The moon was as bright as the sun, illuminating everything it touched. Kissing all of my surroundings with it's soft silver glow. I was running through the depths of the forest, reveling in this new feeling of freedom. All my senses were heightened, my sight sharper, my smell keener, my hearing better than the average canine. It was strange to feel like a completely different person from who you think you are; To feel like a whole new being. I kept running through the trees, dodging low branches, jumping over fallen timber and large rocks. I was like a freight train speeding on the tracks to it's new destination even though I had no Idea where that even was. The humidity in the air was causing loose strands of hair from my ponytail to stick to my face. I slowed down and leaned against a nearby tree to catch my breath while I fixed my up-do so no loose strands would continue to get glued to my cheeks and get stuck in my eyelashes. As I looked up at the sky, staring at all the stars lighting up the surrounding darkness, I wondered how it would feel to be able to touch the clouds. To glide through their seemingly powdery texture. I believe it would be a bliss.. a bed of cool texture less flour, sifting through my fingers.. comforting every fiber and tendon of my body. It was a beautiful sight; although it didnt last very long as I pushed myself off the tree and started to jog towards the small lake I could hear ahead of me. It was amazing, the feeling of the dark night, the chirp of the crickets, the song of the birds before they nest for the night. I felt at peace, at home; free..
I sat down near the rocks that lead to a large steep cliff that hung over the lake like a large roof over a barn. It felt wonderful to lay back and look at the constellations, reading the stars. Running my hands through the soft green moss, the smell of the fresh air, the welcoming feeling of contentment. I sat that way for what felt like hours. When I noticed that everything went quiet, it was too late. I had seen something through my peripheral vision, a dark shadow coming towards me, stalking me like a feral animal about to catch its prey. It was crouched low, its glowing yellow red eyes looking back at me. The familiarity reaching the back of my mind. I slowly raised myself from the position I was sat down in, and slowly turned the opposite direction and started running as fast as I could to get away from whatever it was. I looked behind me to see if it was still there, but I could no longer see it. Pushing myself harder, my strides faster, leaping over the fallen trees, and feeling like I was almost taking flight I was running so fast, I turned east, running toward the main road, but as soon as I did I ran smack into a hard chest. The impact had me fall flat on my back, and my head was reeling. The dark shadow started to circle me, and I couldn't tell if it was just my head or if the shadow really was moving, and then it finally stopped; slowly kneeling down beside me, leaning over my face. It cocked what I thought was it's head to the side as if studying a creature like a scientist, acting like I was something it had never seen before. Then it spoke. "Why'd you stop running? I thought you were trying to get away." From the baritone of its voice I could tell it was a man. He chuckled a deep laugh, and stroked a hand down the right side of my face, brushing a wet strand of hair from my ponytail behind my ear. I turned my head to try to get his hand away, and he chuckled again. Leaning closer to me, I could feel and smell his hot minty breath on my face. "Tsk-tsk. No need to be afraid. I just want to take back what is mine. You see, you've taken something that belongs to me. I would very much appreciate it if you gave it back." He said, pulling his hand back and standing up. I could tell he was tall, but I couldn't quite make out his face. "Who... are you?" I asked, my voice not sounding anything like my own. When he didn't answer, I tried another question. "What is it... you want?" The shadow turned and looked at me, and made a weird noise deep in his chest. "Don't be coy, Eli. You know what I want, and you are going to give it back to me." He walked toward me slowly, like the predator he is, stalking his next victim. He stopped only inches away from me, and with a quick shift of his foot, he kicked me across the clearing of the woods, and my back collided with a tree. Before I could look at him, everything went black.
