The Three Perfections

Ch 5: They

“If people reach perfection they vanish, you know.”   ~ T.H. White

Chapter Five:  THEY

The dark and narrow path makes running difficult, and the creepy branches reach out and scratch at me as I rush by.  But I don’t feel their scratches; I am too consumed by fear to experience any other sensation.

When I have put some distance between myself and where I heard the footsteps, I slow a little trying to listen for noises from behind me as I run.  I hear nothing but the pounding of my heart, and my footsteps on the dirt path beneath me. 

I let my pace slow further to a jog, and I turn to look back over my shoulder as I continue moving forward.  My heart leaps in my chest, and a surge of pure terror consumes me.  Several yards behind me on the path, is a tall shadowy figure walking swiftly in my direction. 

Something about the figure sends off alarms in my head, but I can’t exactly place why.  I turn quickly towards the path ahead of me, and break into a desperate sprint. Suddenly I am no longer myself.  I have become prey, and I am being hunted.  My world becomes a mixture of raw terror and instinct, and I run with all of the strength and energy I have in me. 

I am suddenly thankful for my training, which allows me to focus on the rhythm of my strides and breathing, rather than on who might be behind me.  I am nearing the end of the path, and my lungs are on fire.  My thigh muscles are burning like they have been stuck with hot pokers. I am beginning to slow.  The strength in my legs is waning, weakening my strides.  My foot suddenly catches a root in the path, and it sends me flying forward. I hit the ground hard. 

Panic sets in, as I scramble in the dirt and leaves, to get myself up on to my hands and knees quickly.  I rise to my knees, and turn to look back at the path behind me.  I am relieved to see that nothing is there.  I allow myself to sit back on my heals, and put my hands on my thighs, as I try to catch my breath.

Suddenly a feeling of calm flows through me, and it feels just like it had that day in the woods years ago.  Again, it feels as if there is a voice inside of my head urging me reassuringly.  This time it is urging me to remain where I am, and assures me that everything will be ok.     

My breath slows and is returning to normal, when a hand suddenly reaches from behind me and quickly covers my mouth. At the same time, another arm reaches around quickly from the other side and grabs me forcefully around my chest and shoulders. The arms pull me back rapidly and up into a standing position. 

It all happens so fast that I don’t have time to react before they have me in their strong grasp.  I begin to struggle and I try to scream, but they just tighten their grip on me, and press their hand over my mouth more firmly.  I am only able to get out a muffled sound, but I raise my right foot and bring it down hard on my attacker’s foot.  He grunts in pain, and I can feel his breath on my neck. 

“Aaleya, stop fighting me. Please!” he whispers irritably in my ear, pleading with me. 

I freeze.  He knows my name, but I don’t recognize his voice. Who is he?

“I am trying to help you, if you’ll just let me.”  He whispers urgently in my ear again, “We don’t have a lot of time before they catch up to us”

His words alarm me, and bring with them an entirely new level of fear within me.  He had said, “they”; suggesting that there was more than one person chasing me.  He wasn't the one who had been chasing me. “They” were chasing me.  The word “they” now has a whole new chilling implication behind it...