Phoenix

Chapter 1: The new kid has a knife

I'm running. I have no idea why, but i'm running. I don't know what from, but something is chasing me and I know that I must run from it. I sprint past dense undergrowth as the branches above me seem to reach down and scratch my face on purpose. The whole forest seems to want me to stop. I know that I am in the woods behind my house, but I have never seen this part of it before.

The green moss turns to a deep dark gray color, and the trunks of the large oak trees around me seem to have dipped themselves into an ink well, and just stood without shaking any of it off, forming giant black beasts that stood between me and the pathway ahead. I keep running, but my heart feels as if it is about to explode from my chest, my face and all of my body is dripping with sweat, and my body as a whole seems to want to shut down. I can't let that happen. My body is screaming at me with a fury, but my instincts and mind are telling me to ignore my body's anger and keep moving. I don't know what will happen if I stop, so I keep running and tromping through this part of the woods that I have no knowledge of. I doubt that this is a good idea.

My vision blurs, and I can almost no longer see. I hit a tree. It was a horrible feeling. My body slammed into the tree with a force that threatened to knock out my teeth, and make me lose consciousness. I do loose my breath, however, and slump over onto the ground. I stay like this for an eternity that lasts merely seconds. I hear another form crashing through the woods behind me, and I know that I must go. I get up and continue running, but my blurred vision forces me into another tree. then another. and another, until finally, I can't go on anymore. I call to my mind to bring up more adrenaline to keep me going, but all supplies seem to be out of stock.

I lay on the forest floor until I hear the form coming through the woods again. The crashing gets closer, closer, and closer still. It comes towards me until I can see that it is a man. Not technically a man, but a boy about my age, with the muscular capacity of the cage fighters one would see on TV. He comes closer, until he is kneeling by my side. I hear more forms in the woods. These don't seem nearly as friendly though. They howl, and screech, and slice through the undergrowth, coming ever closer to me and this man that I have no knowledge of.

Suddenly, more people appear, but they aren't the screeching creatures that I can hear still coming towards us. They look like normal people, but When I look again, they each have a large set of wing like body parts coming out of their shoulder blades. They are all layered down with weapons, and not at all friendly looking. They are yelling something, but I cannot hear them. I feel myself slipping out of the world, and into the black oblivion, but my mind vetoes the idea, and keeps me awake, but in a panic stricken state.

The man that is kneeling beside me suddely tries to grab me off the ground. I fight back, and fall once more to the ground. believing I can handle myself with the new dose of adrenaline I feel, I try to run. The man grabs me by the back of my shirt and pulls me backwards towards him. I reach back with my elbow and clip him in the jaw. I them bring my fist to his stomach. He doubles over in pain, and I take my chances. I run.

I am in pain. I run on even after my encounter with these strange people and my pain is relived in a much worse fashion. Every single part of my body hurts, but I know that I must keep running on again. So on I tread. But I hear a new noise. this one different from the rest. This noise is coming from the air. The beating of wings, but amplified. I look up and see a dark spot blotting out the sky. I enter a clearing and suddenly realize that it was the wrong thing to do. I look back up at the sky and see the spot getting bigger and bigger, until my view sharpens and the spot forms into a person with wings. great.

The figure swoops down at me and I try to run faster, but if I go any faster, I might collapse completely, and that won't do anybody any good. All I can do is run for my life and watch as the figure gets closer and closer to me, arms outstretched.....