Claws of Shadow (creepypasta x reader)

Chapter 3- Trees. Just... Trees.

  'Jeez these woods are endless...' I thought. It had been hours since my escape and yet, it felt like I was just walking in circles. Damn forest, looking the same any direction I turned. My head jerked to the side, ears pricked, as I heard a twig snap a few hundred yards away. Thinking nothing of it, I carried on walking, shaking my head. 'Heh it's probably just a deer or a rat or something... Wait' I stopped dead as I realised I had not seen a single animal since leaving. Only now I started to notice the eerie quiet. 'So... If it wasn't an animal... Then what...?' My thoughts trailed off as I listened more intently. I heard a faint rustling, even though there was no wind or breeze. I took off running in the opposite direction to the noise, leaping over a few fallen trees and slashing bushes with my claws.

  I stopped running when I saw the sun was setting, panting softly. Wow, I didn't realise I had so much stamina... Still, best not linger on the ground. I stabbed my claws into a tall tree in my close vicinity, and started to climb. The branches seemed to flatten out near the trunk the higher I climbed. I chose a fairly flat branch near the middle of the tree; it was high, flat and thick enough to keep me out of the reach of any flesh eaters. I curled up against the trunk, my knees to my chest, my hands folded under my chin and my tail wrapped around my calves. Squeezing, my eyes shut, I tried, unsuccessfully, to block out some of the creepy silence. The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to a baby pink sky above me, through the glistening leaves. I noted the thin layer of moisture covering my face and body, and also the fact that I was not in the least bit cold.

  I uncurled myself, cringing at the stiffness in my joints, and stretched while contemplating going back to the ground and continuing the bushwhacking, or jump from tree to tree and risk getting hit in the face with a branch.

  The second option sounded like more fun and less mud so I chose that one over the first.

 I crouched near the trunk of the tree in a runners' position like I'd been taught, then pushed off hard, building up speed before lauching off of the branch as it began to get creaky. Latching onto the trunk of the next tree along, I winced at the contact of rough bark on my skin, and dug my claws in further to stop myself from sliding down.

 Carefully, I climbed the metre or so I had lost and repeated the actions again and again, until I was almost flying through the forest.

 By the time there was a break in the trees I HAD in fact been hit several times in the face by stray twigs, resulting in a gash on my cheek. The blood had stopped leaking out of the wound but  it still stung.

 A wire fence stopped the tree s dead in their tracks and I had to climb lower than ever to jump over the fence and onto the compacted earth on the other side. I landed on the balls of my feet, quickly manouvering my body into a cat-like crouch, befitting of my half-breed state.

 I stood straight and scanned the area. No humans seemed to be around, but it was dusk so I think most would be inside their homes. I started at a brisk walk towards the bright lights of the city, hoping beyond hope, that I might find somewhere to be accepted.