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I.

Dannie barely registered tree after tree after tree. Around her, the birds chirped, the sun shone, and the cold dry wind slapped her face. She'd never been to this part of the woods before and her foot hit an unexpected log. The world spun, and she landed on her knees.

'Moron!', she groaned, driving a fist into the dirt and turning around.

Lost, she was so...there it was. The black light post with the Missing dog flyer she used to mark thirty minutes spent running. Ginny the beagle was apparently still missing. She stared at it stupidly.

A snarl comes from the thick shrubbery. In this position I'm a deer in a clearing. Dinner.

Two more snarls come from the tall and thick trees around me. One from the left, the other from the right. I'm surrounded now. An impossible escape that. Even then, wherever I run, they will follow. The certainty itself could kill me.

...Ok, stop it. You're not a deer. No one is following you. Breathe in, breathe out. When did you become so unbearably paranoid?

It was time to go home. Once back, she would have been out an hour. Well, slightly more considering she'd run straight past her marker. Ignoring the scrape on her knee, she got up and started running ran back. Thump, thump. Breathe in, breathe out. Tree after tree after tree, she drew closer. Tree after tree after- person.

Person? Dannie stopped, turned around. Sure enough, there was a person. A scowling teenage girl to be exact. Dressed in black. Layer upon layer of make-up. Not trying to break any stereotypes, I see. Holding up a phone in the air like it was Simba being initiated into the Circle of Life, the teen groaned, and snarled under her breath. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

'Hi' Dannie said, mentally scanning through her daily to-do list. Tear herself from a dream-less sleep? Check. Run for an hour in the woods? Check. Greet another human being for the first time in five weeks? Check.

The girl's swollen eyes widened slightly.

'Are you lost?' Dannie added, face-palming herself almost instantly. Judging from the teen's frantic search for signal, no shit.

'Dannie Cardenas. You just ghosted. Not cool.' the teen spat and took a step

forward, towering over Dannie.

'Who...?' Dannie started to ask.

'I'm Theresa. You don't know me, but I follow you. And I need your help.'

'Hold on, you've been following me? What the hell?'

'Oh god, not like literally. I'm not a stalker, okay? I meant online. Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter'.

'Oh.'

'It's kind of funny really. If people who follow you online got together and like really followed you... You'd look like the messiah or something'.

'How did you find me?'

'In one of your first vids, you mention jogging in these particular woods as part of your stress begone ritual. I'm from around, so I know you're not talking about the Forbidden Forest.'

'Huh'.

Theresa proceeded to roll her eyes. 'You were talking about the Scottish referendum and how the BBC was the government's puppet. You love politics but sometimes it stresses you out. Running helps you relax,' she shrugged, and Dannie thought she saw a tiny but brief smile, 'Not sure how you'll run the crazy away now that a cheerio runs America, though'.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Jan 11, 2018 ⏰

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