DBD: Delve Into Darkness

Chapter 1: The Realm

Have you ever felt what its like to get pulled down the road with your foot hooked on to the back of a car? If you have and survived, then you know it's not pleasant. Right now, I was in the worst pain imaginable at the time, huddled into a ball on the ground as I held my bleeding hands.

In between the tears that formed in my eyes, I could see the torn away skin from the tips of my fingers from my struggle against the ghostly hand, blood having slowed but still leaking from the cracks and missing spots of skin. But it wasn't just my fingers that were in pain, but my whole body as well. When I woke up a few minutes ago, all I could feel was pain so I just stayed lying here and started to cry. So much was happening and so much had already happened that it just was too much.

"w-why God... please.... why me...?" I pleaded, clenching my fists slightly but rearing back in pain as the open cuts touched my palms.

I took a few minutes before I pushed myself up, despite my want to stay laying down crying, with the goal to wallow somewhere possibly safer than here. The last thing I wanted was that silhouette or whatever that shadow monster. So through my incredible fear, which didn't seem to end at this point, I decided to push forward. This forest that I found myself looked endless, giving the feeling that I could walk for hours and feel like I only took a step or two.

I took my first step but pain hit my ankle and I fell back down. I held my leg in pain and groaned before looking at the source of my pain and seeing a dark mark left by the hand that held tightly and pulled me before.

"How strong was that-that... thing?" I worried.

Looking from my leg to my surroundings, I saw a stick and crawled my way over to it, setting it up and pulling myself, using the stick to keep me up. I hobbled with my stick-crutch, for I don't even know how long as the pain in my leg kept throbbing. The pain combined my fear of the unknown was making my paranoia reach its peak at this current moment, my head turning towards every sound in the woods around me.

I must have misstepped for a moment, though, because my stick cracked and shattered, making me stumble onto my leg and into a nearby tree. I howled in pain as my foot touched the ground and my side hit the solid tree. I held my side and slid down, no longer wanting to walk due to the pain.

Whispers reached my ears as I sat down against the tree, making my head shoot up and look into the direction where the noise came from. I started hyperventilating because I was thinking that it was the shadow and I know I can't run with my ankle like this. So I did the next best thing, I hid my head behind my arms.

"Please, please, please, please, please..." I whispered to myself in repetition. "I don't want to die!"

Two sets of steps made their way to me and for a second, I was thinking I was dead. But a hand reached my shoulder and a voice followed after.

"Hey, you okay?" A gruff looking man asked. 

The man looked like he had seen own fair share of scuffles, evident from a few scars and bruises that decorated his face and hands. His hair was black and he had a slight stubble, giving the impression he was middle-aged. His hand on my shoulder was a welcoming change from everything that had happened previously because the look on his face was one that looked like worry.

"You look pretty beat up to me." A girl said next to him.

The girl had darker colored skin and black hair, her glasses sticking out from the rest of her due to the bright blue color. Her eyes showed less worry and more curiosity, but even that was better than anything. She held a small red pack that had a white cross on it showing it was a first aid kit.

"Where'd you come from?" The girl asked.

"Not now, Claudette. Fix him first, then ask him the damn questions." The gruff man said instead.