Always running

~Prologue~

~Author's note- with love, this book may be triggering to some readers and does include horror scenes~

My legs feel like they'll give out any second as they carry me through the trees. My bare feet skip over jagged stones and tree roots. I know that when I wake up they'll be all cut up and bruised. My lungs feel like they're going to die any second, and I wish more than anything that I can just stop running and catch my breath, but I know so much better than that. I've done that once before, and oh, what a mistake that had been. My long chestnut colored hair had fallen out of it's ponytail God only knows how long ago, and it's sticking to the sweat forming on the back of my neck and forehead.

The only thing propelling my body forward is the steady sound of soft feet pounding on the ground behind me, getting closer. Cory's feet. The feet that once ran on the play ground with me, as we chased each other laughing. The sound of his once musical laughter rises up behind me sending spiders down my spine. Anger rises up in my chest as I realize not for the first time, that this is fun for him. His idea of entertainment. I wonder if he can hear my heart flying out of my chest, If he can smell my fear and resentment of him. I wonder if deep down, he cares that I hate him.

I know that if he wanted to this very second, he could effortlessly catch up to me and grab a hold of me, tearing me to shreds. I know that he wants to, but he's holding himself back. It's all a part of the game. Showing me how much power he has and how little I hold. A part of me wishes he'd just end it now, do what I know is inevitable.

My heart dances a little bit when I see the moon reflecting off of a stream in the distance. Hope sears through my chest. Water. Cory's only vulnerability. He can't touch water. If I can just cross the stream, I'll be safe from him. I should have known better than to hope.

Just when the water is close enough to consume me, just as my foot is about to touch the surface, he tackles me to the ground, pinning me against a tree trunk. His manic laugh echos all around us. "It's so good to finally see you again," he breaths into my ear the exact way he knew I used to love. He kisses the skin behind my ear and I scream as he grazes his teeth along my neck roughly. "Did you miss me?" He asks with a laugh. I struggle against him, knowing it's useless.

My breath hitches in my throat suddenly when I feel a sharp ache in my neck. He'd grazed my neck a little too hard with his teeth causing blood to course down my arms and chest and cover every surface. The look in his eyes quickly changes from lust to fear and concern for me. That's when I see the old Cory poke through. Not the monster with fangs and claws. "No." he says over and over as if he can take everything back by saying one word. He takes his shirt off and begins to wrap it gently around my neck, trying to halt the bleeding. There's not enough fabric in the world. I begin to fade out of consciousness as I lose more blood. "No. No no no. Please don't do this to me Syv. You have to go home or you'll die. Wake up, Damnit!" he says, shaking me by the shoulders. Tears are streaming down his beautiful face. "I'm so sorry," he says over and over. The last thing I feel are his lips pressed gently against my own.

I wake up gasping. My body is soaked from sweat and my heart is still racing as if I traveled three times around the world. I breath out a sigh of relief when I realize I'm not in the forest. I'm in my room, laying in my bed staring up at my ceiling.

It was all yet another dream. No, not a dream. A nightmare. I don't have the luxury of dreaming anymore.