The Endless Night

Chapter 7

I can't stop shaking. The atmosphere around me is haunting. I'm standing here hopeless, afraid, and confused. I close my eyes in an attempt to escape from where I am; but I know it's hopeless. The wind starts to whistle lightly around me, so I keep my eyes closed, my adrenaline pumping. I'm utterly terrified, but I just stand there as still as possible, trying not to move a muscle, and then, in one horrifying instant, it happened...

Now when you have been hearing things and seeing things, there's always a chance that your mind could be playing tricks on you, or you could literally be going insane. But when something touches you, there's no denying that...and that's what is happening.

I feel something grasp my arm. I let out a cry of absolute terror as if I am about to be killed. My instincts kick in and I throw a roundhouse-kick right at my attacker. Truthfully, I expect the kick to do nothing, to just slice through the air, but it definitely makes contact, and that thought scares me. I can't pretend this is imaginary anymore, I can't tell myself that lie - now it's real, more real than ever. As my kick makes contact with my attacker, I hear a scream like the screeching hiss of a snake, and my wrist is released. I am free. I can run. And that's exactly what I do. I barely have enough time to dwell on the excruciating pain in my toes.

Deeper and deeper I go, with newfound strength and motivation. This isn't a game anymore, now this is a fight for my life. I never thought that I, of all people, would ever have to think this thought; but I do.

Every exhausting step I take is followed by footsteps faster than my own. The idea that someone's following me is horrible, but the sounds I'm hearing are so much worse. It's like a high-pitched scream of anger. Terror grabs me and I scream too; I'm so afraid.

Eventually I come to a part of the woods where everything is denser and more confusing. It's too dark, I don't know where to go or where I am anymore. I look all around, desperate for a clear path to take, as the terrifying screams come after me. As I look up, I think I can make out a vague outline of some sort of building. I have no time to think, so I run to it. As I near it I can see moss-covered wood and then I run face first into overgrown thorns.

 “Ow!” I yell. Tears begin to fall again, but it feels good; it's beginning to take the thorns' sting away. I look up, and see this old building is a torn-up shed, surrounded by overgrown plants. The footsteps are closing in on me, and I have to make a choice: take this chance at refuge or keep running. I turn my head back, and I think I hear the steps getting closer, and then another scream pierces through the air. Thinking it's the best choice, I rush through the plants to reach the building. I collapse onto the wooden wall and look all around the shed for an entrance, but I can't find one. I look it over again and still none. As I'm about to give up I see a small hole in the wall near the ground. I get down on my knees to examine it. It looks as if whatever made this hole was in quite a hurry, as if it had to be. I reach my hand through the small yawn in the side of the building and quickly pull it back in pain. Thorns. There's a whole patch of them in there. I hear the screams and the footsteps ring out again. I have no other choice. I plunge myself through the hole and into the thorns. I don't have time to think about the pain, I just roll out of the thorn patch onto a clear space of the dirty wooden floor, and lie there for a moment. My lungs are exhausted, my face burns, and my whole body aches and is pained by the thorns. I look at my wrist, the one that had been held captive, and can just barely make out claw marks embedded in my skin. I put my wrist down and close my eyes. I think I hear the screams and footsteps getting fainter and fainter, but it could just be me drifting off to sleep...