Unnamed

Chapter One: Monsters

The snow was cold beneath her feet as she ran between the trees, ran for her life. The shadows were chasing her. They were coming for her, snatching at her with their wispy fingers.  

The night was dark, but they were darker. She looked behind her as she ran. How close were they? She couldn't see them; then again, she couldn't see anything. 

Her heart was beating way to fast and it was hard to breathe. It was as though the darkness were suffocating her, slowing her down so the shadows could catch her. Despite her heart and lungs protests, she ran faster.  

As she ran, her hair got caught on the branches of trees; they were trying to slow her too.

One particular bunch of twigs got her hair so tangled, it actually tore some out. It hurt like hell, but she dared not scream. She shoved her fist in her mouth to muffle her whining and continued to run. She ran as though hell were chasing her. Hell was chasing her. 

As they passed the lost strands of black hair, it withered. Crumpled in on itself and turned to ash. She didn't consider how she knew this, she just knew. 

Her feet hurt from running and stung from the many stones, twigs, and thorns that had poked through the snow and torn at them. Her legs were sore. Her lungs were burning. Her heart was ready to collapse. She felt her pulse in her tongue.  

But she couldn't stop running. She had to keep ahead.  

She felt the air change beside her; felt it become putrid and cold. Looking to her left, she nearly screamed. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the fact that she did not have enough air in her lungs to scream with. 

The thing floating along beside her was blacker than the night, with glowing red lights for eyes. Black fabric covered the creature, the tattered ends of it flowing along behind it as though caught in a breeze. Its body was like that of a hump-backed skeleton painted all black, but you could only tell by its head and hands. Occasionally its arms when the huge black robe it was wearing slipped towards its unnaturally large body.  

It laughed at her, a cruel, cold, raspy laugh that made her shiver and drove her to run even faster. The thing kept pace with her, reaching out for her with its skeletal fingers. 

"Run," it mocked her. Its voice sounded hallow, empty of all emotion or sound. The only quality to it was a sort of rasp. "Run, my little raven. Run until your pathetic heart explodes inside your chest!"  

She felt as though it already had, but she continued to run. She ran so fast she managed to lose the shadow, or maybe it just fell back to join the others; it's more fun to chase than to keep up. 

Holding back a sob, she realized she was seeing spots. The contents of her stomach were trying to come up. Pushing them down, she pumped her legs as hard as she could.  

She weaved through the trees, panting heavily. This was a fate worse than death. Then why not stop? a little voice in her head asked. SHUT. UP. a louder voice responded. THAT IS NOT AN OPTION. WE DO NOT SURRENDER. NOT NOW, NOT EVER.

As she thought it, she saw something else moving in the woods, but it wasn't a shadow. It was a boy. A beautiful boy.  

He looked about her age, maybe a year or two older. Soft black curls covered his scalp, bouncing as he ran. His kind face had subtle features: a gently curved nose, soft cheek bones, a handsomely angled jawline, nicely-rounded lips, pale skin. The one thing that stood out on his face was his eyes. They were a deep, sapphire blue, and surrounded by long ebony eyelashes. His eyes were abnormally large, but it fit his face. 

As he ran, he came closer. Soon enough, he was running beside her. She could swear he was faintly glowing. 

He smiled kindly at her. "Wake up," he told her. His voice was smooth and sweeter than sugar, so much so that it seemed as though he should be singing instead of talking. It was deep, but not so deep that it was intimidating. Just those two words and she almost melted like butter; nearly collapsed in his arms, forgetting the threat entirely. If the threat hadn't been so threatening, she probably would have. "Wake up, my darling Eris. It's not time for you to face these horrors. Not yet."  

He pulled her to the side, and then pushed her backward so that her back was pressed up against one of the giant birch trees that made up this dark forest. He was in front of her, hands pressed against the tree on either side of her head. 

The stop was so sudden her legs nearly gave out, and it was all she could do to keep from throwing up all over this strange boy. Somehow she managed to remain upright and keep the things inside her stomach inside her stomach.  

She looked up, and his beautiful blue eyes caught her red ones. Shadows forgotten, she stared at those eyes as though they contained everything she had ever wanted, which they seemed to. They were looking at her with such love that she felt her heart pick up speed again, even though it had just begun slowing down.  

Closing his eyes, he cupped her cheek with his right hand and touched his forehead to hers. "Wake up," he said forcefully. "Wake. Up!"