I was definitely sick now. There was pain coming, I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be enough for him to win, to feed and go. There would be no quick end like I'd been counting on. My knees began to shake, knocking together with a hollow clicking sound.
He stepped back and began to circle casually, as if he were trying to get a better view of a statue in a museum. His face was smug and he held his hands behind his back as he paced, deciding where to start.
Then he slumped forward into what I recognized was a crouch, and his smile slowly widened, grew 'til it wasn't a smile at all but a contortion of teeth, exposed and glistening all the way up to his eyes.
I couldn't help myself—I tried to run. As useless as I knew I could be, as weak as my knees already were, panic took over and I bolted for the emergency door.
It was then that my legendary clumsiness struck back, confusing everything below my hips and making each of my legs and feet spring forward simultaneously, so that I pitched forward towards the dim floor.
He was in front of me in a flash. I didn't see if he used his hand or his foot to get across the room, it was so fast. A crushing blow sunk into my chest—I felt myself flying backward, and then heard the crunch as my head bashed into the mirrors. The glass buckled against my thick skull, some of the pieces shattering and splintering onto the floor beside me.
I was too stunned to feel the pain. I could not breathe yet.
He walked toward me slowly.
"That's a berry nice effect," he said, examining the mess of glass. "I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. I've always wanted to direct; did you know that? Always have ever since they made motion pictures. I once tried to learn under Murnau, but he pushed me away. He was fussy. I could never have learned anything from him. I guess I gave up after that, trying to learn how. It wasn't until recently that home taping became a real possibility, but even then... you know what video's like." He sighed. "Anyway, that's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?"
I ignored him, scrambling on my hands and knees, crawling toward the other door.

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Chapter 22

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