Hold still. - by Laseeee

Your foot slips on wet leaves.You catch yourself.Barely.Fingers scrape bark. Your chest burns.Air goes in too fast, comes out wrong.But you don’t stop.The trees blur but then stand again.Branches whip your face.Something warm runs down your cheekBut you don’t check.Behind you.A crack.Not a branch. A step.You hear him now. Walking, not running.That's worse.Your legs move faster on their own.Thighs shaking.Ankles weak.The ground drops and you stumble forward.Air leaves your body so you scramble trying to catch yourself.Your hands skid on dirt. You try to get up.But a hand grabs your ankle."Easy," a voice says. Almost kind. "Careful."You kick.You miss.Your shoes stay behind as he pulls you back."There we go. I’ve got you."Something cold touches your neck and the forest melts away.The smell wakes you. Sweet, rotten.It fills your mouth. Your stomach twists.Your wrists hurt so you try to move them.You can’t. They're tied. Neat.A low yellow light hums. The walls are close. Stained. Something sits across the room.Dolls.That’s what your mind says first.Some sit. Some stand. Some lean like they’re watching.Their clothes do not match.Their smiles do not either. They seem stuck.Your eyes catch their hands. Some wrinkled.Some painted.Not quite alive but not quite dead.It’s too real.Their eyes.Their hair.Your breath stops.Oh.You hear footsteps.You panic, struggling with your knotted captors, plotting ways to escape.Your heart beats harder as the footsteps get louder.Shit, he's coming."I know," he says gently, interrupting your Michael Scofield moment."It is a lot."He crouches in front of you.Normal face. Clean. Calm. Attractive even.He smooths the fabric of the baby... doll?In his hands."But I keep them safe," he says. "Still.Where he cannot rush them.Where he cannot ruin them."His fingers linger.Careful. Proud."There is someone out there, someone dangerous," he adds, looking up. "He, he... ruins things."He looks back at you."But you were lucky," he says quietly. "I found you first. Don't worry. I'll take care of you."He stands, too quickly to be human.He places the baby in a carrier.Your eyes return to the other dolls.Their arms bent just so.Heads turned halfway.Mouths halfway open.Like they were stopped.There’s heavy breathing behind you.Not rushed.Measured.Cold fingers lift your chin again.Not rough but precise.He studies your face the way someone studies a mirror that isn’t quite right.“No,” he murmurs, almost disappointed.He turns your head slightly.Adjusts your jaw.His thumb presses at the corner of your mouth until it curves upward.Your skin aches where he holds it.“There,” he says softly.“Hold still.”

Other insights from Laseeee

Referral Earning

Points-to-Coupons