LOKI IMAGINES

• Art Of Villainy • I

      Your head snapped back over your shoulder, your steps faltering simultaneously at the sound of glass crunching under heavy footsteps.
Eyes widening, you saw that the figure from earlier, and it was definitely following you. 

It was a male, undoubtedly.

   In the dim street lights, you distinguished dark tousled hair, eyes void of any light and a mask concealing the lower part of his face.
In his hold was an Sa. Vz.61 Skorpion submachine firearm, which glistened dangerously under the light.

Just like his left arm.

His arm.

   His left arm was of some kind of metal, and in that moment, you realized this wasn't some 'night creep'.

   This man was sent to go after you; to hunt you down for someone.

   Your breath hitched in your throat, the tall man's figure growing larger with each footstep he took forward in the alleyway towards you on the street. You felt sick to your stomach, and quickly turned back ahead and began to run. No words could come out of your mouth, which tasted bitter from the sickening sound of heavy footsteps speeding up behind you.
  Rain fell harder from the pitch black sky, puddles rippling on the empty streets and your clothes getting drenched.

   You didn't know whether to shout for help or to just keep running, but you were certain of one thing: while he was chasing you, he wasn't firing at you.
Clearly, someone wanted you.
Alive.
   Though that single thought resonated in your mind, you kept on running, refusing to take any chances.

   You ran past homes, parked cars, buildings and skyscrapers in the middle of the city until you reached an underground parking lot.  You could tell from a distance that its many levels were scattered with parked vehicles here and there, and with the ominous heavy footsteps following you, you bit back the urge to give in to the soreness that slowly burned in your legs and ribcage.
   Running inside the parking lot, you barely noticed that you were now sheltered from the rain. Each breath you took was incredibly loud in your eardrums, just as each footstep of your hunter's was.

   You glanced at your hand clutching your phone. Your hand trembled from fear and adrenaline while you ran and you lifted it, fingers fumbling to call 911.
   Struggling to type the digits slowed you down, and quite honestly you doubted the police would get here fast enough. Trying to do this was a distraction, and so you turned back and swung your arm forward with all the strength you could muster, flinging your phone at the figure.

    "Leave me alone!" You shouted, and watched in shock as a bullet traversed your phone in mid-air, shattering the screen into shards that fell on the parking floor.

"Oh shit," you breathed out in terror, turning back forward and running. "Shit, what do you want fro-"

  Your scream was cut off as you collided with something hard just as you turned to run forward.
It knocked you off your feet, making you fall on the cold floor.
  Palms against the ground, you felt grains of dirt dig into them with painful stings that would certainly form scabs. They already were.

"You. Now get up."

     Your chin tilted upwards slowly, cheeks stained with tears of fear and raindrops. Strands of your hair clung to your cheeks, and your eyes struggled to adjust under the harsh white neon lights on the ceiling above you. Your eyes could make out a sleek black luxury car parked ahead in the middle of vacant parking spots. The Jaguar shone under the neon lights, the headlights on and the engine humming powerfully. You couldn't tell if someone was inside or not due to the darkness of the tinted windows.