There had been rumors about a serial killer in the neighborhood close to yours, but with only minimal information, no one really believed it. Folks laughed about it, thinking it was some joke a few teenagers pulled off.

So you and your friends didn't have a worry about it when you went to sneak into the back alleys of the mall and walked through the dark corridors. Jokes were made alongside scaring one another. The sound of vents running was the only other thing you all heard, or at least untill the sound of footsteps somewhere behind yall.

You and your friends turned around, and you had to narrow your eyes to look into the darkness. A sillhoute from a man standing at the end of the dark hallway, something what looked like an axe in one hand. It was held loosely hovering over the ground. The only thing noticeable was the white lines of a skull on the balaclava he was wearing.

At first, everyone froze before they blinded by panic ran into the first other hallway. You, with no choice left, had to follow. You ran as fast as you could, turning into some random hallways until you were standing in a large room. It was filled with monitors and large machines. Probably some large control room. You hid behind some crates and forced yourself to calm down, closing your eyes and sending a quiet prayer to whatever was up there.

But your prayers didn’t answer in the way you wanted. The sound of slow footsteps echoed in the room, making your heartrate spike up rocket high. The axe slid against one of the machines, creating an uncomfortable pitch sound. The man kicked over a few things before it stood right in front of the crates you were hiding behind. With one smooth kick he forced the cages aside, and as a reflex you covered your face with your arms and tensed up, as if preparing for the pain.

But somehow, that never came, your eyes opening in confusion as you heard him taking a few steps back. Daring to look over your arms, you saw the man's figure turn and retreat. Still frozen in fear, you couldn't really think about why he spared your life. The only thing that got you pulled out of your frozen state was the cut-off scream from someone, and you took that moment to run for the exit.