The Tranquil Predator ✔️

Chapter 31

Author's Pov

Patricia was terrified. She didn't know how to react and was scared out of her wits.

"Pra-Praveen, please. What is wrong with you? Why are you behaving like this?",the words came out like a whisper because of her fear. She was involuntarily moving backward, her eyes fixated on Praveen's figure. Praveen didn't move from his spot. It didn't matter to him how much the distance between them grew, he was going to catch her anyway.

"Behaving like what darling?", he purred. Those words made her skin crawl in fear. "You know, I am actually upset right now. Not because Raghu is dead, but because he took credit for my work. It infuriates me."

Patricia looked at Praveen with horrified eyes. Credit, work. It slowly started to make sense. Praveen was the killer and he was in her house right now. All this while, he was right beside her. He killed that serial harasser that was chasing her that night. He was also the one who 'saved' her in the woods. The man who brought her home and took her to the police station the other day to report the incident. The man who killed Neethu, stabbed Arjun. And even came to the hospital to make sure he was okay. Her throat became dry. She was starting feeling nauseous as these thoughts spiraled around in her head.

"Why?", was all she said in a breaking voice. That was all that could come out of her mouth. She was disgusted.

"Why not?", he smirked. "I had been beaten up throughout my childhood. The weakling, the orphan, the loner, the scaredy-cat. It feels magnificent when you are the one whom people fear. When you are the one who is on everyone's mind, and all over the newspapers. The feeling of superiority, the joy of overpowering someone is something only I can understand? Why? Because I have always been the weak one begging for mercy. It is fun to see someone else doing the same", he said as he prowled forward with short and sure steps. She in turn stepped back to maintain the distance.

Patricia's eyes were as big as saucers, she had to run, she had to call for help immediately. She knew her phone was charging somewhere behind her. All she had to do was reach for it and run. Run like a maniac, so that she gets a lead. Then hide and call Arjun, because it is obvious she can't fight Praveen.

"Look Praveen, we can talk about this right? What happened to you when you were a child was awful. I know, but please understand hurting other people who have taken care of you is wrong! Neethu! Did she ever bully you? Menon's son? Did he ever hurt you? Well then why?", Patricia croaked as she stepped back. She was walking towards the shelf where her phone was charging. Praveen hadn't noticed that, she made sure he focuses on her words and not her movements.

"What son? Oh, Ravi! Well, let's say he was a 'trial round'. I needed to try my hunting lessons on someone right! So a 17-year-old boy was the perfect prey. His screams and cries for help were music to my ears. Once I was done with him, I realised I needed more", Praveen chuckled. He closed his eyes to relive those blissful memories of him killing his best friend.

Now was the chance!

Patricia dashed for the shelf to grab her phone. But before she could even touch it, a huge fist grabbed her hair tightly and jerked her back. Patricia screamed in pain, hands clawing at Praveen's knuckles and fingers. "Going somewhere kitten?", he breathed down her neck. It made her stomach turn with fear. She struggled to come out of his grasp and tears came out of her eyes because of the pain. But she wasn't going to give up. Not this time, because if she gives up, she will die. And she was not ready to die. Not yet.

She stopped clawing and with all her strength, she shifted her weight forward. Because of the sudden action, Praveen moved forward with her. Patricia's hands reached for the slender blue Chinese vase. Picking it up she turned around a bit enough to see Praveen's face and smashed it on his head.

Praveen let go of her immediately and fell to the ground holding his head, trying to reduce the throbbing pain. In an ideal condition, Patricia would have dashed for the main door but she saw Praveen was between her and the door. He was injured but she was too scared to pass by him so instinctively she grabbed the phone and ran in the opposite direction to stay away from him.

Patricia was running upstairs to hide in the guest room because her room would be too obvious. She was panting and was still in a daze. She knew she didn't have much time before Praveen catches her again so she had to inform Arjun immediately. On her way, she noticed the switchboard of the house.

"This might buy me some time", she thought and quickly opened the cover and flicked the big black switch which was main. The entire house became dark because of the loss of power, running to the room she crawled under the bed and tucked herself in. She didn't lock the door behind her on purpose. It was a dangerous game she was playing, if she locks the door, Praveen will figure out she is inside the room and won't bother searching the rest of the house. And the most important thing she needed right now was time. Time for help to come.

She pulled out her phone and switched on the silent mode. She saw 3 missed calls. One from Praveen, and the remaining two from Arjun. It was made ten minutes ago. Probably when her phone was dead. He must have figured out Praveen was the Tranquil Predator. She was shaking like a leaf, but didn't the let whimpers come out of her mouth because she was too afraid to make noise. With trembling fingers and teary eyes, she typed Arjun a message:

Praveen is here

He will kill me

Pls come quickly

A/N:

So......