CHAPTER ONE

The yellow rays of the sun shined on my eyes through the wrecked window of my room. I was sleeping peacefully until I heard the footsteps rushing towards my room that shook my entire body, and my sleep went out of the window. The fear of getting caught took over me. Caught by him. 

I quickly pulled out my gun, which was under my pillow. Climbing off the bed, I stood in front of the closed door of my room with my gun fixed on it. 

"Andrea," shouted Claire from outside. Her voice calmed my racing heart and relief flooded through me. I lowered my gun and walked to the door. Claire’s worried eyes met mine when I opened the door.

"What happened? Why are you running?" I asked, with my eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"We have to go, pack your stuff," she announced. I didn't have to ask any further as I nodded to her in response and went back to my room while Claire strolled back downstairs. I started packing my stuff. I took out my bag and filled it with the things I needed. I removed my PJs and changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top. I placed the gun on the hook of my jeans and ran downstairs where Claire has turned the house upside down.

"Are you done?" I asked Claire.

"I've packed almost everything," she said, running around checking again if she forgot anything.

"Did you take the phone Uncle John gave us?" I questioned her. She was back in her room but she heard me as she replied, "Yes, I did. What about your gun?" 

It didn't take much time and effort for us to get out of the house as we've practiced it almost fifty times. We exited from the bathroom window as the main door was not in the option. They were already here. We ran towards the wall, which separated our house and the road. Grabbing the top of the wall, we both climbed on top of it and jumped on the road.

Our feet landed on the road. But in our rush, we forget to check for the men outside and it only occurred to me when my eyes met with the men who stood making semicircle around us. I glanced at Claire beside me for a second, our eyes met and she nodded. I jumped towards the man in front of me and kicked his knee. He fell on his knees to the ground and with that, all the other men who were ogling our exchange came into action. 

Two men came to me and others were busy with Claire. I punched the man in his jaw and unlucky for me he didn't feel any damage while I couldn't say the same for my hand. Without distracting myself I again punched the man on his chin and this time he felt that but before I could’ve felt any pleasure, the other men came for me. I pulled out my gun from my jeans and shot one man on his knees and the other one on his shoulder. I looked back and another man was just behind me. I pointed my gun at him but before I could’ve pulled the trigger, he slapped my hand which made my gun fall to the ground.

I was about to kick him but a voice shouted from behind me, making me freeze, "ENOUGH!"

I slowly turned around and looked in front of me. A man was holding Claire, pointing a gun on her forehead. But the voice wasn't his, it came from the person who was standing behind him. The man holding Claire moved to the side so that I could have a better view of the man. And there he was in all his glory, wearing his black suit as always, looking intimidatingly handsome. The man from whom I was running. My breath hitched in my throat when my eyes met his.

"It's been a long time,” he spoke, his lips turning upwards in his sweetest smile but I knew what was behind that smile. A monster. The monster who tortured me, who killed my sister and now wanted to kill me. A voice in my head screamed to give up. I was tired of running. Tired of being scared and tired of always looking over my shoulder for his shadow that always followed me.

"Leave her alone," I said, looking straight into his eyes, doing my best to not look frightened. He stared at me with his cruel smile still on his lips. He looked like a predator who just caught his prey. He took several steps forward and my heartbeat quickened. He halted when he was a few feet away from me and held my eyes with his while I felt my knees shaking beneath me. 

"Now why would I do that?" he spoke, his voice hard and laced with venom. He turned to glance at Claire who was struggling to break free of the man's grasp. 

"She dared to escape from me," he gritted out and continued, "and not only did she escape, she took you with her," he finished and stared back at me. That dangerous smile of his was gone and his face was void of any emotion. I instinctively took a step back from him. For a second my gaze drifted to the ground and caught the sight of my gun. I, without wasting a second, grabbed my gun and pointed it at him. In a flicker, all his men pointed their guns at me.

"What do you want from me?" I shouted.

"You haven't changed a bit. You're as fiery as before," he responded, smiling. My fingers tightened around the gun and I clenched my teeth. 

"I asked what do you want from me?" I repeated.

"You know what I want from you," he voiced and continued, "you know that you can't run away from me," he dangerously took a few steps towards me. I could hear my heart pounding inside my chest and my vein thumping in my throat.

"So before taking another wrong step think about your little friend here," he spoke. He had filled the remaining distance between us and towered over me. I looked at Claire, who was staring back at me. This man has destroyed everything of me before and now, he was back to destroy me.

You must be wondering who this man was and why was he after me. So, let's start from the beginning. This story began about a year ago. On my birthday night, that night which became my worst nightmare. I remember it as if it only happened yesterday.