The Prey

The Hunter isn't the only hunter. Sometimes...

The man cloaked in gray, all ragged up at the edges. He paused. One second... two seconds... three... He ran. He ran and I gave chase. He skirted through the alley, skillfully dodging all the obstacles in his path of escape. I too dodged them all with ease. 

He leapt over a stack of crates, and made a left. I climbed the wall and jumped diagonally to the other wall, connected by a corner. In doing so, I made dodging the crates "Obsolete" I jumped down, right behind him. So close... so close to him... He stopped suddenly, his elbow shoving right into my stomach. Then he ran. 

I had been trained by the silent men, since the age of 5. I had been forced to master all the skills of an assassin by the age of nine, or be forced to be... expelled. By the age of 12 taught to use the silence well. Thirteen to kill my first prey. At the age of fourteen placed in a "Cage" of 50 other trainees. And to kill three others, to escape. I graduated at the age of 15 and was acknowledged as a "Silent Men" Ordered to kill, I did so as silently as I could. I had no trouble skinning my targets. All fat pigs who dared to think money allowed them to defy us. They tried to squeal and beg. And all fell to deaf ears. For the silence does not only envelope the prey. It deafens the ears of the predator as well. The silence envelopes an entire area. And no one can hear the death that follows.

I got up, recovering from the blow. Climbed the wall, and followed him from up top. He made a right turn, turned a corner. I followed. Turned the corner ten seconds behind him. I knew there was a dead end. I knew... It was a dark corner. Shadows shadowing the shadows. No light.... ♥ Perfect ♥. I opened the vial, and let the silence spread. As I approached the dead end. I readied, my blade. Anticipating the joy of skinning him alive. Skinning him as he tried to scream. As his screams did not even make the slightest of noises, AS HE DIED ... 

I came upon the dead end. The man wasn't there. I looked. Turned my head this way and that. For half a minute I lay still, crouched in the dark. Above where my prey was to be. Then I noticed something. The darkness was growing... It started from the shadows, and it grew. So black it erased everything it touched. I was shocked. What is this?! I thought. 

It was pitch black. I could not see anything but the darkness now. I fumbled for my jewel orb. I yelled into it. Then realized... the silence was still here. I felt a quick swish across my throat. I couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything. But I felt. And I knew. I wasn't the hunter... I was the Prey. ....