• The hallways of this dark building smelled like chlorine and rain water, an odd mixture I thought as I took a small step forward. I didn’t know where I was, I wasn’t even entirely certain of who I was. There were pale green lockers straight ahead and behind me and the wall to my right was made completely of windows. To the left was another hall and some doors. I looked to the floor trying to remember something, anything. I was wearing worn blue jeans, wet sneakers and a long-sleeved white zip-up hoody.
    Frowning in confusion I walked across the room staring out the window. It was raining in the parking lot outside. I could vaguely make out a tennis court in a distance. The grounds were spotted with trees and wet grassy areas. I had no idea where I was, but I assumed it was a school.
    I heard footsteps coming from the hall, tension ran through my body, but I didn’t move.
    “Kaylie?” A boys voice called, Kaylie…that was my name. Right?
    I turned around and saw an averaged height boy with dark hair and dark eyes coming towards me.
    “Kaylie are you okay?”
    I frowned and tried to place his name. Was it Troy? “Troy?”
    “Yeah it’s me, are you sure you’re alright.”
    “Yeah…I’m just confused.” Suddenly I remembered all of my friends, their names and face flashed in my mind, Troy, Gibby, and Jordan. “Where is everyone?”
    Troy pulled out his cell phone and started texting someone. “Gibby and Jordan are looking for you, I’m letting them know I found you.
    “Oh.” Was my only reply. I ran a hand through my dark brown hair thinking.
    Another sound came from my right, which I somehow knew was the pool area.
    “Jordan is in the west wing and Gibby is on the second floor. We’ve gotta go.” Troy grabbed my hand and dragged me with him down the hall and opened a door shoving me inside a classroom.
    “Whoa wait Troy! What the hell is going on?!”
    “Shh! Don’t say anything, try to breath lightly. He’ll hear you.”
    “He who?!” I whispered frantically trying to understand the situation.
    “Does it matter?!”
    “Yes! What’s happening?!” I tried to remember, but nothing was coming.
    “It doesn’t matter, all that matters is that he’s a killer. Don’t you remember?”
    “Remember what?! Troy I don’t remember anything! I don’t know where I am, how I got here or where I’m from!” When I thought about it the only things I did know was basic information.
    “Shh!” Troy clasped his hand over my mouth and blocked me in against the wall. We stood like that for what seemed like hours until he finally dropped his hand and stepped back. He opened the door and peaked out. “Alright, we need to get out of this building.”
    Fear shot through me, although I didn’t know what I was afraid of. I followed him outside, we turned to the right and moved as silently as possible through the hallways to a door marked “Exit” overhead in red neon. He pushed against the doors but they refused to budge. He messed with the lock, only to find out it was sealed shut. “Damn it!” Troy kicked the door and wiped angrily at his forehead.
    “Locked?” I asked cocking my head.
    “Yeah, it’s stuck. We could try a window.”
    I heard footsteps and turned around seeing Gibby’s brown hair pulled into a ponytail, her face tense. Jordan was standing next to her, at least four inches taller.
    “You look surprisingly calm.” Gibby commented her voice as tense as her facial features.
    “I…” I started but was broken off.
    “The door is locked, have you tried any of the others?”
    “Yeah, they must all be like that.” Jordan spoke up looking as concerned as the others.
    “We need to get out of here, the north wing where all the advisors are is shut off also.”
    “What about setting off the fire alarm?”
    “Do you really think that would work?” Gibby said glaring at Troy.
    “Well it could only help us at this point.”
    “I’ll get it.” Jordan said jogging down the hall.
    A moment later water burst from the ceiling and an annoying alarm went off. I was still trying to process everything when Jordon’s voice cut through two seconds later when she screamed. “RUN! RUN! NOW! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!”
    My eyes widened and I acted on instinct starting towards her voice to help her. But was stopped when Troy grabbed my upper arm. “Let go of me!” I demanded.
    “You still don’t understand do you Kaylie?! He’s after you! He won’t hurt Jordan, I promise!”
    “What?!” I asked confused as he dragged me through the rain falling from the ceiling, without having time to think.
    We ran as fast as possible down the halls. My heart was pounding now, I could feel the tension, I could feel him chasing me. Somehow I knew that I could turn any corner and he’d be there, I couldn’t escape him. We ran around a corner and I slipped on the wet flooring falling hard on my left hip. Troy’s clasp on my arm hurt as he tried to keep hold of me, but let go.
    I glanced up stunned when I saw a tall muscular man standing over me. His blonde wavy hair was wet and his intense grey eyes watched me. I gasped and laid there frozen.
    “Get away from her!” I could hardly hear Troy yelling over the pounding in my ears.
    I saw the man throw Troy to the floor at least forty feet away. Gibby stood frozen ten feet behind me.
    “Stop please!” She pleaded. “It doesn’t have to be this way! You know that!”
