Painted Smile

One

Run.
If I could run that would be what I would be thinking.
I tear down the dark alley. The wind is whistling in my ears. I'm running so fast my chest hurts.
But I can't lose him.....
I can hear his footsteps. I want to cry in fear, in worry, and in frustration.
But I feel too numb to cry.
He's following me.
His silent footsteps, ringing and echoing dimly through my brain.
He seems to pop out of random corners. He's managing to chase me without even running.
That scares me.
Like he's always one step ahead of me.
The dark alley is lit dimly with blinking lights. The place smells of death. A house stands in front of me. The window panes are broken and the door is rusty and hanging by its hinges. I run to it. I'm desperate.

I'm screaming in frustration as I struggle to pry the door to that house open. The door opens and I rush in, and lock it. I slump onto the wall.
He can't get me now.....
I laugh and let the tears fall. I feel my muscles relax. I'm not going to die. Not today!

"missed me? " A cold voice whispers. He speaks with cold, soft authority.
No..... Not that voice......
My head slowly spins around.

It's..... Him. The skin is bleached pure white. His silver, almost colorless eyes glitters. Emotionless orbs in his face.
What scares me the most is that..... Smile.
It's unnatural. He cocks his head to one side as he stares down at me.
He always smiles......
Because that smile.....

It's carved into his face.....

He leans in front of me. So close that I can see myself in his colorless eyes.
"I give you 1 minute...... Try to run. " He whispers.

I'm struggling to run. I stagger through the hallways and crash through the halls.
He seems amused by my futile attempts to run.
"your time...... Is up. " he walks leisurely towards me. He holds a knife........it's stained with blood.....
My knees wobble and I collapsed. I held my head in my arms and sobbing, I pleaded in a quavering voice," please! Don't kill me! Spare me! "
He laughs. Disgust, amusement and some sort of sick desire is all mixed into his voice.
" all you humans..... All you ever do is to plead for your life. Cowards, all of you...... If only one day one of you had the bravery to stand up and FIGHT instead of running...... "
He leans towards me and the carved smile widens.....

" go to sleep...... "He whispers.
And with that, he plunges the knife in my heart. My eyes widen, and before I could scream, I fell to the floor. I'm choking on my own blood. The world spins before my eyes and his laughs grow dimmer and dimmer in my ears....
The last thing I saw before I was swept into oblivion was his malicious, permanent smile........