11 Oliver

She looked around helplessly like an ant under a microscope. Watching her squirm brought an indescribable joy to my heart and a grin to my face. This game had never been more fun.

There was something different about this time. My chest fluttered with excitement as I sat in the tree limb, watching my prey. I couldn't wait to catch her this time. I climbed from the tree slowly, careful not to make any conspicuous noise. I was light on my toes, only making sounds heard in nature. Avian was smart, she whipped her head to the sound of my foot crunching tree bark. I froze, ceasing my breath in my throat. When she once again faced the other direction, I continued my descend.

My feet touched solid ground once more, and I quietly tiptoed towards her. There were dead leaves beneath the soles of my shoes, but still I hardly made a sound. A smile ignited on my face when she didn't hear me. Finally, I was close enough to grab her. I didn't have any weapons on hand; I wanted this time to be with my bare hands. I couldn't wait any longer; her procrastination had dragged this game out longer than it needed to be.

Teeth bared like a cat about to pounce, I reached out to her, striking like a hungry snake.