I bolted. My feet pounded against the uneven ground, slipping on loose dirt and wet leaves, but I couldn't slow down. The shadows in the forest stretched out like hungry hands. Branches scraped across my arms and face, but I didn't dare stop.
My breath came in short, frantic gasps. The cold air cut through my lungs, but fear pushed me harder. My side burned—each breath a jagged pain—but I couldn't stop.
The sound of footsteps. Not mine. Someone else was closing in. I could hear them now, the crunch of leaves, the snap of twigs underfoot. But I couldn't risk turning around. I couldn't afford to know.
Suddenly, I stumbled. My ankle twisted beneath me, and I crashed to the ground with a yelp. The force of the fall knocked the wind out of me, and for a second, I thought I might black out.
But no. I couldn't.
I gasped, struggling to get my breath back. My heart pounded so loudly in my ears that I could hardly hear anything else. Every second felt like an eternity, each pulling me deeper into a nightmare.
With trembling hands, I pushed myself up, clutching the wet earth beneath me for support. The world spun, but I refused to fall.
Another noise. Closer this time. Too deliberate, too measured. Whoever it was wasn't running. They were waiting for me to make a mistake.
I didn't look back. I couldn't.
I started running again, faster this time, my body crying out with each step, but the adrenaline kept me moving. The trees blurred past, but my eyes were fixed on the narrow gap between them, the small opening that promised escape.
Then, I heard it.
A voice. Low, almost a whisper, but it sliced through the night air like ice.
"Janica."
My name. But it wasn't Jason's voice.
I froze, my body rigid, every instinct screaming at me to move. But I couldn't.
The forest was alive now, the wind rustling through the leaves, the thump of footsteps moving in sync with mine. Whoever it was, they were close—too close.
I didn't turn around. Not yet.
I forced my legs to carry me forward, pushing past the panic, the terror, the ache in my side. I had to keep moving.
The shadows pressed harder, turning the trees into a maze of black and grey. Still, the footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
I risked a glance over my shoulder, my heart leaping into my throat.
A figure. Just a blur, but tall, looming—moving with purpose. They were coming for me.
I didn't know how much longer I could run. My body was screaming for rest, but I couldn't stop. Not here. Not now.
And then, just ahead, I saw it. A break in the trees. The forest thinning out into a clearing, a faint light breaking through the shadows. It had to be the edge.
I pushed myself harder, ignoring the pain that lanced through my legs and chest. The figure behind me was still gaining, each step echoing in my mind like a countdown.
I reached the clearing—stumbling through the last few steps—and nearly collapsed into the open space.
There. A road. A distant, almost ethereal light far enough away to give me hope.
But the moment I stepped into the open, everything stopped. The footsteps. The voice.
Silence.
I turned, my body trembling with exhaustion and fear.
Nothing.
No one.
I was alone.
The silence was deafening.
Frozen at the edge of the road, the forest behind me thick with shadows that felt too sentient, I stood. My lungs ached, my chest rising and falling in broken gasps. I couldn't tell how long I stood there—seconds? Minutes? Time had twisted into something cruel.
But no one came. No figure burst through the trees. No whisper slithered through the leaves.
I was alone.
Or… forgotten?
The thought chilled me. I scanned the road. Empty. No headlights. No signs of life. Just cracked asphalt stretching into nowhere, the low hum of insects reclaiming the night.
My body couldn't take much more. Every muscle quivered. My side throbbed. My gown—soaked with sweat and blood—clung to me like a second skin. I needed to hide. Just until morning. Just until someone came by.
I limped off the road, staying low, slipping into a tangle of bushes. Thorns snagged my gown and skin, but I didn't care. I pushed deeper, past a fallen tree trunk that arched like a shelter. It wasn't perfect, but it was hidden. Safe enough.
Curling beneath thick roots, I pulled my knees to my chest, shrinking into the earth. The cold bit into me. I couldn't stop shivering. My thoughts frayed—fragments of voices, flashes of lights, the echo of my name.
Sleep came in fits.
Eyes closing. Jerking open. Heart hammering.
Then darkness again.
When I woke, the world was pale with morning. A dull, grey light filtered through the trees, brushing everything in silver. Dew clung to my lashes. My limbs were stiff, my head spinning, but I was alive.
Alive.
Somewhere, a bird sang. The first sound that didn't sound like a threat.
Then—
Crunch.
Footsteps.
Not fast. Not chasing.
Just… walking.
I held my breath.
And waited.