    “Not a word Gibb.” The man muttered.
    “RUN KAYLIE!” Troy screamed. Not thinking I scrambled to my feet and ran quicker than I would have thought possible through a door and down a flight of stairs into the pool and workout area. I skidded to a stop when I heard the door behind me slam shut and lock.
    I spun around and saw no one. Turning back around I was taken off guard by the man, the killer standing in front of me.
    Gasping I stumbled backwards.
    “Stop fighting this!” He grumbled stepping towards me slowly.
    “Why! Why are you doing this?!” I pleaded. “Stop! Please just stop!”
    “I promise it won’t hurt. I promise, I won’t hurt you. You know that. It’ll be quick. I promise.” His eyes were so pain filled and his voice was filled with sincerity.
    I clasped the railing against the wall, the sprinklers shut off and the buzzing sound stopped. I could hear my friends pounding and screaming behind the door. Clenching my teeth I gripped the railing even harder trying to decide what my best move would be. I knew some things about this man, although I didn’t know how. He was used as a science experiment maybe by the government? He could hear everything, even my heartbeat. He could smell everything, out run any human, and he had super strength. I didn’t stand a chance, but I had to fight. I wasn’t ready to die.
    “Stop chasing me!” I screamed at him back up a step. Troy slammed something against the door distracting him for a second. I sprinted through the doorway into the pool room, for a brief moment I thought about closing the door shut, but knew he’d only break it down. It was stupid, but I hide behind the door unsure of my next move. I knew he’d hear my heart beat and find me any moment now.
    Steadying my breathing I waited. I heard him in front of the door and slammed it into his face with all of my strength and sprinted to the left across the room. Looking over my shoulder I saw he had caught the door before it hit his face and shattered it. Halting in front of the pool my heart raced in fear. He was already standing in front of me.
    “Stop running.” He choked out. “You’re making it harder.”
    “I think that’s the point…stop trying to hurt me.”
    “You don’t understand. Stop fighting it.”
    I knew I couldn’t win. I let out a breath of air and swallowed past the lump in my throat. Fear was shooting through my veins, knowing I wasn’t going to win this fight. “Just tell me why.”
    “I promise it won’t hurt. I won’t hurt you, I promise.” With that he pushed me into the pool. I fell into the deep end water swarming all around me soaking every inch of my body.
    But I wasn’t ready to give up yet. I came up to the surface and swam away as fast as I could finally grabbing hold of the edge of the pool, he was coming at me quickly, the I could feel the adrenaline running through my veins.
    “It’ll be quick and it won’t hurt.” He repeated.
    “Stop!” I screeched in a hoarse voice. “Tell me…why?! What did I do?!”
    He stopped where he was about six feet from me. “Can’t you remember?”
    “Remember what?!”
    “Ever since Justin died last year you’ve been so depressed. I can’t stand to see you like this anymore. You told me you just wanted to die.”
    Shock hit me like a punch in my gut. “I said that?” I murmured.
    “Not vocally, but I knew.”
    Had I subconsciously been telling him I wanted to die? Suddenly all my memories flooded back. Justin, my boyfriend and soon to be fiancé of four years had been killed when he was run off a bridge and into a river. The memories were too painful to handle. It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out. I gripped the side of the pool and crumbled forward trying to deal with the throbbing pain in my heart from losing him. And the killer across from me. Jake. My best friend of twelve years. The one person I knew I could always count on no matter what. Memories of summer days dancing to music floating from our cars and Justin cradling me in his arms rushed through my mind. Every spare second of my life had been spent with either Jake or Justin, but…something went wrong. What went wrong? I struggled to remember.
    Jake swam forward closing the space between us. I glanced up at him, not scared anymore. He was my best friend, yet there was nothing I could do to stop him from taking my life. Then again, I don’t think I wanted to anymore.
    “You’ll be happier once you’re with him. You said so yourself. It won’t hurt.”
    The fear that rushed through my veins slowly dwindled and became pain.
    “Are you ready?”
    Squeezing my eyes shut I pressed my face to the concrete and answered, “Yes.” There wasn’t anything I could have done to stop him, he would never stop once his mind was set.
    “It’ll be okay Kaylie. I love you.” He disappeared underwater and I felt him grab hold of my right calf, his nail cut me and I jerked back automatically fighting his grip at first. It wasn’t natural letting someone pull me underwater, especially knowing I wouldn’t resurface.
    Fear shot through me again as I lost grip of the side of the pool and was pulled under by Jake’s strong force. I sucked in a breath of air not ready for it to be my last. I went underwater, but fought to the surface again kicking and swatting, my face was above the water for a split second, I took my last breath of earth air saying goodbye before being pulled back under.
    He held me at the bottom of the pool, fear turned into relief. Suddenly it felt as if I was floating, completely at peace.