The Hunter

Once again, Simon opened his eyes in that room that was becoming a little more familiar. This time he felt leather straps tied against his wrists and ankles. Repeatedly, he pulled his bonds with all his might—finally managing to break the strap that held his arms.

Simon immediately began to undo the rest of his restraints. Soon enough, he got up from the stretcher and analyzed his surroundings. Everything was just like the last time he woke up in the strange room. The same feeling of being trapped in a doctor’s office, and the memory of the men in white coats conducting their experiments returned to him.

Looking at the room’s only exit, Simon knew something was different—but he couldn’t understand his intuition. His suspicion grew and he smashed the door with his elbow.

Simon stopped after breaking the door open… the metallic stank of blood surrounded him. Nothing was like the last time he tried to escape. The hallway walls were covered with bloodstains. Simon had to cover his nose, the odor was unbearable.

What happened here? he wondered, stepping out of the room. Something was seriously wrong but he couldn’t stay to find out. Immediately, he turned to the right and saw a metal door blocking the way. To the other side was his only way out—the same path he took when he encountered the beast in the corner. The memory of that day passed through his mind and he remembered the pain on his neck. Simon reached with his hand but the dart was gone.

I have to be careful, Simon thought. This could be another trap, I can’t trust them.

His cautious footsteps led him through the blood stained corridor. The doors to the other rooms were destroyed, his intrigue grew with every step—in one of the rooms he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a human arm and he moved faster.

I have to get out of here, he thought, still covering his nose with one hand. When he reached the end of the hall he found two options to continue. To the right another metal door and the darkness of a broken lamp hanging from the ceiling; to the left an opportunity to continue looking for a way out.

Simon paused. Hiding his body, waiting for a sign. In that moment, he saw glowing eyes in the darkness. He forced himself to continue looking, and noticed a creature moving in front of the metal door that blocked the corridor to the right.

The creature slowly came out of the shadows. Its torso moved as if it was an arachnid with slender legs hitting the ground with each step. Simon hid, unable to control his breath—fear too over him. However, he couldn’t wait and get caught. While the creature slowly approached.

Simon remembered the strength he had the last time. All that he was able to do… but this time seemed different and he decided to run. Surprising the creature with his speed—making it take a step backwards, before it started chasing after him.

He felt the cold air against his face as he ran, and the noise that echoed against the walls with every step the creature took. Simon feared the sharp claws of the creature chasing after him. His mind couldn’t stop thinking about the ease it would require to cut through his skin… and he kept running.

The creature ran at full speed, almost catching its fleeing prey. While its watering mouth spilled saliva. Its eyes focused, trying to predict the man’s next move—but his prey was too fast.

Simon almost lost his hearing behind the loud beating of his heart. Moving faster than he could have imagined possible to evade the creature, he saw pieces of wall flying off after avoiding the spider’s attacks. He couldn’t know if he was on the right path, he ran with hope of not finding…at the end of the hall he noticed a metal door blocking his way. Simon couldn’t slow down and slammed into the metal door.

The creature failed to predict its prey’s movements and saw the man push himself off the metal door. The giant spider uselessly moved its legs to reach him and only managed to grace the skin of the man.

Simon turned as he fell and stood up quickly to continue fleeing… when he noticed that the creature had wounded the skin of his arm. I’m done, he thought, staring at the wound.

The creature slowly turned on the metal door, peered at the human and paused.

Why keep running away? Simon asked himself. He held his arm with the opposite hand to get a closer look at his wound…it was worse than he had imagined. His blood began to fall to the floor. His fears grew stronger… Simon could no longer think about what he should do to save his life. All was lost. Even if I manage to escape, I’ll bleed to death.

Simon saw the creature slowly approaching… and he felt a burning sensation inside his wound. The pain was almost unbearable, but somehow he managed to stay on his feet—watching in surprise as the wound closed on its own. Impossible, he thought. I can heal myself…

The creature continued approaching… The expression on Simon’s face changed, the fear disappeared and he became the hunter.