Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Revelations ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 1 )

It had been close to closing time that day- that much I can remember. The muffled whispers and giggles lingering in the night air had been gradually dissipating into silence as weary shoppers shuffled out of the mall. Call me weird, but it had seemed as if the calmness that had situated itself in the atmosphere had been disappearing, as well.

 

My back had been turned away from the jostling crowd, so I hadn't noticed him until he had been practically nose to nose with me.

 

“Hello, Lena.” The stranger offered me a hand, a gesture I didn't understand until a minute later when it dawned upon me that I was actually supposed to shake it.

 

“Umm… Hi,” I muttered, unsure of how this man that I didn't even know knew my name and why he had suddenly decided to greet me now of all times. Uncomfortable, I began my habit of rocking back and forth on my toes as I jammed my fists into the pockets of my hoodie. “Uh… Listen. I've got to-… go, okay?”

 

I couldn't quite pinpoint the exact reason at the time, but there had been something about this man that I had found unnerving. Maybe it had been his all-seeing stare. Who knows. Intimidated by his cynical, steely eyes, I stumbled backwards, stepped back, and then stepped back once more.

 

“Wait,” he hollered after me, “you can't go yet.”

 

From the corner of my eye, I saw him standing there, frozen to that spot and still looking at me. Talk about creepy.

 

I had originally intended to lose myself in the crowd when I glanced around and realized that the said crowd didn't even exist. Humming, I attempted to rid myself of the acidic panic beginning to boil in the pit of my stomach. Now that I was alone, I didn't exactly want to leave and go to the parking lot by myself.

 

Just keep walking. Just keep walking. I repeated this mantra until I hit the main area of the mall. Where were all of the security guards? To the left, nothing. To the right, noth-… Oh.

 

I rounded around the corner after a sliver of light spilling from behind the corner caught my eye. Hastily, hurriedly, I bounded after it like a dog running after its' stick, automatically assuming that it belonged to one of the security guard's flashlights.

 

“Heeelllloooo?” Craning my head forward, I tried getting a better glimpse at the shadowed figure. I really shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. There, less than two inches away from my face, was the very person that I was trying to avoid.

 

No expression was etched onto his face as he shifted his line of vision to lock eyes with mine. Clutching the flashlight with one hand, he used his other hand to finger whatever was in his pocket. It was then that I knew if I tried to run, whatever was in there would appear in a split second.

 

Like an animal stalking, sizing up his prey, he eyed me. His lips moved in slow, deliberate movements as he whispered, “I knew a girl like you.”

 

That was all he said.

 

He raised his hand to caress my cheek, but I had found my chance to run. Slapping it away, I ran to the safety of the nearest store- only to find a metal gate barring my way. I felt as if it was taunting me purposely as I rattled it in frustration; a scream clawed at my throat when bullets “twanged” off of the metal, barely missing my shoulder.

 

Half crawling, half running, I abandoned the idea of going into the store and dashed into the girl's bathroom frantically. Once hidden behind a stall, I greedily gulped for air in an attempt to even out my breathing. Once my heart slowed to a normal rate, I positioned myself against the wall and waited. If he was crazy enough to want to kill a girl that looked like his ex-girlfriend (or whatever she was to him), I didn't doubt that he would be stopped by a mere sign that read “girl's bathroom”.

 

I didn't have to wait long, however, because the door slammed open a moment later. Remembering how the doors to the stalls could open outward, I punched the door- sending it flying into his face. He staggered from the impact before collapsing face-first onto the tiled bathroom floor. My chance arose midst the murky darkness and I leaped at it- never expecting for him to recover so quickly. Instinctively, I screamed when he rolled onto his side and snatched my leg.

 

“But she was better; she didn't put up such a fight,” he spoke up suddenly. There was no mistaking the disappointment dripping in his voice.

 

I didn't care if she was better; I'd let her be better if I could just go home! By this time, I was desperate- so desperate I could've puked. I was finally able to make him release his hold on me when I dug my foot into his face and ran.

 

I was almost to the food court when a set of unsteady footsteps filtered into my ears.

 

“Yes, your mother was a lot prettier,” he said as if confirming some unknown theory.

 

Never would I have expected that to come out of his mouth. Anything but that, yes, but my mother? Wait… How did he know about her? How did he- It was so stupid, so ironic. A wry smile played on my lips but never reached my eyes as the horrifying thought that my father was going to kill me resounded in my mind, and here I thought that only happened in crappy soap operas.

 

I remember ducking behind the only thing I could hide behind- a bench. As I was moving, though, I felt something tear my flesh. It hurt for only a split second, and then I felt nothing.

 

Now I'm just waiting for someone to find my body in the storage room beneath the movie theater in the mall. I wish they would hurry up, though. It's getting really cold down here…