Are You Scared?

There was a void entrapping the space between them, and it was a cruelty he inflicted before letting out a cold laugh which reverberated through the air.

"Are you scared of me?" He tilt his head to one side and studied her with bemused eyes which lowered into narrow slits. "Is that why you refuse my help?"

Mei winced, breathing in sharply.

The skin where he had tightened his fingers around was already starting to bruise a dark violet and blue – the colors a brilliant contrast against her fair skin.

A slight scent waft, a familiar feeling captivating her in its hold. It was sweet, but not too sweet; slightly spicy and warm; almost flowery but masculine at once which was enough to overwhelm her.

She hesitated. "I'm not necessarily scared of you..." Her heart began to slow in beat, decreasing in intensity and speed, like a bird trapped inside a cage with broken wings.

"Then..." He reached out and slowly twirled a lock of her fine hair around his finger, watching as it held its shape.

His eyes flit toward hers. She trembled. "Why won't you accept me?"

"I —"

"You what?"

"I can't trust you," She said quietly.

Feeling him begin to pull away she grabbed hold of his forearm with frantic haste, nails digging past his clothes and embedding its mark into his skin. Her eyes stared into his pleadingly. "Don't leave! I-Is there possibly another option?"

After hearing her words, the man pulled her hand away — his face only mere centimeters away from hers.

She wanted to look elsewhere, anywhere but him, but somehow she couldn't. At this angle, she could see the the shadows his lashes made when he lowered them over his smiling auburn orbs, unknowing of her bewitched captivation.

He suddenly gazed down at her with an apathetic synergy.

"Death."

In an instant the attraction was gone, replaced by an unfiltered tension. She frowned, jaw clenched, tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes by the sudden hit that shook her emotions.

How could he say that so nonchalantly? The weight of her life was nothing more than a game to this strange man.

"Unless you've already changed your mind?"

"I haven't..." Her fingers balled up so tightly that her knuckles ached with the effort.

Clearly, he had ulterior motives. Aside from the obvious, the situation itself screamed danger and she wasn't as foolish as to follow his lead when she didn't even know of this man, or whatever his intentions toward her was in the very least.

His brow arched, head tilting to one side."Really now?"

"Yes, really." They stared at each other in a silent war, each unyielding to the other.

After a moment, the boy cracked a surreptitious grin, evidently amused by her actions.

"Why lie, Mie Mie? I don't think you truly see the reality of your situation, or perhaps you're simply too afraid to. Well, it's not like you're alone. Most people are blinded by their own truths, and like most, you honestly... lack the natural instinct to survive, don't you?"

He leaned forward, lowering his voice into a hushed whisper. "You're adorable little mouth preaches about principles void of meaning such as trust, but can you honestly say that you yourself can be trusted?" His fingers trailed from below her chin to the delicate bone of her clavicle, almost drawing blood.

She could only stare at him, struck by the pounding that intensified in her ears.

"Are you so naïve to think that even your own intuition isn't leading you to your demise? You should know that innocence can only take you so far."

She wanted to break away from him, but she couldn't. Something bound her to him, so tightly that it hurt every time she forced herself to look away.

A heat clawed up her throat, a blossom of pink flushed against her cheeks as she stared up at him.

She pressed her lips together, fingers reaching up to tighten around his shoulders. The tips turned white, blanching. "Fine," She said, "I —" She broke off, swallowing, eyes tightly fluttering close. "I'll accept your condition as long as you help me, just please help me go back home."

Cool fingertips reached down to trace the faint blush on her face.

"Didn't I already tell you, little sheep? You have no home." She opened her eyes which quivered faintly from the light.

"You can't know that." Her lids lowered. "I honestly don't know how I got here, or who you are, or even really how long I've been trapped but if it means seeing my family again I'm willing to do anything — even if that means having to follow your bizarre conditions. So please, please help me. I'm begging you."

Once again the beauty of her eyes were hidden by the fray of her lashes, a muffled sound escaping her lips as the anticipation to get the deed done hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters.

But nothing came. Wondering if she looked too eager she squeezed her eyes even tighter, brows furrowed out of temporary worry.

"Silly, don't be so scared." He murmured in her ear, warm lips gently brushing against her forehead. "Do your best to stay alive, little sheep."

The man's hand skimmed up Mei's neck to cover her already shut eyes.

A familiar suffocation drowned her lungs in a sea of water, her body beginning to burn in waves.

She didn't know what exactly she was supposed to feel, it was like the divide in her heart was closing, and a newfound clarity fogged her mind, but the moment the noise stopped and the sensation within her stilled there was nothing to observe but a brief suspension in time.

Then, each of her senses returned back to her in unexpected bursts.

Something within herself tore and broke apart, she could hear her own pulse quickening, her own hands trembling as she held those that were covering her eyes.

An ache pressed against her chest, squeezing her heart in a death grip.

Every time it beat she shuddered, scared that it would break into tiny inconceivable fragments.

In that moment, she caved to the exhaust of her body.

She sank below the surface of consciousness, and inevitably let the darkness claim her, as it did so many times before.