Like An Old Friend

Falling

Chapter One:

His heartbeat thumped in his chest, alerting his attacker to his place. He breathed in sharply as a blood-stained claw ran along his cheekbone.

"It will make it all the more easier if you were to tell me where she is." A voice slithered softly from the shadows. He shivered as he caught a whiff of it's breath. Rank with the smell of death and mold, he had to use all his strength to answer rather then gag.

"I don't know where she is." He lied. As the words left his mouth, he felt a great pressure on his chest, pressing harshly against his ribs.

"Now now. I do not appreciate lies." The voice was tinged with tension. He stayed silent, feeling a bit brave. "Well. As you wish." He felt himself fall apart as he crumbled to the ground in a heap, his chest seizing to rise and fall.

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Goosebumps were forming on her arms. The shelter she had assembled was flimsy, rattling in the evening wind. The damp forest floor wasn't helping much either, the leaves crackling under her as she curled into a tighter ball. As the sun peeked trough the loosely assembled twigs, she opened her eyes, banishing the lingering nightmare from her mind. She tried to stand but winced as a snapped branch scratched across her scalp. She rolled her eyes as she realized something typical. She was too tall to stand in the small little hut. Slowly, she crawled on her hands and knees out of the exit and into the fresh forest air. When she stood up to stretch her sore limbs, she couldn't help but whimper as pains shot up her legs. Her feet ached from the miles she had ran. She still remembered it, the presence, chasing her through the woods. Now that it was light out, she got a good look at her shelter. It was mismatched, dripping mud and beginning to fall apart. Obviously her magic was weakening. With one last glance at the rotting tree she had sat under, she walked away, limping as she went. She followed her nose, twitching it back and forth to catch the scent of civilization. Finally, her feet met concrete rather then twigs. The sudden direct sunlight, un-quenched by trees, startled her at first. It put spots in her vision.

"Hello? Are you okay?" A voice called from up ahead. She tipped her head to the side, squinting. Her eyes made out the figure of a girl with bright red hair, clashing against her green sweatpants. She opened her mouth to reply just as she felt her body crash onto the ground with a thump.