Song: Mad Hatter by  Melanie Martinez

"Shit!" Amaya huffed as she ran from the psycho that tried to bash her head with a rock. Her legs were burning from their lack of exercise and her heart was beating hard against her chest. It was not a good time to be out of shape.

They were still running behind her. In fact, they were jogging. It's as if they wanted her to feel terrified. They ran faster towards her and she let out a scream. "Help! Somebody, please help!"

She ended up in Daventon's arboretum. It was dark and the gray pavement looked more ominous than it usually was. The plants that resided there seemed to mock her of her stupidity of going into a small forest alone.

The arboretum can provide her cover. She stopped running and hid behind the bushes. Away from the lights lining the pavement. As she looked through the leaves of the bushes she was hiding from, Amaya saw her backpack on the floor with the shoulder straps torn apart.

She prayed that there would be someone, ANYONE that could help her. But the arboretum is usually deserted around this time. There was no one at all.

A thin rope was placed on her neck cutting off her circulation. Amaya grunted and tried to remove the rope from her neck. She scratched at the rope, darkness danced across her eyes before she jabbed her elbow back aiming for her attacker's ribs.

Amaya heard a grunt and the rope around her neck loosened slightly. She ran for her life before slipping on the muddy ground. Her hair was pulled back harshly and saw the gleaming knife ready to slit her throat. Everything went still. This was it. She was going to die.

"Please don't..." she begged.

A cry of pain was heard behind her and a loud thud. Amaya was still on her knees and the second she heard the thud behind her she stood up as fast as she could and ran without looking back. It was only seconds before a body stood in front of her and she crashed into their chest, unable to stop herself from colliding with them.

She screamed and punched their privates and then their jaw. Her body was on autopilot for survival. It didn't care who was in the way, all that matters is for it to survive.

"Amaya...ugh, it's me." the person groaned. Her eyes were blurred with tears and once her vision focused again, she saw Kieran keeling before her. Cupping a hand over her mouth she gasped.

"Oh my God Kieran, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. She looked behind her then at Kieran again. "We need to leave right now, the serial killer is here!" she said, pulling his arm. They ran out of the arboretum but not before Amaya grabbing her backpack from the floor.

Her throat burned from the rope that choked her and it was dry from thirst. Once they were back in the parking lot where she parked her car, she fumbled for her keys forcing herself to focus, and then unlocked her car.

Kieran hopped inside and she immediately locked all the doors. Amaya made a quick sweep behind the passenger seat and started her car with no hesitation.

She sped out of Daventon's campus. However, before she did, Kieran pointed out something. "Someone's hurt. They're bleeding!" he exclaimed.

Amaya looked at what he was talking about through her rearview mirror. A small dark hooded figure was limping and there was blood dripping from their side. "They're not hurt, that's the serial killer." she said.

"What if they become the next victim of the Hangman? Shouldn't we help?" Kieran asked.

Amaya was shaking. Her fingers were ice cold and she was getting a headache from the incessant beeping of her car telling her to put on her seatbelt.

"We can help them by going to the police," she replied, putting on her seatbelt. Once they were away from Daventon University and hit downtown, that was when Amaya felt it was safe to follow the speed limit.

Screw that.

She'll feel safe once she's inside a police station. She pushed harder on the gas pedal until she finally reached the front of the police station. Kieran and Amaya got out of the car and quickly opened the doors of the police station.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Although the two college students disclosed their statements to the police officers, they were still unhelpful. They told the two students that the description of the attacker still doesn't give them enough description to catch the culprit.

The police suggested they go home and get some rest and they'll update the town if they find out more information about the serial killer. Amaya was exhausted. She was on fight or flight mode and exhaustion settled onto her body.

She felt light-headed and would have fallen on her face again if it weren't for Kieran. "Hey, let's get you home okay?" he told her gently. All Amaya could do was nod. Kieran carried her on his back out of the police station and everything was dark after that.

Amaya woke up to the light poking on her shoulder. She slowly opened her lids to see Kieran in the driver's seat of her car. Immediately sitting up, she scanned her surroundings for any danger. They were only in her apartment's parking lot.

Kieran touched her hand. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was shaking.

"We're safe, Amaya," he reassured her.

Amaya nodded still in shock. Kieran walked her to her apartment unit and she invited him in. He sat down on one of the bean bags in the living room. "Would you like some water?" she rasped, her voice hoarse from screaming and begging.

"Yes, please," he replied.

She poured water to a glass and handed it to him. Next, she got herself a glass of water. She can't feel anything. It's as if everything she holds might fall because of the unstoppable pins and needles that ran across her hands and feet.

Sitting down on the couch across Kieran, she stared off into space.

"What happened out there, Amaya?" he asked.

She simply looked at him and debated whether she should tell him that before the attack she was finishing the last of Addy and Xan deliveries. "I speed walked to my car next to the arboretum when I felt someone following me." she began.

"They were too close behind me so I didn't go straight to my car and hid behind the large bushes in the arboretum."

"Whoever they were..." she continued tearing up, "they wanted to kill me." She looked at her hands. She still felt lightheaded. All the adrenaline left her body and she just wanted to sleep.

As much as sleep was calling for her she can't go to bed with mud on her sweater and jeans. She told Kieran that she's going to wash up. Once she stepped in front of the bathroom mirror, she saw how hideous and hysterical she looked.

Her mascara was smudged everywhere on her face and her neck was red and bruised. She took a shower and put on a new set of PJs.

She sat in front of Kieran again. "Why were you in the arboretum?"

"Oh, my girlfriend and I had a huge fight so I went to the arboretum to walk and cool off." he explained.

"I'm sorry about punching you earlier." Amaya apologized.

"It's okay, you were only protecting yourself." Kieran replied smiling.

"I don't know what would've happened, if you weren't around." Amaya shuddered.

Kieran rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her shaking form. A lone tear fell from her eye. She was holding it in for so long. Maybe it was a good idea to take one of her medications. Kieran reached for his hand to wipe away her tears but Amaya did before his fingers could caress her cheek.

"You should probably call and tell your girlfriend about what happened tonight." she said. There was a weird vibe coming off from him and the last thing Amaya wanted was to get into a misunderstanding with his girlfriend.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Kieran asked her.

Amaya nodded. "I'll be fine, I'm going to call Carter to stay over." Kieran didn't say anything. He was just standing in front of her. Amaya felt weirded out and cleared her throat. "I think I'm going to wash up, I got mud all over me." she laughed.

Kieran looked as if he had something else to say. He opened his mouth slightly but he decided against it. He simply gave her a smile that irked her.

"Well, I'll get going then. Goodnight, Amaya." he said. He gave her one last look behind him and Amaya closed her door and locked it. A part of her was suspicious of Kieran's perfect timing when she was about to get murdered. A chill crawled up her spine, what if he was the person who tried to murder her?

A loud knock and the incessant ringing of her apartment doorbell broke her away from her thoughts.