Run

I

Run. That was his only thought: run and don't stop. Even as your legs grow numb and your feet ache, if you stop moving, you'll die. As he ran through the forest, trees blurred in his eyes. Fear and adrenaline pumping through his veins, his throat burning as he panted; the frigid, icy air wasn't helping. It made his throat dry and sore he desperately wanted to stop for water, but he could feel that thing behind him. A loud screech rang behind him, nearly bursting his eardrums, but he didn't stop running. If that thing caught him, he'd face the same fate as those bastards who summoned the damn thing. His eyes welled up with tears; If he only had some sort of weapon, anything that could give him a fighting chance. Maybe he'd have the opportunity to live through this mess. He felt his clothing snare on the branches adding more tears to his already torn clothing. He took a sharp left turn, dodging through a pair of trees before coming to a halt.

His breath picked up as he took in the sight before himself. A tall chainlink fence topped with circular barbed wire at the top. Those bastards had caged them all in here with that thing. They were all doomed from the start. His eyes clouded over as the tears finally began to fall. This was it; he'd die here; he'd never see the sun, never smell the ocean air he'd read of in books.

No, he refused to give up and let that thing kill him. He'd get out of here; he just had to think. People worked here, meaning they had to go home at some point, Meaning there was a door somewhere along the fence. Somewhere he could escape from, an exit. He just had to find it. With that thought, he dried his face and took off. That moment of weakness would have cost him precious time; that monster would come into view in just a few moments if he didn't pick up the pace. He slowly picked up speed as he ran along the fence; it felt counterintuitive to head back toward the laboratory, but he assumed they wouldn't want to walk far when done with their shifts. As he neared the laboratory again, he slowed his pace, eyes widening as he noticed a figure limping out of the building. Someone had survived that brutality! He began to sprint towards them before remembering everything those bastards did to him and everyone else they kept locked up in that hellscape. He had half a mind to kill whoever it was then and there! But, as he calmed his anger and considered his choices, he realized that if this person survived, they'd be trying to get medical help. They'd have to leave the perimeter for that. They'd lead him straight to the gate and freedom if he followed them.

The person's pace was slow, and he'd be lucky if they made it out alive. Hopefully, being near the lab again would have distracted that beast enough for them to escape. He could imagine it vividly, its teeth gnawing at bone as it devoured corpse after corpse, blood soaking its dagger-like claws, the hollow, sunken eyes staring into his soul. He shivered; the memory of those eyes was enough to chill him to the bone. He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the rattle of the chainlink fence and a resounding beeping noise. His eyes focused just in time to see the scientist open the gate before slipping through the exit, the gate slowly beginning to close behind them. He lunged forwards, just barely managing to get a grasp on the gate before it closed fully. He slipped through the tiny crack. For once, on this horrific night, his malnourished body assisted him instead of being the usual hindrance. He gently closed the gate behind him, making sure he heard the resulting beep of the lock clicking back into place before high tailing it into the surrounding forest.

==============

He ran for what felt like forever, the sky slowly getting brighter, at least from the breaks in treetops. He could feel the adrenaline fading as he got increasingly exhausted. He went through the last of the trees before focusing on an essentially smooth and textured area, some kind of pathway, maybe? As he stepped onto it, something whizzed past him, landing him straight on his ass.

"What the hell?!" His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. Who would go that fast across a pathway? That could hurt someone! He stood back up, staggering slightly from exhaustion. He began to make his way down the path; his feet ached, and his legs felt on the verge of giving out, but he kept moving, hoping to find civilization, dragging his feet against the ground. His vision began to blur, and his knees buckled, taking him to the ground. He heard a distant rhythm coming down the path as he lay there unmoving, with no energy to keep going. A loud noise came to a stop beside him.

"Shit, bro, it's a whole ass, uhm, person?" A deep male voice spoke from beside him

"Fuck really?! Jesus, Nick, get them in the car. We'll take them to my place!" Another voice spoke out over the rumbling sound. He felt himself be lifted before being laid down on a plush bed-like surface.

"What's your name, kid?" The same voice as last time rang out again

"Falren" Was the last thing he could manage to do before exhaustion overtook him, and he fell into the grasp of sleep.