I scrambled to my feet. My back ached. My stomach felt as though it was about to burst. My breathing was ragged, and my left arm was cut. It must’ve been injured sometime during our tussle on the ground.

 

A hiss bounced off the trees. It was approaching. I backed myself against the tree. One less angle to worry about. My left hand was still clutching my abdomen, and I disregarded the slight sting of the injury. My right hand was held in a stance. I wasn’t going down without a fight.

 

It crossed the foliage and I could finally get a good look at it. Dark, ethereal tendrils of darkness that wisped from its body. Eerie red orbs that peered into my soul. Eyes that were devoid of life. Like flashlights in the dark.

 

My throat felt tight. My ragged breathing became unsteady. My eyes locked gazes with the creature. They were unsettling. They felt all-consuming. Like they would eat me up. Like the disease that was consuming Palla.

 

It took another step closer. They were slow. All traces of its previous speed were gone. It was either tired. Or toying with me. Its dark lips curled into a grin. A twig snapped under its foot. Snap. Me.

 

I ran. Bolted into the woods. Fear coursing through my body. Adrenaline chasing away the pain. All traces of bravado lost to the wind. A twig snapped to my left. Was it my hallucination, or was it real? I didn’t check. I ran even faster.

 

I knew. I didn’t know how. But I knew. If I died that night. It would be my last.

 

Owls hooted. Crows cawed. Big fat chickens bawked. A cacophony of sounds. I looked back. Birds were following me. It was a colorful spectrum. And an owl was lagging behind. Suddenly, it was gone. A terrified shriek was all it managed to release.

 

I picked up the pace. It was toying with me. It was trying to torment me. Make me suffer until my death. Sweat landed in my eyes. They burned. I blinked, but they didn’t go away. I ignored it. I had more pressing matters at the moment.

 

I stumbled. A root caught my foot. A wave of feathers washed over me in an instant. They were leaving me in the dust. I jerked to my feet and continued running. My feet were beginning to tire. My legs felt as though they were on fire.

 

It should have pounced there and then. But it didn’t. It’s toying with me, I’m sure of it now. I risked a glance back. It was there. Hollow red eyes. A sadistic grin plastered onto its face. It chuckled. But it sounded more like a human shriek. The burn in my legs suddenly didn’t feel as bad.

 

I bent down and evaded a low-hanging branch in the nick of time. I could barely see the stampede of birds at this point. Feathers lined the forest path like decoration. They made it look vibrant. They had left me. And I was once again alone.

 

I followed the feathers. The birds’ instincts must be sharper than mine. They must know the way to survival. But after minutes of running with no end in sight. My future looked bleak.

 

I risked another glance back. Nothing. But I didn’t let my guard down. It could pounce at any time. I clutched my abdomen. The pain was returning, with unnecessary amounts of force. My back was in a much better shape, but it still hurt enough to warrant attention.

 

The ground was hardening. Gradually turning from the slippery mud to hard, coarse dirt. It felt good. My needless worry of slipping was thrown to the back of my mind. The feathers seemed to be all traveling in the same direction. It must be a safe haven. I could only hope it would be for me too.

 

My legs were beginning to falter. I needed to rest. But I couldn’t afford to do so. Lest I be gobbled up by the darkness. A leaf crunched behind me. Run. I leaped over a bush. Evaded a tree. Ducked under a branch. In quick succession.

 

The air was glacial, and the rich smell of dirt had long since been replaced by the numbing smell of cold. I could barely feel the sweat on my skin. Even the stinging pain had been repressed. It was near. And it was waiting.

 

Minutes of running passed by. It was silent. Eerily silent. No hisses. No snaps of a twig. No crunches of a leaf. Nothing. I could barely keep my legs running. They felt as though they would snap at a moment’s notice. Coupled with the numbing sensation of the cold. It felt surreal.

 

Yet it showed no signs of appearing. If not for the presence of the cold, I might have thought it had lost interest in me. I grimaced as my leg was scratched by an outlying stick. What do I do? Continue running? No, my legs won’t be able to hold on for long. Fight? Even worse. It’ll kill me. I racked my brain, but no ideas surfaced. The only similarity between them is the outcome. My death.

 

But I couldn’t. If I did. Who would care for Palla? Hugh? He’d enslave her even in the case she lived. Hebe? They couldn’t care less about me. Nobody would care if a roach disappeared. Except for the butterfly.

 

I would survive. I would return. I would return to Palla. Renewed determination empowered my legs. The burn was chased out by the fire.

 

But even so, my legs protested. I looked around and a tree hole caught my eye. I glanced behind me. It wasn’t there. With one fluid motion, I slipped into the dark tree hole and held my breath. A musty smell wafted into my nose. It smelt disgusting.

 

My knees grew stiff as I waited. I was almost convinced that it had left me alone…until I heard steps. Slow, Agonizingly steps that strolled through the forest. The chill began to feel unbearable.

 

My throat constricted. What little air I had allowed myself to inhale was immediately cut off. Another step. It was dangerously close to me. My heart pounded. Could it hear my heart? I worried. Another step. I could see its feet. Dark appendages forged from pure darkness.

 

I bit my lip. Just in case I gasped. My lungs burned. My eyes were puffy and red from sweat. My abdomen still reeled from the punch. Everything was in agony. I was briefly worried that the disgusting smell of the hole would attract its attention. But I dismissed that thought. It must have been used to these already if it had truly been living in this forest.

 

But I was curious. Why did it smell so bad? Why was there a tree hole here? I look behind me for a moment. My body stiffened. Birds. It was a bird’s nest. And the owners were home. They cowered at the back of the hole. Their eyes were dilated in fear. It was taking everything in them to not bolt out of the tree and inevitably reveal my location

 

I froze. Any abrupt actions might scare them. They were afraid now. But if I pushed them any further they may become suicidal. The steps began to fade into the distance. But I didn’t dare exhale. Any sound would be loud in this quiet forest. And the apex predator was present.

 

A minute passed, and I couldn’t hold my breath any longer. I take small breaths. Tiny shots of air kept me going. I did my utmost to produce as little sound as possible. The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins, but I could barely feel it through the layers of numbness that engulfed my senses.

 

The birds hadn’t moved. Nor had they made any sounds. At least they knew the severity of the situation. And how to survive. I looked out of the hole. Was it safe for me to leave? For me to make a run for it? How was I going to kill that thing?

 

*crunch*

 

What was that? A leaf? Wait, didn’t it leave yet? Silence ensued. I held my breath. Another crunch. A snap of a stick. A rustle of leaves. It was getting closer, whatever it was. I glanced at the birds. They were holding on. But not for long. They looked as though they would collapse at any second.

 

I prayed it left before that. Before they gave up on hiding and instincts overtook them. Another step. The cold was once again unbearable. It was backtracking its steps. It had lost me. But would it be for long? Another step. It was directly in front of the hole again.

 

I looked at the birds. They could see it. The darkness. They couldn’t handle it anymore. Fight or Flight. They chose Flight.