The Deepest Darkness of the World

Chapter One – The Escape

She ran as fast as she could through the forest, swiftly turning her head now and then to see what was chasing her. She had no idea who or what was chasing her. In fact, she did not know why she was running, but she was consumed by this deep fear within her that prompted her to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

She saw a brightly-lit building in front of her and made a beeline for it. Bursting through its doors, she came face to face with a room full of the undead, roaming around aimlessly. She stopped dead in her track, frozen with fright. A zombie turned towards her and began to shuffle slowly with its arms outstretched. She screamed, and abandoning all thoughts of hiding in the building, she escaped back into the forest and kept going.

The darkness of the forest engulfed her the moment she stepped into it and the raw fear that she had felt earlier returned in full force, only this time, she had something concrete to run from – the hoard of zombies that were pouring out of the building after her. She pumped up her speed, her fear pressing her relentlessly on. The trees seemed to reach out to her, trying to catch her before she escaped. Tripping and falling along the way, she was forced to slow down when she reached an especially difficult terrain of overgrown roots.

The zombies were gaining on her. Her fear grew and for a brief moment, she began to entertain the thought of giving up. "No, don't give up, no you don't!" She whispered fiercely to herself and picking up speed, she continued to run through the thick growth of the forest, going in deeper into the dark.

The fear within her grew once she crossed over to the deepest part of the forest. She could hardly see what was ahead of her, but she kept going because she knew what was behind her. The deep gloom grew as she ran deeper into the forest, forsaking all rational thoughts. The dark began to consume the last remaining light from the full moon and soon she found herself completely engulfed by the dark. She could not see what was ahead. The pitch darkness dawned upon her and she stopped running. Looking around in panic, she realised that the zombies had stopped following, but the raw fear within her had grew exponentially to the point of getting a heart attack.

With her rational thoughts returning, she sensed a sinister darkness approaching from a distance. She tried to move but her legs would not obey her. They stayed rooted to the ground as if she had been planted deep into the grounds of the forest. The only choice she had left was to wait.

"Welcome human, to the deepest darkness of the world," a voice sounded in her head. Glancing around, she could not see what or who had spoken.

"Do not bother looking for me. In here, we employ not our eyes but our hearts to see and feel." The mysterious voice sounded in her head again.

"Wh...who are you?" She ventured bravely.

"It mattered not who I am, nor who you are. You have trespassed into the deepest darkness of the world, and now you will face the consequences of trespassing." The voice sounded sad.

"I..I am...I am sorry to have trespassed. I was chased by zombies and did not see where I was running. May I leave now?" she trembled nervously, still trying to see who she was talking to.

"I said QUIT LOOKING!" the voice boomed. She jumped in fright and tears rolled down her eyes as she tried desperately to calm her racing heart.

"You will not leave the deepest darkness of the world until you are able to see what is here. I will suggest that you begin to pay attention to my instructions." Again, she heard the voice inside her head.

Meekly, she nodded.

"Follow me, if you can." She saw a dark shadow showing up, turning down a path that she had not seen before. After a moment of hesitation, she began to follow.