Chapter Text
Chapter One: The Forest.
The forest was dark and the air was so cold it hurt to breathe. She managed to avoid the tree to her left and continued running even though her chest felt caged and heavy. She kept looking back making sure they weren’t nearby, her hair getting caught on her face and in her mouth at every turn.
Her heart was going so fast it felt like she could only hear that haunting beat and she could barely feel anything else but its ever so accelerating pulse. It was hard to focus on anything else and she almost fell, her feet getting caught on the uneven ground. Her hands on the nearest tree trunk, she took a deep inhale hoping she could rest for a moment.
“We know you’re here!”
Her head rose up, fear erasing all other thoughts. She started running again. Her breathing was sparse, she had never run so much for so long in all her life. The adrenaline was helping but her body was beginning to suffer and she could feel she was beginning to lose control of her limbs.
“Stop running now and we’ll be merciful”
A teardrop ran down her cheek as she felt a branch tear the skin on her arm. She lost her balance again but couldn’t find anything nearby to help steady herself and she fell to the ground, hitting her head.
Hard.
When she opened her eyes again, the numerous lights surrounding her made her squint. She couldn’t see anything but the blue lights on one side and the yellow one on the other and that weird obnoxious flashing red one that made everything worse.
The noise level was insane. There were people speaking loudly from every corner and she could hear people screaming in the back, not to mention the sirens going full blast but even with all that comotion surrounding her, she couldn’t avoid the fact that her entire body ached. Her left arm felt heavy and she wasn’t sure she could move it, let alone lift it and the feeling of something heavy set on her chest affected the way she breathed when she could muster the energy to try.
“Hey” she heard a voice on her right, it was faint when compared to the chaos nearby but she tried to focus on it. She turned her head a little and regretted it instantly. The pain shot through her with intensity and she closed her eyes, finding herself not able to scream.
“Hey, don’t-” he exclaimed but she didn’t hear the end of the statement. All the noises nearby came rushing in all at the same time and the need for her to scream was never so intense, yet she couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t do anything but force herself to open her eyes again. Tears ran down her cheeks as the man continued to call for her.
“I need you to stay awake, ok?” she heard the masculine voice better somehow, closer. She saw his hand approaching, trying to free her from her prison. His voice was getting more agitated by the seconds, frantic in the words he used and the way he spoke. The more distraught he sounded, the more tired she felt. Or maybe it was the reverse. She tried to keep her eyes open, or as open as she physically could, but as fast as the man’s words grew almost hysterical, her eyes closed.
Soon she couldn’t even hear the sirens in the background.
She felt light headed. Her breathing was still scarce but it felt as if the weight on her chest had been moved to her left arm. Strangely enough though, she felt lighter, somewhat better. She found the strength to open her eyes once more only to find herself, in her horror, in the forest again. She could clearly hear the people following her distinctly and fear overcame her body one more time.
She was on her feet again and running before she could muster a clear thought. She could feel the blood on her left arm and the fresh air hitting the new cut on her forehead but she tried not to think about any of it. All she needed to do was concentrate on her running and putting as much space between her and the men hunting her down. By the time she realized her speed was being slowed down by the uneven ground beneath her feet and the trees as obstacles she kept stumbling onto, she was surrounded by the men she was trying to run away from.
They were barely out of breath while she was barely alive. She couldn’t see their faces but she continued to rotate her body, not facing one man more than a few seconds, scared that one would attack her from behind.
One of them approached and she stumbled almost losing her balance and he stopped dead in his tracks. She was stunned to find surprise and confusion in his eyes but didn’t stay face to face with him any longer than a couple of seconds as she heard someone moving behind her.
Another man was walking slowly towards her, he seemed also surprised but not confused or annoyed. His bright blue eyes looked slightly amused by the situation. “Are we playing a game?” he asked and she gulped. Her breathing, already poor, got more erratic.
To each step he took in her direction, she took one little step back trying not to corner herself with another man behind her. Her brain started to respond to her commands again enough so that she could ask herself questions.
Where was she? Was she in a forest surrounded by unknown men whom’s intentions were still a mystery? Or was she stuck in a small space, lights everywhere and chaos surrounding her?
Why would she be in a forest hunted down by strange men? This had to be a nightmare of some kind. Yes. She was stuck in the chaotic concert of lights and sirens and she needed to go back. This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be.
The man walking towards her was raising his hands now, as if approaching a wild animal, and she gulped realizing she had gotten lost in her own thoughts and he had taken advantage of the situation. He was merely a few steps away.
She made a sudden move and the cut on her left arm awoke, reminding herself of her fall earlier. And she understood. She stopped moving and let the stranger get closer.
She had fallen down, hurt her arm and hit her head so badly that she had woken up.
His hands were raised and the man’s blue eyes showed amusement. His head was bent slightly to the side as if showing her he was willing to play.
She breathed in deeply and in a swift move, she stole the dagger from his belt and sliced herself on the shoulder. The skin was pierced deep and blood started pouring onto her skin and clothes.
“No no no no no no no! NO!”
The look of amusement shifted to one of horror in a flash and screams started to echo in the forest. She couldn’t decipher from where exactly they were coming from, all she could feel was fatigue.
“CALL A HEALER!”
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