front of you now, his face inches away, his axes raised by his sides. How he got so close without you noticing, you would never know.