Self-Inflicted

Chapter 1

Laughter filled the halls of the dance studio, causing Zoey to become anxious. The wings attached to her outfit weighed her diminutive figure down, causing her to shuffle against the crowd of her peers.

"Zoey, come on!" Ashley shouted.

Zoey fought to catch up but was soon lost in the swarm of bumblebees. She could already hear the crowd cheering for the next dance group.

Even for a five year old, Zoey was small. She squeezed between the other children in her dance group, trying to catch up with Ashley, only to be pushed towards the center of the stage. The audience cheered and she could hear many of her peers' proud families calling out to them. Her hazel eyes scanned the crowd, looking for her own mother, who remained unseen.

The anxiety weighed heavily upon her, as she hadn't expected so many people to be in attendance. The music started and she got in the line with her troupe, dancing for the first time in her life in front of what seemed like thousands of people. Ashley was positioned right next to Zoey, and she could feel her friend's happiness radiating away from her while she squirmed with excitement.

For a whole fifteen minutes, Zoey danced. During the entirety of the whole routine, she kept an eye out for her mother, hidden among the audience.

Once the dance routine was ended, Zoey realized she was gasping for air. She took deep breaths in and out as she left the stage with the audience cheering for their beloved performers. Ashley pranced next to her, her blue eyes wide with excitement as they searched for their parents.

"Zoey! Ashley!" Zoey heard her mother yell over the screaming of her dance group.

She searched in the direction of her mother's voice and found her blond head bobbing up and down with the other parents. Next to Zoey's mother was Megan, Ashley's mom.

Both carried trophies in their hands as they reached their daughters.

"We're so proud of you two!", said Megan as she took both Zoey and Ashley into her arms in a trembling, excited bear hug. Zoey's mother stood aside waiting to praise her own daughter.

Her mother handed Zoey the trophy with a beautiful crescent smile on her face and tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"You did great sweetie," she said as she too came in for a hug.

Once Zoey's mother let go, she studied the trophy.

"We did ballet momma," Zoey told her mother as she realized the trophy had tap shoes with congratulatory calligraphy scribed at its base.

Her mother cursed under her breath, and Megan nudged her with an elbow.

"These trophies are so much bigger than the ballet ones, and you both deserve it," Megan explained while Zoey's mother nodded her head in agreement.

Zoey and Ashley grabbed their bags and walked out of the studio with their mothers. Once they were buckled into the car, Megan drove towards home.

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Emptiness filled Zoey's surroundings when she opened her eyes. Nothing but blackness could be seen where she looked; sense of direction was lost in the darkness.

A pinprick of light was caught in her eyesight and Zoey focused in on it, attempting to decipher what it was or could have been. After a brief pause the light melted into the moon, and the emptiness around her merged together to take shape of multiple trees and bushes. A light breeze caressed her hair and skin, causing her to shiver. Looking around to take in what she saw, Zoey felt another presence. She tensed up as she felt the unwanted eyes observing her.

"H-hello?" Zoey stuttered.

Silence pushed at her as she waited for a response, but nothing came.

Then came a low growl and a scuff of leaves being unsettled. A twig cracked in the darkness of the woods nearby where she lay. Her breath caught in her throat as she observed an unknown shape rise off the ground in front of her. Zoey began to stumble back as the figure grew bigger every second, blocking out the moonlight. Another growling noise came close to her ear, trying to tell her something.

"Run," it said.

She obliged without debate.

Darkness crashed around Zoey as she blindly stumbled headlong through the woods. She heard footsteps behind her catching up quickly. The tendrils reached around her, clawing at her clothes and bare skin, their silence whispering in her ear.

The fear of what was behind her kept Zoey moving forward. She tripped over briers and roots in the ground, losing precious distance between her and the unknown. Fresh air brushed at her face, letting her know there was an opening in the never-ending forest around her. She ran as fast as she could to escape the darkness that reached for her.

Zoey cried out as she fell face first into the green covered earth. Tears ran down her cheeks as she fought to get up. The Darkness closed in on her, shoving her back down, choking her with agony and the loss of hope. 

Let me know what you think!! - Tori