In Another Life

VII o'Clock - Rabbit hunt

He was coming closer and closer. I could bet he heard my blood running through my veins. I was forcing myself to choose. Run or attack. Staying was an option that I had to let go. It would only get myself killed. Would I revenge Haley or would I search for help.

He was right behind the bushes. I could hear him breathing. I decided.

I breathed in, subtly grabbed a stick from the ground and counted to three. On three I would jump up.

One...

Two...

Three. Without looking I flew over the bushes and stormed at him, whilst holding my stick in the air.

Then I opened my eyes. He was gone. I was attacking air. I turned around and inspected every visible corner of the woods. He must be somewhere near. Probably behind a tree. I didn't move though. I was stagnant. If he wanted to kill me he'd have to confront me. I turned around in circles. But it seemed as if every view of the woods was the same. All I saw was darkness. "Show yourself!" I yelled, "I'm not afraid of you!" I was lying of course. But to conquer your enemy you mustn't show your fear in any way. At least that's what they say in movies. My theory is: To conquer your enemy you must know him. I didn't know who my enemy was. Nor what he was. Well he was a killer and a stalker. But I had no idea what his way of thinking was. I wasn't a fan of horror movies so I didn't have much experience with moments like this. But I do have experience with vampire movies. And if he is a vampire, I should stab him with this stick. Although that would also work if he wasn't a vampire. If he's some kind of ghost, stabbing him would be pointless and I would...

I heard wood cracking near me. I turned around and pointed the stick towards the sound. Another crack. It came closer. And then suddenly the lightning struck and I held myself ready to kill.

But I saw nothing. Again. Suddenly I heard a noise of crackling leaves again and it was moving towards me. It sounded like something was laying on the ground and dragging itself further. I stepped back and waited for the next lightning bolt. My eyes were grounded.

Somewhere in the dark I could see something moving. It was white, reflecting in the cloudy moonlight. A few moments later a new lightning bolt struck and I could finally see what it was. A white rabbit. It was hopping towards me. Its eyes were red. Blood red. Its hair was white and extremely clean. This was both creepy and reassuring. That last one because he was so innocent and cute and something about that gave me a peaceful feeling.

The bunny hopped away. I followed it with my eyes. And suddenly they caught the feet of a dark figure. He was standing right in front of me but I couldn't see his face. "Get away from me!" I yelled. He didn't answer. He just stood there. "Why are you stalking me? What have I done to you?"

"Answer me!"

The figure finally came in motion. He stepped towards me. "No! Don't come closer!" I prepared the stick and held it tight. "I'm warning you." I said steadfast. In one move he grabbed de stick out of my hand. Shit. I couldn't grab a new one. As he stepped towards me I stepped backwards. "Leave me alone." I whispered, still crying a little. Suddenly I heard voices in the distance. Multiple voices. They were male. I wanted to turn around to see who they were. The figure came closer and I went backwards. I counted again. On three I'd do the option I should've picked first.

One...

Two...

I turned around in one flash and rushed towards the voices. "Help!" I cried, "Somebody help!" I noticed the voices came from the vague red and blue lights that were flickering between the woods. All I had to do is get there before he'd get me. "Help!!!" I screamed. I don't know if he was still running behind me. But if he was, he should've already had caught me up. He was probably awaiting me at the border of the woods right now. But I didn't care. I couldn't stay here in these woods.

I was coming closer to the people. My legs were almost giving up on me. But I had to keep going. "Faster", I whispered to myself. "Faster!"

I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care about where I stepped. I just kept running.

My heart was beating on the same beat as my steps. It was ticking in my mind like a time-bomb. Faster, faster and faster. I could hardly breathe. I was too afraid to look behind me. I was too afraid to see how close he was. So I kept looking forward. I kept running. And in the moment I saw the people standing there, with flashlights in their hands that were blinding my eyes, the moment I knew I was almost saved, the moment my body was about to fall apart, the moment my lungs were collapsing whilst craving for air, in that unimaginable moment of distortion and salvation I fell down and everything went black.