Taste for Trouble

This is a story I have rewritten more times than I can count, the original being written when I was in the 7th grade. I am re-updating every existing chapter to its final draft. (so far only chapter 1) I need to finish this project. I love these characters and basically grew up with them, so to me, I can never really serve the story justice. But I need to move on with my literary life XD

Chapter 1

I was running as fast as my legs could take me, my feet pounding against the forest floor in the dim lighting of the night. My eyes didn't even begin to focus on the trees and brush I hurled myself through. My legs had already been sore from running in p.e., and they screamed in throbbing protest at the extra activity. Except, this wasn't running for some depressed middle aged man with a terrible job, this was running for what could very possibly be the last few seconds of my too-short life. A life that hadn't even barely begun, let alone been enjoyed yet.

I vaguely wondered what I did to deserve this; why would anyone want to attack me, and do who knows what else to me? I knew no one deserved this, to be running scared and powerless from a creature that I could barely describe.

Even as I was thinking this to myself, I had lost momentum, and some distance. Still, I urged myself to keep running, to keep trying. If I could only get to the road.

My breath was coming out in tiny little clouds in front of me, which soon evaporated and trailed along far behind me, and then behind my snarling pursuer. My hair was whipping and tangling around my shoulders and back, encouraged by the mud and slush I had fallen into at the beginning of this pursuit.

I hoped it wouldn't grab my hair, that would be too easy. I hoped it would wait for me to tire, or maybe even for me to get to town and then give up. I didn't want to give my life away to something as stupid and pointless as too much hair.

I could barely even smell the familiar pine trees through my terror and sweat that filled my senses. It was, though, a perfect horror scene to be home to my death; the moon peering out of the clouds. I had a glimpse of what my body would look like, lying bloodied and pale in the dim moonlight.

I felt slightly abandoned as well, the forest and I had always gotten along and now it was going to just sit by and watch? I hoped I was dreaming; that I would wake up as soon as he caught me and that I would be in bed, safe.

I started trying to pick up some speed, pushing my legs to send my body whipping through the darkness so fast, it made the only slightly chilly air start to freeze to my bones. My mind began to race as I tried to think of any kind of advantage, anything to get me farther away from this creature. I had no weapons; no pocket knife, pepper spray, or even anything to throw. I wasn't quick enough to climb a tree, and the long lean legs I had seen on this "thing" suggested being able to jump as high as I could climb.

The nearest property was all the way into town, I was still more than halfway up the mountain at least, I would be lucky to even just find the road. I had been stupid not to take the road down the mountain in the first place: instead, thinking it would be easier and faster, I had cut through, not wanting to draw attention being out past curfew.

I dared a quick glance behind me, the thing was so graceful, seeming to be entranced in a dance behind me, jumping over other obstacles to the sides, taking a zigzag lunge to nearby rocks and trees. I was being hunted.

Luck, however, was not with me tonight, I turned back to watch my own footing, and my foot immediately met a tree root; I had always been relatively steady on my feet, but I had had a buzz going before I had left my boyfriend, Eric's, house. I jumped to a crouch immediately, a fuzzy feeling settled in my temples, but adrenaline numbed the injury to my head; the only sign was the dampness that slid down my face from above my left eyebrow.

I was about to spring off running, the world becoming slightly more clear after a second. It was already on me though, slamming its foot down onto my back-it was a cheap shot: having used the trees to gain even more of a height advantage and landing from almost perfectly on top of me. I cried out as my body made contact with the ground again and I heard something snap beneath the foot of the creature (probably a rib), and it hurt like hell.

The cold ground made my racing blood burn against my face; I hadn't ever really thought about just how much we relied on our blood for survival, but now I felt it making me weak as it left my body from now multiple places. Reassured by the nails of the creature digging into my flesh on my back. I whimpered as a long taloned hands reached forward to grab my shoulder, and, in one fluid motion, flipped me over to face it.

I couldn't see it's face in the dim moonlight, but I could hear its even breathing above me (unwavered by the last several minutes of pursuit). I felt tears join the stream of blood as I tried to quickly say goodbye to my life. Goodbye to my loving adoptive mother, and all of our long weekends watching sappy romance movies and making popcorn necklaces. Goodbye to her stupid husband, and the long nights he had spent berating me because I didn't understand algebra. Goodbye to my friends, Jess and Liz, no matter how goddamned annoying and stupid (rude, but unfortunately true) they could be. Goodbye to my nearly perfect boyfriend, and long nights for the last 5 years, staying up talking and being close to my best friend. All people I wished I had shown better appreciation for before this moment.

My train of thought was broken by the creature finally leaning over me, putting all of his weight into its hand that had remained on my shoulder. It had seemed to be watching me as I was thinking, maybe considering what I was thinking; or maybe it was wondering what the slowest and most traumatic way to kill me would be.

I felt my entire shoulder bone cave as it pressed harder and harder, getting closer slowly. I didn't want to show anymore weakness or vulnerability in my last few seconds; I felt weak, but by voice didn't fail me. I wanted to go down strong and brave, like so many of my childhood role models.

It continued to bend even further and I caught a gleam of his yellow-orange eyes. They were honestly beautiful, yet terrifying at the same time (given the circumstances). These were the eyes of a trained killer, they had probably seen a traumatized girl fighting for her life right before it took her life hundreds of times. And now he intended to take mine, right from under my flimsy, pathetic grasp.

Then, without another moment's hesitation, it leaned the rest of the way, opening its mouth to reveal gleaming teeth before it bit me. I couldn't help the scream that shrilled from my throat this time; my voice failing me last minute. I could feel his long, angled teeth scrape against my unshattered shoulder bone. The scraping made my stomach do somersaults. It felt like nails on a chalkboard inside of me. I finally accepted this feeling of death though..as the world started to fade, and as did the fear, it started to not feel half bad...

And then everything faded to black.