Strange Magic

The Escape

After the incident with Leah, Jenna was hundred percent sure that she didn't want to stick around. She paced her room nervously, thinking of how she would escape. Night was falling. She kept glancing nervously outside the window. It didn't matter whether it was day or night, the vampires were always active. Jenna decided that night to set her plan to action.

As the night progressed, she felt more and more nervous. The plan was that she would sneak out of the building, get to the cover of the woods and keep running until she come across another civilization. Simple as that. She tried to stay brave but she was trembling.

She crept out of her room silently, her eyes darting everywhere. All clear. Please, please, let me get out of here alive. She tiptoed to the hall. No one there. Unusually empty. Where is everyone? She didn't expect it to be deserted but she felt relieved. She started running and was almost to the door when two figures appeared from the opposite direction. Instinctively, Jenna dove below the couch and waited with bated breath for them to pass. The voices trailed off in the direction she had come. She raised her head timidly to see if the coast was clear. No one. She looked at the door. So near yet so far. She jumped to her feet and bolted out the doorway like a hurricane.

Once outside, she breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief was short lived when she remembered how vampires and monsters lurk outside in the dark. Gulping, she ran across the grass to the cover of the trees. She was nearly there when she tripped and fell head first on the grass. She looked at what she'd tripped and gasped as she saw a pair of red eyes staring up at her. It took her a moment to realize that it was the dummy Stephanie had burned before. She chuckled nervously and took to her heels again.

This time she reached the trees. She leaned against a tree to catch her breath. When her breath returned to normal, she peered into the darkness. It was pitch dark. Jenna wished she had a torch. She couldn't see well. Nevertheless, she started walking again. She couldn't move fast, the twigs and brambles were acting as a persistent obstacle. She wondered if it was a bad idea after all.

She didn't know how long she'd been walking in the woods. It never seemed to get any less woody. She started feeling tired and wondered if she was just running in circles. But she didn't give up. The memory of Leah feeding triggered a renewed will to leave the place. She continued but stopped when she heard a flutter, or at least, it sounded like a flutter. She dismissed it as some night bird, probably an owl, and carried on. But she was growing uneasy.

She started running as the fluttering got nearer. She didn't know how fast she was running or how crazy her movements were getting, she just had to get out of here alive. Suddenly, she fell down again, hitting her head hard on the trunk of a tree. The pain was terrific. Her whole body hurt.

Then she heard heavy footsteps coming to her direction. She froze and listened. It came closer. No time to get up and make a run for it. She wished she could disappear from where she lay. Who was it? Some monster? Or worse, was it Leah who came after me to suck me dry? She shuddered violently, she couldn't even move from where she lay. I'm not ready to die yet. At least not this way.

"Jenna?"

What?

A female voice. Jenna knew it wasn't Leah. Leah never called her by her first name. She kept silent. She even stopped breathing as to keep as silent as possible. But she was discovered.

A hand grabbed her from behind. Jenna spun around wildly, pushing the hand away and getting on defensive.

"Get away from me," Jenna growled. "Just stay away."