Chapter 22: (Scarlet's pov)

The storeroom was suffocatingly dark, a place where the remnants of the old circus had been discarded and forgotten. I stumbled into the room, my breath ragged, and immediately shut the door behind me.

I tried to silence the loud creak that threatened to give me away. My heart pounded in my chest, and I leaned against the wall, desperate for a moment of respite. But I knew that time was not on my side.

I quickly scanned the room, taking in the cluttered piles of forgotten costumes, props, and old circus equipment. The air was thick with the scent of dust and decay, the kind that clings to places abandoned and left to rot.

In the dim light filtering through the cracks in the walls, I could make out the faint outlines of haphazardly stacked crates and old mannequins draped in tattered circus dresses.

There wasn't much time. I could hear his footsteps approaching, slow and deliberate, each one was a reminder of the terror that stalked me. My pulse quickened as I realized I had nowhere to go. I needed to hide, and fast.

My eyes darted around the room, and I spotted a cluster of old circus dresses hanging from a rack in the corner, their vibrant colors faded and dulled by time. Without a second thought, I moved toward them, praying they would offer some concealment.

I slipped between the dresses, the fabric was heavy and musty against my skin, and crouched down as low as I could. The dresses brushed against my face, their long skirts pooling around me. My breathing were shallow and rapid, but I forced myself to remain as quiet as possible, listening intently to the sounds around me.

The door creaked open, and I froze, every muscle in my body was tensed with fear. He was here. I could hear his breathing, steady and controlled, as he stepped into the room. The soft scuff of his shoes against the dusty floor echoed. His voice cut through the silence, it was low but taunting.

Taehyung: Scarlet... I know you're here.

His tone was laced with a sadistic glee, as if the mere act of hunting me down was a game to him.

Taehyung: There's no point in hiding. I'll find you eventually.

I closed my eyes, trying to will myself into invisibility. I could hear him moving closer, his footsteps slow and deliberate, as he began to methodically search the room. The sound of objects being moved and pushed aside filled the air, and I bit down on my lip to keep from making a sound.

I could feel my whole body trembling, my hands clenching tightly around the fabric of the dresses, as if holding onto them could somehow keep me safe. The sharp scrape of metal against wood made my blood run cold.

I dared to peek through a small gap in the dresses and saw Taehyung, his expressions were disturbingly calm, dragging the blade of a knife along the edge of an old wooden crate. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, searching for any sign of movement, any clue to my hiding spot.

Taehyung: Come out, come out, wherever you are...

He sing-songed.

Taehyung: I promise I won't hurt you... much.

He moved closer to the rack of dresses, and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as he approached. I pressed myself further into the shadows, hoping the darkness would swallow me whole.

The knife slid against the metal rack, the sound reverberating through the room, and I stifled a gasp as the blade sliced through the fabric of one of the dresses, mere inches from my face.

Taehyung paused, tilting his head as if he could sense my presence. The prolepsis was harrowing, every second dragging out like an eternity. I could see the scintillate of the knife in the dim light as he held it aloft, ready to strike at any moment. My heart was pounding so loudly in my ears that I was certain he could hear it too.

Taehyung: Are you scared, Scarlet?

He whispered, his voice so close now that I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.

Taehyung: You should be. Fear makes the chase so much more exciting.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out his voice, his presence, the terrifying reality of the situation. My mind raced, desperately searching for a way out, for something, anything, that could save me. But all I could do was stay hidden, praying he would pass by without discovering me.

Just when I thought he would find me, Taehyung's attention shifted. He moved away from the dresses, his footsteps receding as he continued his search elsewhere in the room. I exhaled slowly, careful to keep the sound silent, my body trembling with the effort of staying still.

He began to rummage through the old crates, knocking over mannequins and sending them crashing to the floor. The noise was extremely noisy and I flinched with every crash, my nerves frayed to the breaking point. But I didn't dare move. Any slight noise could alert him to my presence, and I wasn't sure I could survive another close encounter with him.

Taehyung: Do you know what I love most about this game, Scarlet?

His voice broke through the clamor, his tone conversational, as if he were discussing something as mundane as the weather.

Taehyung: It's the thrill of the hunt. The way your fear electrifies the air. It's intoxicating.

He stopped, and I could hear the distinct sound of the knife being dragged across another surface, a dull thud as it hit something solid.

Taehyung: But the best part.

He continued.

Taehyung: Is the moment when you realize there's no escape. When you accept your fate.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek, my emotions on the brink of breaking through the fragile barrier I had built to contain them. The fear, the helplessness, it was overwhelming, suffocating me from within.

My breaths came in short and desperate gasps as I tried to hold onto the last vestiges of hope, but it was slipping away, crumbling like sand between my fingers. The darkness was brutal, a thick, inky blackness that swallowed everything, leaving me disoriented and panicked.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, the erratic beat echoing in my ears as I moved silently, trying to find another way out, another hiding spot, anything that could give me a chance at escape.

But no matter where I turned, it felt like the walls were closing on me. I could hear him behind me, the soft creak of his footsteps, the measured breaths that sent shivers down my spine. I knew he was close, knew that every second brought him nearer, but I was powerless to stop it.

My legs were trembling, I stumbled forward, barely able to see in the darkness, my hands grasping blindly at anything in the dark. But then, just as I thought I might have a chance, I felt it, his hands, cold and unyielding, gripping my hair from behind.

The uproar was jarring, ripping me from my thoughts and sending a pain through my scalp. My breath hitched in my throat, the tears that had been teetering on the edge now spilled freely down my cheeks.

His fingers tightened their hold, yanking my head back with a force that made me cry out in pain, the sound escaping me before I could stop it.

Taehyung: Gotcha.

He hissed, the word a venomous whisper that sent a chill down my spine. I could feel his breath, warm and sickening, against the side of my face as he leaned in closer, his presence overwhelming, dominating, crushing any sense of control I had left.