A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Each second seemed to last a minute as she waited for him to walk by. He would stop every few steps, but she couldn't see what he was doing, but it did sound like he was getting closer to her. It was hard to keep her heartbeat at a steady rate when it wished to pound like a drum. If it increased too much, though, he would hear her, and even with her disguise, she had a slim chance of making it by him.

When his steps stopped near to the tree she was hiding behind, she reached up quietly and placed her hands over her mouth and nose. She bit her bottom lip and tried to distract her mind and heart from the present situation. Another step almost caused her heart rate to pick up, and she bit her lip harder. Nearly, she chewed on it too much. Realizing her close mistake, she released her lip. Any harder and she would've broken the skin. With him that close, he would've been able to smell her blood. Then, her disguise truly would be worthless.

Not being able to help it, she shut her eyes and continued to pay attention to his movement. It sounded like he took another step towards the tree before he stopped completely. His left nails reached up and tapped the tree trunk. Each tap sounded like the drum roll to her punishment. He hummed in thought before he moved again.

Carefully, she looked to her right and saw his back. His left hand was back in the hoodie's one pocket, and he was heading for the street. Being cautious of the snow and possible crunching sound it could make, she lightly maneuvered around the tree before she paused and glanced to the creature. His back still was turned to her. Quickly and softly, she practically tip-toed to the next tree. (F/n) continued this pattern until she was a somewhat safe distance from him. Still if he turned around and spotted her, that distance would disappear quite quickly.

So, she remained careful of her every move. His back remained facing her, and he now was walking towards the apartment complex. Mentally, she cursed. She needed him to go towards the other direction, but if she made a sound, it wouldn't be long before he figured out that it was her. Soon, though, he stopped. The creature tilted to his right and left as if he was examining the area once more before he gave out an irritated sigh. Nearly, she gulped, but she covered her mouth in the process and began to head towards the grocery store again.

(F/n) remained close to the ground and continued to use the trees as cover, but she remained close to the street to a degree so that she could see where she was going. If she pulled out the flashlight in her backpack, she would give herself away since there was no way that the creature would ignore the sudden appearance of a flashlight. That was, though, if he faced her direction again, but he might hear the click of the switch too.

Eventually, though, the pine trees ended, but buildings took their place: two apartment buildings to be exact. Annoyingly, the area was gated off even if Faller's Grove was small. She could try and hop over the wall, but if one of the residents saw her, that would cause a problem that she didn't need, especially at the present moment.

Looking over her right shoulder, she noticed that the distance between the new apartment buildings and the complex she came from was a considerable ways away. The creature still was walking in the opposite direction of her, but she didn't want the creature to think that she came from the gated apartments. Otherwise, those inside might face a grisly fate later on.

Keeping that in mind, she stayed close to the gate of the community and didn't walk into the light. She tried to act normal, but that was hard to do when the creature probably could reach her position in less than a few seconds. At that point and being so exposed, she couldn't keep her heartbeat as calm as she wanted to. Mentally, she cursed, but she didn't glance back; she acted as if she was just someone taking a late night stroll ... with a backpack. Yeah, that made sense. There was plenty of hiking territory around the town ... right?

She resisted the urge to nervously chuckle even if that would relax her nerves to a degree. Instead, she shoved her hands in her jacket's pocket and hoped that the (different h/c) wig would help her somewhat. To her utter dismay, however, one of the streetlights near to her began to flicker. Her steps stopped momentarily, and she glanced to her right. It was one of the ones on the other side of the street.

As she turned her gaze back to the front of her, however, she noted that the creature had paused too. The light had drawn his attention, probably out of sheer curiosity and nothing else, but it had caused his focus to drift over her way and onto her. She forced herself to act normal and continued walking towards the grocery store. Her hands, though, were clenching the fabric of her pockets incredibly hard. If there had been a tree or bush around her, she would've jumped behind one of those as soon as the light had flickered, but she only had a wall to her right and an open street to her left.

