[Unnamed]

Chapter 1.

Chapter 1.

Burning.

All I could feel was burning.

The searing pain of [exhaustion] that flowed through my veins and into every inch of my flesh as I strained to move.

Pounding.

All I could hear was pounding.

The steady thing in my chest throbbing against my ribcage like a metronome keeping my feet flying across the earth at a steady, quick rhythm.

Terror.

Oh, the sweet familiar taste dancing across my tongue.

The sensation that screams into the hollows of my spirit yet drives me forward like a beast fueled on the richest, purest energy.

How long have I been running? What felt like hours might've only been a few minutes as far as I know.

[Would I live or die?]

Hah, what an amusing question.

Though I would say that at this point, I'm a closer friend to Death than I am to any inkling of Life. Countless times I've come within the grip of death itself, the chill of its presence having wicked the heat from my very skin every time.

And countless times I've slipped between its fingers, saving myself only to meet again another time.

This moment was not surreal. I could feel the presence of that fate creeping up into my consciousness once again. Among the chaos of my current status of weaving around obstacles, I felt the paranormal grip of that familiar [seductive] blackness wrap around my chest like a python.

I let the feeling come.

I let myself dabble with the idea that this could very well be the end, the very moment when I have exhausted all my efforts to the point of no return. Finally, my chance to unite with the afterlife has returned, and this time, death's visit might not have been in vain.

And in that split second, I felt a wave of peace.

Silent release.

The burning, pounding, and terror I felt just a moment ago slipped from my being as I realized my own content.

Content at the thought of the end. Relief, if you will, at an end to this madness, an end to my madness.

I could no longer feel my flesh as it continually sliced and tore on the invisible sharp rocks of the cave. My body was a dark figure swimming in an [atmosphere] of milky serenity.

In that moment, I was weightless and waiting for what was next.

But that moment did not last as the dark bliss was suddenly replaced by a feeling of emptiness as it was ripped away from me. A blood curdling scream amplified through the dark passageway jolting me out of my trance and onto the rough floor.

My arms caught me before I could think, one hand steadying me on the sticky bed of rock and rotting carcasses beneath me while the other braced the small artifact against my breast under my soaking tunic.

With the pain of my exhausted body suddenly rushing back to me, it was difficult to raise myself from the floor. I was sure I had lost a good amount of skin when I tumbled as well. But I had to get up before I lost too much distance between us.

Though I had a head start, it had the upper hand. It was no stranger to this cavern of tunnels like I was.

It was fast.

Inhumanly fast.

I've always had a good memory but I suppose I'd never given it my proper appreciation until now when I had no time to stop and [think] about whether to turn left or right. My heels struck the ground of the matrix with a spirit of their own, retracing the steps I'd taken just a few hours past to get down here in the first place.

Another blood curdling scream ripped through the stale, sour air that rattled my bones and left a piercing sensation in both of my ears.

It was close, and gaining on me fast. My initial plan had been to slip in and out unnoticed, but with my carelessness and plain arrogance, I eliminated all chances of that.

I shouldn't have underestimated it. Or perhaps, I shouldn't have overestimated myself. [especially now that I'm ironically leaving a direct path for it to follow right to me.] What better a trail to follow, for a creature that only feeds on mortal flesh, then a trail of blood from its next collation?

I clenched my jaw as I recognized the last stretch of the matrix, rekindling whatever puny form of hope I had left. I could smell my escape just as distinctly as the creature tracking me could easily smell my metallic blood coating its home.

Banking a wide left turn I could see a slim beam of sunlight slipping in from a narrow opening perched on top of a steep incline.

I charged forward with anything and everything I had left in me to be able to charge with, and my legs pumped impossibly harder to haul myself up the slope.

My muscles screamed in pain at what felt like a thousand daggers piercing me over and over again, dragging me down to meet a quick demise.

Just twenty more meters.

My head rung as an ugly, gurgling scream of anger and desire tore from just behind me.

Ten meters.

I smelled the rotting stench of the creature as it closed in on the small gap between us.

Three meters.

I hoped that the dripping appendage extending around my waist in my peripheral wasn't actually there.

One meter...

I lunged with all my might, throwing my body at a twisted angle towards the illuminated gap, leaving my [livelihood] to be determined by the chance of who would be faster, me or it.

My breath escaped my lungs as excruciating pain streamlined throughout my skeleton, just before blackness took over my vision and the demonic howl of the creature slipped from my consciousness.

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Hey, thanks for reading!

It's always been a dream of mine to become an author, and I assure you I will be continuing this story and hopefully be turning it into a YA epic fantasy in the future. (Strange how this Youtuber wants to add even more baggage into her life lmaooo). Appleberry fam, and who ever else may stumble across this, I look forward to your comments/feedback!

Hope you enjoyed,

Sumi