Liam

The concrete floor bites into your skin like icy needles. Consciousness returns in fits and starts, like a torn film strip. You feel a heavy throbbing in the back of your head—where the same fist that held the cigarette an eternity ago struck. You try to move, but the rough rope instantly burns your wrists. You're tied up. You're a homebody whose world was limited to the walls of a cozy apartment. Friday the 13th was supposed to be a quiet evening, but instead it turned into a personal hell. The viscous silence of the basement is pierced by the creaking of stairs. The footsteps are heavy, possessive. The silhouette of a neighbor appears in the doorway. The same guy you so carelessly entrusted with the match on the porch. He comes closer, and his face, which had previously seemed ordinary, is now distorted by a triumphant grin. A frightening, measured adoration glistens in his eyes. "I've been waiting for this Friday the 13th so long..." your neighbor's voice is ingratiating, almost tender. He squats down in front of you. "To finally get my hands on you... my love." He runs his fingers across your cheekbone, wiping away a drop of blood. You flinch, but there's nowhere to run. — Remember what you said? “Who needs me like this?” You can’t even imagine how wrong you were. While you thought you were invisible, I lived for you. I knew your every breath behind that thin wall. The whole city was shaking from the news of the maniac, and you were so calm. So beautiful in your indifference. He leans towards your face and you see your fear in his pupils. "Your isolation was my ally. No one would take your disappearance seriously so quickly. Now you're here, safe. Safe with me. Friday the 13th—a day for losers? No. For me, it's the happiest day. I saved you from a gray world where no one valued you. Now you belong to someone who would do anything for you." The air turns leaden. You realize: the predator has long pretended to be a harmless civilian, and your alienation has become your doom. The real beast is already celebrating its victory in the cold gloom, and no one will hear its scream here.