Didn't See That Coming

The air around Maya was damp and foggy, the forest dark and cloudy. Maya could barely breathe as she ran through Blackwood Forest. She stumbled on several thick braches that she could not see, branches that seemed to aid her constant stalkers in catching her. She glanced at each tree as she ran past it, trying to determine a way out of the sneering, menacing branches that stared back at her. Her ripped jeans allowed the cold to sweep over her skin, invoking even more terror into her veins. She stopped to catch her breath and look around.

A chill crept up Maya's spine as the hairs all over her body stood on end. They were close, very close. Maya shuddered as she remembered their faces. The tallest and the creepiest had long jet black hair that he let hang loose in his face, hiding his dreadful, blood red, insane stare. They were so near her one day while in the park that could make out the red eyes that all of them shared that all had the same look, the one that even now caused Maya to tremble like the earth during an earthquake. The one of middle height was a female and she exerted an aura that spoke of the unspeakable horrors that she committed in the past years or months or even hours. She had a mane of blond hair that was knotted and wavy which spoke tales of a predator who didn't mind getting dirty. The shortest one was a little boy no older than ten. He had a Justin Bieber style hair cut with hair that was flaming red with streaks of blond and black and a multitude of freckles around his face. He was a person you would normally tease and call "freckle-face or pizza- face" but when he smiled that horrific grin with bright pearly fangs, you automatically knew it could possibly be the last thing you would ever say.

She had noticed them several times walking home and even hanging out with her friends. She knew that they were following her to capture her, for what reason she didn't know. She even thought about going to the police to report her mystery followers but something compelled her to keep silent about the whole ordeal. However she knew that they wouldn't catch her without a fight.

Maya knew she had to keep moving before they caught up with her. She began to hasten, running in a random direction, hoping, praying it would lead her to safety. It seemed like several eternities passed by while she was running, and the sense of dread that she felt continued to creep over her body like frost bite in the winter. The darkness seemed to close in on her and the trees were like terrifying hands that reached out for her trying to hold her captive until her real terrorizers caught up with her.

"Come out. Come out wherever you are Maya. There is no point in running from us, we will always find you. Always," a voice reached her. It was the female.

Maya refused to let them catch her. "I have to keep going, have to keep running until I find someone to help me." She continued to run, fighting the sense of helplessness that she felt and pushing it back with hope and courage. "DAMMIT! I will make it! No matter what!" she screamed to her inner voice, the one that was patronizing her for running and not just standing down.

Finally after what seemed like a millennia, Maya broke through the trees that bordered Blackwood Forest. She turned her head to see that the trees that she just broke through seemed to close upon the opening of the forest preventing anyone to get out, like a white blind cat, forever trapped in the dark. Maya shook her head to rid herself of those depressing thoughts and turned her head towards the highway. Maya stopped short when she saw three hooded figures leaning against the humongous old, oak tree that had been christened with the name "Ol' Faithful" when it had been planted over 50 years ago.

Maya was pulled out of her thoughts when a voice called out to her. "Come now Maya, we are getting tired of these games. We don't want to hurt you. Come with us Maya. We are not trying to hurt you." The young boy attempted to coax her to come to them.

The voice was so soothing and welcoming and innocent that for a minute Maya took a step towards them, intent on surrendering and going with them. Maya then shook her head, trying to clear it and basically screwed her head back on. "Hell no, I won't go with you. I don't know who the hell you are and or why you are stalking me for no damn reason. FUCK THAT," she yelled and turned and ran towards the highway. To her disbelief the strangers did not follow but watched her go with a strange look in their eyes, almost as if they regretted seeing her go.

Maya had managed to hitch a ride back into town with a person who was going to the gas station there. When asked why she was alone, she merely stated that she had gone for a bike ride and had lost her bike while riding in the forest. When Maya got home she found a note waiting for her on the worn welcome carpet on her porch. A sense of dread engulfed her as she stared at the folded piece of paper, a clear warning that they were watching or were close by. Maya struggled to swallow the scream that inched its way up her throat like a caterpillar up a tree. She slowly bent and picked up the envelope, like a terrified kitten inching away from a rabid dog.

Maya,

We are going out tonight so don't worry if we aren't at home when you get here. Your brother is at his friends' house for a sleepover. One of us will call to check up on you in a little while. Love you.

Mom and Dad

Maya breathed a much needed sigh of relief. She opened the door and turned and locked it praying that the lock would keep unwanted intruders out of her house. The house seemed to be so quiet and too eerie for her liking so she turned on the hallway light and the downstairs television, attempting to bring some life back into a house that was slowly reminding her about her time in Blackwood Forest. Maya tried to watch TV to get some type of sanity into her life and to attempt to forget what had occurred to her just hours earlier. Even with the television on she could still hear the ominous ticking of the hallway clock and she was reminded of what happened in Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death but only thinking about that story cause her tension to rise even higher. The floors creaked at odd moments, causing Maya to practically jump out her skin; even with the TV turned up all the way she could hear the creepy noises that inhabited her house. With all the distraction the loud noises from the TV gave her, the thought of being followed was always there in the back of her mind, haunting her, torturing her until she gave up and decided to go to sleep.

Maya crawled in the bed and buried herself under her blankets, and finally dozed off after finally succeeding in ignoring the creepy noises that she heard. On and off Maya would wake up and look around horrified to see if her stalkers sat there, watching, waiting for the right time to take her, and every time she did not see them she would sigh in relief, shake her head to rid it of those thoughts and tumble back into a deep sleep.

Sometime during the night, after about the thirtieth time of waking up in the middle of the night, she felt someone nudge her awake. Maya turned and fretted, hating the fact that she was being awoken for probably nothing, totally forgetting that it could be the stalkers. She bolted upright so fast it made her head spin.

"Maya, baby, it's alright. It's just us." A voice said one that seemed vaguely familiar but sounded different at the same time.

Maya's vision cleared and saw her mother, father, and little brother watching her. Something about the way they were looking at her made her body quiver and her mind tell her to get up and run. Maya stared at their faces wondering where why they caused shivers to travel up her spine and her brain worked to piece together thoughts and memories like a 200 piece jigsaw puzzle.

"Maya, we aren't going to hurt you. Just come with us. We have been waiting for you," her little brother said as he reached out a hand to her, his fangs clearly visible when he talked.

The pieces suddenly fell into place, and Maya shook her head in disbelief. She pushed herself up against the headboard of her bed, still in denial. When her supposed family reached for her, their fangs glistening in the darkness of her room, she screamed, and it echoed across the ages into eternity.