Oddly enough, though, she didn't hear soft footfalls behind her, but she didn't dare look behind her. (F/n) suspected, however, that he was matching his footsteps to hers so that he couldn't be heard. Regardless, she hoped that he wouldn't associate her with the gated apartments. She only had been walking on the sidewalk after all. It wasn't liked she jumped the gate and landed onto the sidewalk.

The good news was that if he was matching his footfalls to hers, he wouldn't be able to reach her; he'd have to increase his pace to do that. There was the concern that he simply could run at a speed towards her that her ears wouldn't be able to register the sound of his steps. So far, he hadn't pulled that move. Part of her desperately wished to look behind her, though, to confirm that, but that action only would make her look suspicious.

Already, it was odd that she was on the streets at night with no one else around. Maybe, he'd assume that she was a thief? Almost, a bitter laugh left her. No, he wouldn't think that. If anything, his first instinct would be to question her since she was an easy target. Probably, no one in their apartments expected someone to be outside at this time unless they were in their car and making a last minute stop at the grocery store, but there weren't even any cars on the road.

Her feet, however, practically lifted themselves into the air when the area suddenly became darker. Nervously, she peered behind her and saw that the streetlight from before had gone out completely. What was of more concern, though, was the fact that creature was no longer behind her. Her chest clenched before her heart began to pound more loudly in her chest. She tried to relax herself, but her mind was forming too many negative possibilities. And, one of them about knocked her off of her feet due to the reality of it.

Facing forward again, she felt like she was an animal being led to the butcher's knife. Right in front of her, the creature stood. His hands remained in the hoodie's pockets, and he was looking over her like he was familiar with her. Thank goodness, she had gotten (different e/c) contacts too. She took a few steps back and a nervous smile touched her lips. Before she spoke, though, she did her best to change her voice, but she doubted that it would come out that great.

"Umm ... Can I help you?" At least, she managed not to stutter. Besides, who wouldn't be slightly freaked out by someone just seeming to appear in front of them? Her voice, though, sounded ... awful. It simply had a cringe-worthy lower tone to it.

"I'm looking for someone." He leaned closer to her, and his sunglasses slid down his small hero nose, revealing his very pale blue optics with grey pupils. "Have you seen a girl with (h/c) (h/l) hair and (e/c) eyes? She's about your height." (F/n) took a few more steps back and shook her head. "Really?" She nodded. "That's a shame."

"Why are you looking for her?" she asked, her voice almost reverting back to her regular one.

"She's my lover, and she never came home." He stood up to his full height again, and she forgot how intimidating he could be with just his height alone, though; she had to keep a scowl off of her face from the lover comment. "I'm worried that someone took her from me." A soft sigh parted from him, but she wasn't buying it. "Clues led me to here." His eyes drifted to his left, and a frown greeted his lips. "I really miss her." The creature's eyes shifted back to her. "Are you sure that you don't know where she is?"

"Yes," she answered a little too quickly as she began to walk around him. "Sorry, but I need to get going. I have some groceries to get."

"Right, of course." His shoulders sagged a bit, and she began to walk off. Before she fully could face away from him and increase her pace a little bit but not too noticeably, she saw his eyes land on her again. "I suppose that I should do some grocery shopping too." He tilted his head to his right a bit. "Can I come with you?" She froze, and no words came to her mouth. The creature faced her fully and reached out to rest his right hand on her right shoulder, but she dodged it both out of instinct and the game. Even if she was in disguise, she couldn't let him touch her.

"Sorry, I really just need to go on my own." She created more distance between them, but the creature wasn't finished. He tried to reach out to her again, but once more, she dodged his touch before she continued to walk away.

"Why not? You shouldn't be walking out here on your own, especially in this cold," the creature reasoned as he reached out again, but something more alarming was in his tone. That time, she couldn't avoid him entirely. His fingertips graced the tips of her wig before he paused completely.