Imagine me. I'm dressed in black, all black, from head to toe. Black boots, black jeans fastened with the black belt, the belt with which you're quite familiar. A black jumper that fits tightly and fills out my physique, a black mask that covers the whole lower half of my face - one solitary advantage of Covid is that masks are totally normal now. Black-framed glasses surround my hungry hazel eyes, a black woolly hat covering my hair so that only a slither of my pale skin can be seen around my cheeks. Black leather gloves are on my hands, and in your mind. Those gloves have explored every inch of your body, hurting you, choking you, groping you. And I only wear them for you. Tell me, do they turn you on, or do you fear them?
Can you see me well, can you picture it? Imagine how I look - the lust in my eyes, the scowl on my face. You remember that look, don't you? The look you bring out of me so easily. I'm sitting next to you in my car, the engine is turned off and the silence is beginning to become deafening. It's been a fun drive up, away from home, out into the woods, but that's over now. How are you sitting? Are you shuffling on the leather? Squirming? Or are you frozen with fear? The heated seats have been on, you're warm, you'd be cosy, usually. But you're not. You're uneasy, you know what's coming, don't you? The car is parked on muddy gravel, facing the trees. Picture the scene. Take in your surroundings, it's important that you remember them.
"Are you ready to begin? We won't start until you are." My voice is... you know how my voice is. "Pick a path through the forest, memorise it. Do you know which way you're going to go?" Before you continue, hold the image in your head, make sure it's strong. Make sure you know where you are, and where you're going. Are you ready to go?
"Good. Ten... Nine..."
You're up and running, not even bothering to slam the car door behind you. Do you remember the scene that was in front of you? Do you remember the path you picked through it? You're running on it now. Run into the fog, run, run little kitten. I'm coming, your ten seconds are up.
Clunk. Clunk. The car doors thud as I close them behind me, the headlights flash as I lock it, illuminating the woods for a brief moment. Their light illuminates what's in front of you, what do you see? Is your path still clear?
Because the lights illuminated the misty night just long enough for me to see your silhouette against the otherwise empty and still background. I'm coming now, I'm on your trail. Can you picture that? You're being chased now. I'm coming for you. The hunt is on.
You're running, your heavy timberlands crushing branches and kicking away pebbles in your panic. The air is cold, it's damp against your skin. You're shivering. Is it from the chill? It shouldn't be, you're wearing a thick black jumper. Is it from the fear? Yes? Yes, it should be, you should be scared. You wouldn't be running if you weren't scared. But you are running. You are scared. You're running deeper into the woods, along the path that seems to be disappearing beneath your feet. Bring the image of the forest up in your head, keep it in your mind's eye.
Can you picture the path in front of you? Run along it, follow it. Quickly. Go quickly along it, deeper and deeper into the woods, deeper into the dark. Deeper into the unknown. The unknown can be scary, but so can the known. You don't know what's out there in front of you, does that scare you? Picture it, picture what's in front of you, what you're running into. You know what's behind you. You know the path you've taken, and you know who's taking it now. Me. I'm tracing your steps, not running fast like you, but pacing. My long legs carry me swiftly, calmly, as I stalk after you. You can hear me, hear the branches snapping under my feet, not getting any closer, but always there, not going away.
Suddenly, as you glance around trying to spot me, you tumble. You tumble into the muddy ground with a thud. Panicking, you fumble to your feet and as you get up you realise you lost your bearings in the fall. What do you see around you now? Can you recall the image you took in, is it still in your mind's eye? Which route are you going to take? Quickly, you pick one. One that leads away from me. But I'm closing now, getting nearer.
You break into a sprint, your heart pounding in your chest. The forest seems to close in around you as you run, and I close in from behind. The space should feel wide open, the woods and wilderness are nearly infinite. But they don't, they feel tight, they feel claustrophobic. You feel as though the trees have tendrils which are reaching out to you, pulling you down, slowing you. Slowing you. Slowing you. Your legs feel tired. Your boots feel heavy. Your knees are sore from your fall. Your thighs are aching. Your muscles, burning. You're getting slower. You're slowing. Stumbling. You tumble over a prominent root and slam hard into the ground again, mud and leaves dirtying you from head to toe. But that's the least of your worries, because I'm there now. I'm close. And then I'm on you.
In an instant, I dive on you, my weight pressing down on the back of your legs, a strong hand grabbing a handful of your hair before you can get away. You feel it tugging in your scalp and squeal with fear as you realise you've been caught.
"Now, you're fucking mine." My voice is like an animal. A predator's growl, and you're my prey. You're mine.
"Please, no. No." You beg, but you know I'm not going to listen. You don't want me to listen, do you? You don't want me to stop. You want me to ravage you, to do anything I want with you. But you can't let me know that. So you writhe in my grip, struggling to break free, feeling your hair pulled painfully tight as you do.