Inside Evil

Chapter 12 - Part IV

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Roberta didn't need any heeding, and she turned and rushed into the trees, trying to catch up with the glittering glow that was fast disappearing between the tree trunks on the other side of the final clearing that she had passed through earlier. Along the edge of the cliff, billowing out from where the bell stood, a strange, metallic mist started to rush across the ground towards where Roberta had received her riddle. The air filled with the whispers that had been heard both in the dreams and the meeting with the strange figure in the wood, and the mist and voices chased Roberta through the trees, biting at her heels.

In the strange world that Roberta had entered, she was now rushing through the woods, scrambling over the ground as fast as her feet would carry her. The moths were no longer softly floating along, and were instead zipping their formation through the trees at speed. Roberta was only ever on the tail end of the line, never managing to quite catch up, and she looked around to see that the mist was swiftly gaining ground on her as it swept across the forest floor. She shouted out as the old lady in the last clearing leapt into life and came lunging at her, arms flailing in the air, her mouth open in a menacing grin and her black, shining beads of eyes stripping into Roberta's mind. Roberta managed to avoid a glancing blow to her chest, and rushed across the clearing and into the trees on the other side, leaving the lady laughing in the background. The man in the second clearing was also alert and he lurched forward to get a hold of Roberta as she passed. Roberta was a blur as she leapt through the clearing and was long gone before he had fully got a look at her.

When she reached the third clearing, the young woman was already waiting for her, blocking Roberta's path across the moonlit flooded space.

"Hello Roberta," she grinned as Roberta tried to hurry around.

"I haven't got time," Roberta replied, still trying to catch up with the flickering moths.

"Don't think it's a choice." The girl laughed and grabbed hold of Roberta's hair, jerking her backwards as she did so. Screaming in pain as she felt a chunk of her hair ripped from her skull, Roberta turned to face the girl and hit out, landing a square punch on the girl's jaw. Losing her smile, the young woman's eyes looked directly into Roberta's own.

"You'll regret doing that," she spat as she pulled Roberta to the ground by her hair and leapt on top of her with a surprising force. Roberta felt the dirt pressed into her mouth as she lay face down on the ground, the surprising weight of the woman pinning her in place. Roberta struggled and managed to lift her chin and look into the trees ahead of her. The moths were almost gone, only the remnants of a soft yellow glow showed their path. Roberta knew that if she lost that line of light there was no hope; she'd never make it back to the mirror.

The young woman now had hold of Roberta by the feet and was trying with all her might to drag Roberta backwards into the clearing. Roberta kicked out with her heels and felt a crunch as her shoes smashed into the woman. The woman let out a howl as Roberta scrambled to her feet and rushed off into the woods, just as the mist swarmed into the clearing behind her. Roberta glanced around to see it rush across the ground and surround the woman she had kicked to the ground. The woman's scream only lasted a few seconds as the mist swarmed about her and rushed into her mouth and nose. Moments later, her entire body seemed to burst into thousands of metallic mist particles and she was gone from the clearing.

Roberta did not need to see more, and her speed increased as she ran at full pelt towards the final clearing. Vanessa stood in her way, a soft smile on her face as she twirled the end of her hair through her fingers.