A boy, running through the woods. Heavily breathing. Nothing on his mind but the sheer will to survive. He's getting faster and faster but he knows it doesn't matter how fast he gets, it won't be fast enough. Still, even though he is aware of the hopelessness of his situation he's not ready to give up quite yet.

Still running. Footsteps coming closer, but he is still running. A beastly scream. Still running. After what felt like an eternity, his feet finally stop working and he collapses. Beneath him, the cold, wet soil he was running on only a few seconds ago. To his surprise, he can't hear the footsteps anymore. Were they his own? Did he run away from himself? No, he's not imagining things, there was … something.

And to think this day started out with a little hike in the woods. Well, it was his own fault for falling asleep in the clearing. And when he woke up it was already dark. He tried to find the path he was coming from, however the trees and plants look different by night, at least that's what he told himself to feel better about his lack of orientation. After walking in the same direction (he chose the one that looked the least scary) for over an hour he started hearing rustling from practically every bush in his vicinity. But instead of panicking he chose the logical option and decided that it's only normal, he is in a wood after all. And every kid knows that there are a lot of little animals in the woods, who are more afraid of you than you are of them. This plan stopped working when he started hearing footsteps as well. At first he thought it was an echo of his own but when he listened more closely he figured out that that can't be the case because the footsteps sounded way too … weird. Of course, he wasn't afraid or anything but he thought it might be better to get away from them, who knows, it could be some creep who's into good-looking (yes, he thinks of himself as good-looking), young boys!

A loud crack brings him back from his memories where he was trying to hide from this freaky, horror-movie-like scenario. He realizes that the footsteps were back, and closer than before. He tries to stand up. But although the feeling was coming back to his feet, he was still unable to move. He concentrated on the footsteps again. Slightly more panicky (but not scared) than before he realizes that there were more now. He tried to count them. "… two … no … three, yes definitely three pairs of feet. Could it get any worse?! Now there are three creeps who are into good-looking, young boys?! That sucks!" He tries to get up once again. Still no luck. "Why did I have to run so damn fast before? Oh yes, otherwise I would have been caught even earlier. So it's not my fault!" At once he starts remembering, skipping gym class almost every week. "Alright. It might be my fault, but I had better things to do than going there!" He desperately looks for a reason. "Yes, I got one! Sleeping, sleeping is way more important for my health!" Another crack drags him back to reality. "Damnit, I thought I could stay in my little soliloquy for a while longer." His slightly better mood starts decreasing again when he suddenly realizes that the footsteps started running. And even worse, they were running in his direction! "I am not afraid, I am way too cool for being afraid", he keeps telling himself. The interesting part is that he really isn't afraid. He only worries about the loss of his coolness. Everything else seems insignificant, at least to him. The footsteps keep coming close. With each step the boy loses a little bit of confidence in his survival. He slowly turned around. Because of his endless curiosity he wanted to know who it was that was chasing him for the past hours. There is nothing in sight yet. He looks even harder, tries to push the darkness away with his mind. The noises come closer. They are now only about 20 feet away. He still can't see anyone, however he can hear them. A silent panting makes its way through the wood. Suddenly an eerie growl. Now the boy is confused. "A dog? Nah, that can't be, those footsteps sound way too heavy for a dog, also as far as I know, dogs don't usually walk on two paws. But hey, maybe I'm wrong and they do." Now a bloodcurdling howl. "And I'm pretty sure wolfs don't behave like this either. I mean I'm awesome and all but even I could never have outrun a wolf for that long." Because of his deeply strategic thinking, he missed that his pursuer has come in sight. He looks up and instantly exclaims: "What the fuck?!" In front of him a gigantic, for the lack of a better word, monster, came to a halt, not really thrilled about the boys noisy behavior. The boy isn't impressed either. "Halloween is in four fucking months you freak! No reason to run around and scare innocent kids in the dark! Of course, I am neither a kid nor scared but still, there might be one around somewhere! And here I thought some creepy old guy was coming after me but you're just some idiot in a costume! Believe me, if I could stand I'd kick your balls so hard they'd come out your eyes! Now fuck off before I file charges against you, you nut-job!" The monster (or idiot in a costume, whichever you prefer) was completely baffled by the way the boy was screaming around. So baffled actually, that it didn't notice two rather tall men, apparently in their late twenties, approaching from behind. When it finally did notice their presence, it was already too late and the shorter man shot it from point blank range in the heart. The monster tips over and almost crushes the boy who was luckily fast enough to plunge out of the way.

After a few seconds the boy finds his voice again. "I mean he was a crazy nitwit but you didn't have to kill him", the boy says looking at the corpse in front of his feet. "Knocking him out would have done the job." The two men stare at the boy with disbelief in their eyes. "And you are?" the taller one asks. "I don't think that's any of your business." Finally being able to move his feet again, the boy stands up and looks at the two suspicious figures who just murdered someone in front of his eyes.
"Why don't you two start by introducing yourselves?" The shorter one snickers at the bravery of the boy talking like that with two strangers in the woods in the middle of the night. Slightly enraged the boy hisses at the small one, "What's funny about introducing yourself, douchebag?" Of course, no one likes being called a douchebag but this one was furious. With incredible speed he grabs the boy by his collar and rams him into the nearest tree.

"What did you just say you little bitch?!"

"Deaf as well as speechless? I see. Then I will be so kind and repeat myself. I said: What is so funny about introducing yourself, douchebag?" He carefully emphasized the last word which wasn't all that smart in hindsight, because suddenly a fist hit him right in the face and knocked him out. The last thing he hears is the tall man saying to the smaller one: "We need to work on your anger management". The boy agreed on that one and passed out.