Secretive (Mystique Series #1) [18+]

Sometimes I wonder how people can stomach the cruelty of reality or even ignore the bruteness we are facing. Is no one to be blamed when violence becomes a means to achieve peace? We are given multiple chances, choices, or answers, but we are still scared that we might choose the wrong one. To think humans are the most privileged living thing, yet we limit ourselves just because of that certain unknown probability of failing. A person facing failure will be left with a choice, whether to fight it or succumb to it. "You are not really going to say anything?" I froze as the cold metal of the knife pressed against my waist. The guy was standing behind me and he grabbed my hair. I immediately held his left hand, preventing him from pulling my hair further. In the dark alley, we stood alone, hidden from the bustling street outside. Highly unlikely to be noticed by passersby. Screaming for help would also be useless. I had to remain calm and avoid any sudden actions to prevent the situation from escalating further. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," I stammered. "I think you are mistaking me from... from someone else." The guy was not convinced. He tightened his grip on my hair, and I whimpered in pain as response. "Don't play games with me," he growled, his breath hot against my ear. "I remember your jacket well. You saw something, right?" I swallowed nervously. He nudged me to walk forward until I faced a wall. "We have been playing tag all night. I think it is time for you to take a rest." "Please, I really don't have any idea. I just got here," I pleaded. I felt the cold sweat forming on my forehead. For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the sound of our ragged breathing. Then, slowly, the pressure of the knife against my skin began to ease, and I felt the guy's grip loosen slightly. "You are not panting and sweating." The guy let me go, but as soon as I lowered my guard down, he suddenly slammed me on the wall. I coughed when he pinned my neck with his forearm. "Don't s**t with me." I can finally see his face clearly. He was a fine man, covered in sweat and was panting hard. He had a piercing on one of his eyebrows and he was displeased. Despite the pain, I managed to give him a small smile. "It is my first time seeing you." His expression slightly changed like he realized something. "I-I don't know why you are doing this, but you are currently harming an innocent person." "Impossible. I never took my eyes off." He was confused and walked away from me. "s**t!" He messed up his hair and kicked something out of frustration. I gasped for air and checked my waist. It was bleeding slightly. Who would have thought I would end up getting scratched? The guy kept cursing. I think he can't accept the fact that he made a mistake and brought himself into this situation. He must also be thinking by now that whoever the person he was looking for had already done something to put him in trouble. He was overthinking his decision. I stayed alert about what he was going to do next and made sure I had distanced myself unnoticed. He was still holding his knife and, surely, he would not let me out of this alley after what he did. A minute passed, and we were suddenly blinded by a bright light. The next thing that happened was the guy dropped the knife and raised both his arms. Two police officers went to him and handcuffed him. Then a woman came beside me and checked me. "Oh my, you are bleeding!" she exclaimed, worried. I assured her that it was not deep. She offered a handkerchief and I used it to wipe the blood. "I never thought 5 minutes was long," I joked. I took off the jacket I wore and gave it back to her. "Thank you, you came just in time." She wore the jacket and looked at me amusedly. "I should be the one thanking you. You saved me," she said with a smile. Her eyes widened and touched my neck. "That creep. You got bruised here." I touched my neck unconsciously, and it was burning slightly. "It's fine, this won't stay longer." I took my phone out and saw a lot of missed calls. Thankfully, I put it into silent mode or else it could attract his attention. We watched the guy getting driven away by the police. He looked defeated and, at the same time, confused. "It was so reckless of you. I had no time to react because everything happened so fast." She looked at me intently, she even squinted her eyes. "I am still in shock. You made a fool of him. If it was me, he would have killed me." I scoffed. "Nah, his only intention was to scare you. However, he became irritated and exhausted when you ran away from him. It made him reckless." "Yeah, you are right. It caught him off guard when I started running away after you told me to do so."