Shadows

Chapter 2

I stood there, knees shaking as I replayed the events that had just unfolded; how on earth did he just dissipate into nothingness? The more I tried to understand it, the more my head whirled and vision swam. I felt my legs sway and I grabbed a nearby tree to steady my self and attempt to control my rapid breathing. I rested my hands over my head and took deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth, feeling my heart rate slow and my composure come back to me. I slowly began walking, ignoring the pain in my ankle from tripping twice, and tried to watch for the thinning trees so I could go back to the cars.

No one was around me, making me more jumpy after that strange encounter as I heard the inhabitants of the forest rustling around. I could see the moon beams begin to peek out of the breakage in the trees, signifying that I was walking the right way. I started walking faster and almost cried out in joy when I could see the cars and people sitting on the hoods. I ran, my legs going faster than I ever thought they could without falling, and crashed through the final branches and dropped onto my knees.

"You lose!" Someone yelled.

"Did you even tag anybody?" Jemma asked, sliding off the hood of a red Kia and walking over to me.

"I-I saw someone in the forest." I choked out, my hands shaking below me.

"Who?" Sam asked, walking over to us.

"I don't know, something with a 'B'. He, he, was like a ghost. One second he was behind me, the next he was in my ear, then he was in front of me. And I couldn't hear footsteps from him either!"

"Someone call the Loony Bin!" this nasty girl Blair sneered.

"Shut up Blair," Jemma said, shooting her a glare over her shoulder. "Slow down Adriana, what happened?"

"I was following someone to try and tag them and I tripped and fell, I was laying there when someone offered me a hand up, but I couldn't find whoever was talking. But this guy like, came out  of literally nowhere. He knew my name and stuff!" I said, trying to recall everything that had happened. "I know I sound crazy but I swear it's the truth."

"Are you sure this is what you saw?" Sam asked, helping me stand up so he could look me in the eyes.

I furiously nodded, praying he wasn't messing with me. The fact that he actually believed me was nice; I was there, and could hardly believe what happened. "I couldn't make this up if I tried."

"Okay. Max and Shawn, come with me and Adri to check this out." Sam said grabbing my hand and beginning to walk me back into the trees.

"No! I'm not going back in there!" I yelled, struggling to loosen my hand from his tight hold.

"Adri, we have to make sure this creep isn't going to mess with anybody else." Sam said, attempting to rub soothing circles on my hand.

"Please don't make me go back in there," I pleaded. "I just want to go home Sam. Please." I could feel the air around me becoming harder and harder to inhale, my vision becoming blurry as everything around me swam and dance in muted hues. My legs began to weaken, and once again I felt someone stop me from falling onto the dirt.

"What's wrong with her?" The voices in my ears sounded far away, as if I was in a tunnel and they were speaking from the other end of it. 

"I think it's an anxiety attack, she gets them when she's scared or nervous sometimes," I could hear a distorted version of Jemma's voice say. "Giver her to me." I felt the exchange of hands as Jemma held me and rubbed my back in circles, the way that always calms me down. She began humming a song I couldn't quite put my finger on, but focusing on trying to figure out the song that my breathing began to return to normal and the world stopped dancing around me.