'I'm stronger than him… I'm stronger than him…'
I repeated the words like a mantra.
To distract myself from his predatory gaze, I simply closed my eyes. As darkness enveloped me, the fear gradually receded, replaced by a growing sense of calm.
All the while, I never stopped walking.
By the time I opened my eyes again, I had closed a good chunk of the distance between us.
After going through a few more steps, I finally arrived in front of him.
"Do you know who I am?"
I heard him asking the question.
Without meeting his gaze, I replied calmly, "Yeah. You're 'Rat' Peter, right?"
"So you do know me, and you still walk up to me like this? Either you're brave… or just plain stupid."
He spoke with a harsh, arrogant, and truly menacing tone, exactly the same tone that most thugs used when they tried to intimidate their victims.
