GUILLOTINE

Chapter 7: Under a Dark Moon

I didn't know where I was running, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to run away from everyone and everything. Dad, mom, Diana... Sebastian. How could he do something like that? Did he knew it from the very beginning? Maybe that was the reason why he could always find the clues so easily, but was it necessary to drop a fan over me?

I didn't stop running, not even when I entered the RedCliff forest.

The RedCliff forest was famous around the world, some even say J. K. Rowling had based the Harry Potter woods from here. At simple daylight the forest could be inoffensive and even fun to explore, but when the night came down the whole area became a living nightmare.

On summers, mom and I would make a picnic on the outskirts of the woods, catch tiny bugs and even pet some rabbits, but now, surrounded by all those twisted dark trees, all the strange sounds from wild animals, and the cold blowing wind made it seem like I was in the wrong place. When had it started to become dark? It was just afternoon when I left the house, I must had been running for quite a while now. My legs didn't ache, in fact I wasn't even sure I could feel them at all. I wasn't tired either.

Judging by the sky's color, night was coming down in more or less half an hour. I wasn't coming back home, but I also didn't wanted to stay on the woods at night. I heard distant howls. My grandpa used to say there were countless packs of wolves deep inside the forest's heart, and he even assured he had learned to speak their language. Grandpa usually talked in mid-truths, so if the part of the wolves living in the forest was indeed true, I wasn't really eager to confirm it.

I stopped running towards the wood's center, and turned around so I could find a way out. I didn't even notice how far I had gone running until I was completely lost. Howling again. I was too scared the wolves might hear my running footsteps, so instead I decided to walk as quietly and carefully as I could.

I was hungry, and now that I had stopped running, I started to feel tired too. Thirst filled my mouth and throat, aching. I stopped for a second and tried to listen for a river nearby. Flowing water was heard from my left side. I decided to follow it. After some minutes of walking, I found the river. I kneeled down and grabbed some water with my hands. Relief. Thirst washed away with every gulp, and I even felt as if a bit of energy was coming back to me.

I washed my face and hands too. And then laid down on the grass besides the running stream. Suddenly, the weight of all these past days dropped on me, and made me feel extremely weak and tired. My eyes closed without me wanting to, and just in seconds, I fell completely asleep.

"Alan..." A distant voice called.

Where was I? Silence, pure and soft silence surrounded me. I stood up, not feeling tired anymore, and looked around me. The river was gone, and the twisted trees too, even the night sky had become bright. Just grass, greenish, soft grass under my bare feet, there was nothing else around... I wasn't even sure if I was still in the woods. In fact, the area seemed like a wide valley, bright and colorful.

"Alan..." The voice called again from my right side, still distant. I felt like I knew that voice, but couldn't exactly figure out who it was from. Suddenly, a big tree caught my attention. I was pretty sure that the tree wasn't there before. This one was different from the other trees I had seen on the woods, this one was... thick, leafy, and completely alive.

There was a shadow under that tree, and somehow, I felt attracted to it. Without knowing while I approached, I understood that the voice was coming from whatever... or whoever was under the tree.

Then the shadow became bright, revealing a familiar lady with long golden hair... and lively green eyes... making the most beautiful smile possible, looking directly at me. "Alan... my sweet little boy." She called once more, and her voice softened.