Fall in San Diego

3.shy and scared

My chest hurt badly. My calves throbbed. My muscles ached but I kept running. I whizzed through the air like I was running for my life.

It was strange and really exhilarating. I enjoyed the sensation of the wind on my skin as I ploughed through the air, the sweet scent of the fall breeze. Honestly, I couldn't tell you the places my feet touched to save my life. I didn't really care. My eyes were only focused on the ground. They saw tarred roads, soil, leaves of different colours, rocks, twigs, weeds and bushes.

I didn't stop. The tickling feeling of leaves brushing my arms as I ran made me conscious of my body as I ran. I tripped but I picked myself back up before I fell and kept moving.

Suddenly, my heart and lungs decided that they couldn't take me further and then I decided to comply. But my legs didn't obey. I'd gained a lot of momentum and it pushed me forward. The wind howled in my ears and everything was happening so fast I couldn't focus clearly. I grunted as I collided with a tree trunk with a huge impact.

My chest smacked the trunk before my head hit it with such a force, my vision darkened and I slumped to the ground.

“Ssi-bal,” I cursed and lay there on my stomach as I panted. My ribs hurt, I couldn't see clearly and my lungs burned.

I stayed down there on the ground and felt the rocks and twigs pierce my tummy as it rose and fell. It was incredibly uncomfortable and so I tried to turn to my back. I did it but now I was lying on my backpack which was super uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as lying on my stomach. My vision was still blurry so I just kept my eyes shut.

I don't know how long I lay there but after some time my chest had stopped hurting and my head wasn't throbbing as much and I decided to sit up.

I managed to prop myself up with my hands. I turned my head slowly from the left to the right, taking in the environment I was in and then pushed my head backwards so I could look up at the sky.

Tall trees loomed above me menacingly. It didn't help that the sky was still dark. A pretty midnight blue that gave me a feeling of safety and warmth yet frightened me a bit at the same time.

There was a dull ache in my shoulders. My backpack. I slid it off and opened it up, rummaging through the contents until I found my phone.

12:45 am.

I looked at the battery percentage. 25%. A groan escaped my mouth. I was such an idiot for not remembering to charge it.

I took out a flashlight and flicked the switch. A bright beam of light shot out and disappeared into the darkness. I placed it on the ground, pocketed the phone and took out my bottle of water to drink.

When I had downed half the bottle and let out a sigh of relief, I took out a bar of chocolate and slung the bag back on my shoulders.

I managed to get up and then decided to walk a bit. Some parts of my senses came back to me as I munched on the chocolate.

I was never scared of the dark but as I walked and wove through the trees, I couldn't help but feel this sense of danger. There was something about these woods that sent slight shivers down my spine.

It was eerily quiet. The only sounds were the crunching of twigs and dried leaves below my feet as I walked.

I needed to leave. The light from the flashlight didn't help. The fact that something could be hiding in the vast space that wasn't illuminated by the beam of light was terrifying.

I took the right, increasing my pace as I did. Leaves and branches brushed and scratched my arms as I walked on. I came out in a small clearing and then took the left. It was when I came out in another clearing and that was when I started to panic.