𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐢

faster

dashing through the dense forest, heart pounding in your chest, every rustle of leaves behind you a reminder of the danger.

need to go faster.

yet with each step, a glimmer of hope ignites within you, driving you forward towards the elusive promise of freedom beyond the trees.

can't go back there.

was it the fact you had not eaten for days? or maybe the current condition of your beaten body? you had tripped on a rock, a fatal mistake.

shit shit shit.

rolling down a hill, the smell of dirt and grass filled your nose, alarms rang in your head. you were bound to get caught like this.

the gods really hate you, don't they?

as if reading your mind, you stopped at the edge of a cliff. it was a long drop down,

risk getting caught or risk dying at the hands of a cliff?

the answer was obvious. without more than a moment's hesitation, you jumped and landed on the engine of a hunk of metal. right in front of a person who just wanted to go home.

it was a man; you couldn't really see his face since the airbag was blocking it.

as you scanned him, judging from his body, he was tall and his body was quite built, his age was around his late 40's or maybe early 50's.

the most efficient way to kill him right now is to take a glass of shard from the broken front window of the car and stab him in the neck. avoiding the carotid artery and jugular vein is crucial to prevent too much blood from squirting out-

even in a near-death situation, this was all i could think of.

old habits really do die hard.

then everything went black

"what the-" with a groan and look of utmost confusion, the man, who was just vibing to some old 80's song was suddenly stopped by something that just flew on top of his car.

a wild animal perhaps?

but no, it was in fact a someone and that someone was a child.

"you have got to be kidding me."

♕

atop the hill, far from preying eyes was a team consisting of four people.

the (presumed) leader was in the middle of a call

"boss, what should we do? there's already a witness and she's called the authorities."

"leave her. we have no choice."

"but boss, she is our greatest asset, if we leave her now-"

"it will be fine. sooner or later, she'll come back for us. either by her own will or by force."

"...roger that."

ending the call, the leader signaled for the team to go back to their headquarters.

as they were running, he managed to sneak a peek behind him to see the body of a girl he once called a friend.

'idiot. if you wanted to escape, you could have at least told me.'

♕

beep

beep

beep

this rabbit sure is making weird sounds, isn't it?

after everything went dark, you had found yourself floating in a sort of warped space. there were a lot of other objects too. random objects like a potted bonsai tree with twisted branches and a porcelain tea set adorned with delicate floral patterns.

peculiar, now, isn't it?

and now a white rabbit was beeping. you were pretty sure rabbits don't beep. as you got closer to the rabbit to try to shut it up,

something grabbed you from behind. multiple black hands grabbed onto your face, neck, knees, everything.

what the-

then the rabbit came. it had stopped beeping because it was now burrowing into your stomach. blood and guts spewed out from you like a fountain. pain shot through you. you tried to stop the rabbit. stop it from hurting you.

but the hands would not allow it. tears pricked your eyes. you wanted to scream, ask for help. anybody. please. please. you can't bear it-

just as you opened your mouth, a hand closed your mouth, silencing the screams bubbling inside you.

you could not remember how long it had been. how long the rabbit had continued its slaughter. then, the rabbit stopped. relief flushed through you.

then the pain started once more.

looking down, seeing the cavity on your body. urgh. wasn't exactly the prettiest sight you've seen. 

anyhow, the rabbit was eating your heart. little by little. nibbling as though it was the most delicious thing in the world.

what it did next was more of a surprise.

after eating your heart. it curled itself into the hole where your heart once was. it even yawned. sleepy after it had eaten. shitty rabbit

but before it could fully rest its head, the rabbit's red eyes pierced into yours and said-

"bout time you woke up ain't it?"

♕

Ivanov Nastavnik did not expect that his day would end with him waiting for a phone call from a hospital.

it was his retirement day for god's sake. he did not work as a football coach for 20 years to only be met with more work.

being a decent person has its cons.

at first, Nastavnik had wanted to stay at the hospital, but the doctors had sent him home, saying that the surgery would take an unknown amount of time. it would be better for him to go home and fix himself up.

the sound of the default ringing of his phone alerted him. immediately answering the call, he was met with the doctor's voice

"how is she?"

"her condition is fine. the surgery was a success."

"really? i'm glad."

"but-well there is an issue."

"what? what is it?"

multiple thoughts went through Nastavnik's head. what if she lost a arm? or be disabled for the rest of her life? he would not live down the guilt for as long as he lived.

"i think it will be better if we could meet up at the hospital-"

"i'm on my way."

Nastavnik quickly put on some decent clothes and hopped on a bicycle, since his car was you know, dead and all.

ending the call, the doctor sighed. grateful to the gods that the now retired football coach was a good person.

usually in cases like this, people would not be willingly taking care of some stranger that they don't even know, even if it was their responsibility.

leaving the hospital staff to deal with their leftovers like some brain-dead vultures.

now then, the doctor thought, how shall he break the news that this child, this girl, was abnormal.

she didn't even have fingerprints, for god's sake.

♕

-Nastavnik owns a white Volga GAZ-21.