Being Hunted

When my husband, and I were working on campus during our senior year, we had an experience. It was pretty scary to us! We attended college on a beautiful campus, that had many new buildings, but the main building the college was known for, was a mansion build by a Victorian millionaire, placed on well manicured grounds along a scenic river. The setting was idyllic. The mansion beautiful. The people warm, and friendly.

One hot, sunny Saturday morning during summer semester, my husband, and I had some work that needed to be completed. Due to electrical work in process in our regular building, we were assigned to an empty office in the mansion.

Now the year prior to this time there was a terrible fire that destroyed a portion of the mansion, so re-construction work was being done there.We were all scrambling to different work areas as construction continued. After we completed our projects we left, locking up the office, and went to find our friend Don. He was the guard working security for that building on that particular day to drop off our keys.

Working on campus, and living there too we were friendly with all of the security guards, and had no reason to fear them. We were where we were supposed to be. As we walked on down the corridors, we could hear other people working, and radio's playing. A normal work day.

Then bit by bit things changed. So slowly that we didn't notice at first. The atmosphere became thick, heavy, as if gravity had changed and was exerting more force on our bodies. As we walked on, everything became darker and more menacing.

This was hot muggy August, and I got so cold I was rubbing my hands up and down my arms and hugging myself for warmth I was just covered in gooseflesh! All of the sudden my husband, Bryan, turned to me his eyes wide opened,and wild looking. We both blurted out at same time "they are hunting us"!

My heart was racing. I was fighting for breath! Bryan grabbed my hand, and we took off up the corridor in mortal terror! I mean total, wet your pants, unexplainable fright!

Again we are at work, in a building we had been in daily for three years. It was a hot, bright, sunny, August day. We are not alone in the building. There were co-workers, and security. Even so, I was so scared, so cold that my teeth were chattering. And the fear was so strong!! I have never been this afraid in my life!We felt that we were isolated. Totally alone in the building! Just us, running for our lives!

Then over my thudding heart I began to hear footsteps slowly following us! After racing up one corridor, and down another Bryan finally pulled my into a large room that should have been brightly lit, one entire wall was made up of floor to ceiling windows, but I felt as if we were in darkness. We saw it as dark, dusky, almost foggy. Darker than the hallway even. If the sunlight was there we sure didn't see it! I can't explain it.Bryan can't even explain why he chose this particular room. Up to the left of this room, also containing windows was a small 8 X 8 foot alcove. Bryan dragged me into this alcove, put me closer to the wall, placing himself toward the opening and wrapped his arms around me as we stared in terror towards the larger room.

Slowly, slowly the footsteps came closer, and closer. We saw what looked like a flashlight light. It gave off a golden glow, a circle of this golden looking light. And the light was shone against the uncurtained windows. We could clearly see this golden light getting larger as they approached.There were two of them. Men. We could hear them talking to themselves about what fun they were going to have with us when they caught us. I peeked around Bryan as they got too close. Fist I saw one dressed in an old time police officer uniform; blue/gold buttons, goofy looking hat, badge, night stick, flashlight in his left had large black looking gun in his right.

The other was dressed in brown tweed pants, off-white shirt, tannish coloured vest, large dark gun in his left hand and uncomfortable looking shoes. I was too afraid to looking closely at their face. I did not want their eyes to be focused on us!

At that moment Bryan, and I both knew that we were going to die. There was no doubt in my mind that they meant to kill us, and I was pretty sure that they would succeed! Somehow we felt that not only had they hunted us, but that this was something that they had done before, and that no one had survived. I remember looking down and the tips of their shoes were just clearing the wall, one step more and we would be face to face! Bryan pushed me further back, and faced where they would surely come into view. I was so scared my brains felt locked, unmoving, not working. Instinct should have said run, run, run but I was paralyzed with fear.

Out of no where I thought to myself "Oh God this is it." At that moment the footsteps just stopped. The first three or so inches of their shoes were showing. No more. My mind started to work a bit and I thought....this is the time to pray. NOW! I was staring down at their shoes and they didn't move.

Bryan turned to me, and whispered, asking me what I was doing that had stopped them. I told him that I was praying. Bryan dropped to his knees, pulling me down with him, and we both prayed earnestly.Our eyes glued to the tips of those two pairs of shoes.We were holding each other tightly.

Then they slowly turned away and we could hear them gradually walk off. Too slowly for me! Bryan and I remained praying as we heard them continue across to the next room. After a few minutes everything changed.Bryan and I looked at each other and somehow knew that we were safe. It was over. The footsteps stopped. The sun was streaming in the windows so brightly they it was blinding.It was also boiling hot. There was no air conditioning here. We were on the fire damaged side of the building.

Guess what I found out later? The next room where the hunters retreated to, was missing a floor. It had burned out in the fire the year before. I refused to believe this until I saw it for myself. Only a few charred crossbeams remained.

If Bryan hadn't pulled us into that last room, and we had continued running blindly, we would have plunged down three floors.It is unlikely that we would have survived such a fall.

This is a totally true story. I don't understand why this happened to us, or even how it could have happened.

I am just thankful that we made it out alive.