The New Demigods

Chapter 3: A Dark Night

All at once the pain stopped and my body no longer felt heavy. At first I thought I had died, but when I opened my eyes I did it with ease and I could see clearly. I was running through the woods and it was night-time. I felt my legs jump over a log that I hadn't even had time to notice was there. I could feel my lungs burning with each inhale and knew that I must have been running for a while. When I tried to think of why I was running I felt overcome with an unknown fear and my legs pressed on, out of what I assumed was instinct. The whole experience felt like a dream because I wasn't in control of my body, but every branch that hit against my skin felt incredibly real.

I managed to trip over something in the darkness and when I recovered I found myself frantically crawling into a nearby bush. I forced my breathing to a quieter rate and I stayed still listening. I wasn't sure what I was listening for, but I knew I had no other choice. I watched as a far away light cut through the forest, getting closer to my hiding spot. The light source had slowed down and began carefully examining the forest. I could feel the fear inside of me growing and an internal struggle to stop myself from crying, but something made me feel detached from the situation. The light source began to head directly towards me and I was convinced that I had been discovered. Still, my body stayed hidden in the bush. My eyes were pressed shut to keep the tears back and I could hear footsteps crunching the leaves just in front of me.

When I opened my eyes again, there was no sign of the light anymore and I heard the footsteps head off into the distance. To be certain of my safety I stayed silent for another few minutes before I slowly moved out of the bushes. As I rose fully to my feet, I filled with confusion and worry about where I would go now. My tears became unstoppable and flowed down my cheeks as I stood alone sobbing. As my crying reached a full body state and everything felt too unbearable to stand, I heard a familiar laughter from behind me. It was not familiar in a way that made me think of funny situations, but rather of sleepless nights full of fear. I turned, to be blinded by a flashlight. I spun right around and lunged forward; the chase was on once again. The flashlight lit the path ahead of me in a spastic fashion. When I had just begun to put distance between us I noticed the leaves and dirt beneath my feet were replaced with rock. I halted to a stop just in time to stop myself from going over the edge of a cliff. I was so close that I managed to knock a stone off the edge and heard it splash into water below after a few moments. As I scurried further on the ledge, the light emerged from the forest.

I closed my eyes as tightly as I could, not wanting to see what came next.

"Stop!" Thea yelled, breaking my contact with Acacia. The last thing I saw was Acacia falling to her knees before I drifted into a peaceful sleep.