Hearing her movements and yelps emanate through the walls, he knew that she’d come out the way she did. He was standing dreadfully still at the corner with a hand pressed flat against the wall. His chest lurched with excitement at every little noise Estel gasped through her throat, stomach fluttering with the exploding butterflies once more.
The suddenly unexpected eye contact was mind numbing, his gaze wide and empty like that of a china doll randomly placed in a deserted hall and illuminated by backlighting. He remained motionless, even after her shrill scream confirmed the complete and ultimate terror lurking within the deepest chambers of her heart. It wasn’t until she had turned and fled that he lunged out to grab her, barely grazing the tips of hair whipping through the air. Spare miss. Quite enjoying the site of a cripple running, Waldhramm refused to run after. He let her gain some ground before continuing to walk briskly in pursuit.
The door slammed shut just as his fingers were reaching for the knob, but she did not lock it. There were clunks, scrapings, gasps, and scrambling noises as the girl frantically tried to escape up the near stairs. He could hear them even with the door partially closed, she was so loud. Upon seeing her course of action, he had to suppress a laugh, instead releasing something of a muffled scoff. Two steps at a time and he was on her, a deranged dog upon a child, undoubtedly mounting on her panic. With a singly precise motion, his hand seized her ankle and pulled her back just as she was reaching for the second stairwell. Her front scraped against the floor while he pulled, stopping once she was in between his legs and flipping her onto her back. His boot trapped her wrist, his knee the other, grating, tearing the cuts in her skin. His graphic face leaned in above the helpless body below, absolutely destitute of any human qualities, even physical wickedness. A husk containing nothing more than the darkest epitome of evil. It spoke.
“Stupid girl,” it began monotonously, “Do you not realize, Fräulein, that the exit is on the first floor?” Then it sort of smiled, angrily amused at her ignorance. “These steps go to the second.”
In the wink of an eye, the Lord stood to his full height, bringing a handful of woman’s hair up with him. He dragged her this way, down the steps like a sac, and started through a single corridor--- back to the fire.