The Miracle: A Collection by THE PINKLIVINGROOM 

THE MIRACLE Project : TIME: When Time is Not Time  ,  Hello Miracle: Rena's Handwritten Magic

Cherine spun toward the door, a surge of pure adrenaline driving her feet toward the only wooden barrier that might offer a chance at escape. Her heart hammered against her ribs, so violent it felt as if it might burst from her chest. Her trembling hand reached for the knob, desperate to flee into anywhere but this stagnant, suffocating room.

Click!

But the knob turned from the other side. The door was flung open with a forceful shove.

Cherine stumbled back, her eyes widening at the tall figure looming in the doorway, blocking the meager light. The man stood there in a white long-sleeved shirt and faded jeans. In a frantic state, like a drowning victim clawing for a branch, she lunged toward him. Her shaking hands gripped his sleeves, tears streaming down her deathly pale cheeks.

"Please... help me. I’m so scared. Please, take me away from here," she sobbed, her voice so frayed it was barely intelligible.

The man slowly looked down at the hands clutching his arm. A cold, cynical twitch played at the corner of his mouth before he spoke in a low, resonant baritone.

"Miss Cherine..."

The sound of her name falling from a stranger’s lips froze her blood. A chill raced down her spine. Her grip slowly loosened, her pleading gaze shifting into one of sharp suspicion as she met the predatory glint in his eyes.

"How... how do you know who I am?"

The man leaned in, so close she could smell the icy aura radiating from him. "I know you better than you know yourself."

"Then... can you help me escape?" she asked, testing her final sliver of hope. If he wasn't a savior sent from heaven, he was the grim reaper come to claim her soul.

He stared deep into her eyes for a moment before suddenly seizing her slender wrist. The crushing force of his grip made her wince in pain.

"Why should I help..." he whispered, "...the very person I want dead?"

His eyes widened with a dark intensity. Cherine froze as if cursed, the terrifying truth crashing down on her with suffocating weight.

"What do you mean...? Did you bring me here?"

Before she could receive an answer, the man whipped his arm back, throwing her fragile frame with such violence that she slammed against the wall. Thud! The impact stole her breath. As she struggled to steady herself, the dim light glinted off a sharpened blade he had drawn from the shadows.

He lunged at her with blinding speed. Thrust!

An icy sensation pierced her core, followed instantly by an agonizing, indescribable pain. Cherine’s body slumped slowly toward the filthy concrete floor. Her hands moved instinctively to cover the wound, but they found only the warm, relentless gush of blood.

As her vision began to blur, she saw only the tips of a pair of shoes coming to a halt before her. The final image her failing senses could register... was a pair of luxury brand leather shoes stepping forward, a sharp-featured face, and a mocking, derisive smile that marked the end of her life.