By Tyler Johnston
Inspired by Kiedra Hall
The wind howled as the rain collapsed upon the earth. The barren forest curved and danced in the wind. The air was heavy and thick as each breath was an incredible labor. A shrill scream pierces her mind and echoes in her ears as if coming from all around her. As the scream slowly starts to fade away, a worse horror takes its place. The wind ceases and the rain lightens, leaving only a soft pitter patter to fill the void. Yet as the woman sat there on her heels, the trees seemed to droop towards her. With hideous faces among the trunks of the trees, staring at her with glowing eyes, the trees seem to grow longer; their bare limbs creep closer and closer to the poor woman. Her hands close around her ears and her eyes clamp shut as she babbles to her, "This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real..."
The trees swing back to normal as she cradles herself on the muddy ground, the cold seeping into her bones. The air starts to get so heavy that the woman is struggling to breath. With each gasping breath, the world spins around her. Just as her world starts to come back into focus, the rain fizzles out and a thick fog rises from the ground. Although her wits seem to be returning, she can't help but notice that the fog appears to be swirling around her, like a current. A shadow dashes between the trees, barely visible in the fog. Silence...
The howl of a wolf shatters the façade of peace. The air is stifling as it swirls around her, hiding the dangers of the forest behind an impenetrable wall of fog. The fog seems to swirl faster as the sound of a branch breaking startles the poor woman. Her head snaps around to where the sound came from, yet she can see nothing there. Another branch snaps, this time a large shadow can be seen in the mist, circling her. Red eyes start to glow on the head of this shadow as another howl echoes through the trees. Another pair of red eyes begins to glow and pierce the fog's veil. More eyes start to glow, one by one the form a circle around the woman. As a low growl starts to resonate across the ground the woman begins her babbling again, this time with a chuckle, "This isn't... this isn't real. Ha ha. It's not real at all. I'm imagining this."
And as a large beast emerged from the mist, red eyes glowing, growl rumbling, the woman simply stared at it. She didn't move away or flinch or shake, she just stood there and watched. The beast stalked past the woman and faded into the mist again, its eyes still glowing fiercely. Another beast creeped out of the fog, its belly mere centimeters above the ground, as it crawls up behind the woman.
"This isn't real. It's just a dream." The woman whispered. Yet as she was about to say it again, razor sharp teeth buried themselves in her leg. A horrible scream of pain escapes her lips yet gets muffled by the fog. Yet as another beast leaps upon her poor frame, and another, and another; her agonizing screams of torture can be heard, echoing through the forest. Her body being devoured by primal beast that were very much real.
