Ragged gasps burned my lungs as I moved between trees and over roots, through wood and further from safety. Pounding loudly, each heartbeat echoed in my ears as fear tighten its grip with each step. Footsteps echoed mine as I ran with each step I took they seemed to take too gaining on me with ease. The forest floor snagged and pulled at my legs, entwining their spindly fingers in the material of my jeans and tripping me. The trees narrowed, closing in on me, and working with whatever was chasing me. Something pushed into my back pushing me forward and into an oncoming tree. I rolled and looked up at what had pushed me, but only saw a faint outline of a man wearing a white mask with an empty expression. My mind wanted to run but my body remain frozen as the figure leaned downwards, grabbing my arm, and dragging me further into the woods. My mind clouded with terror as I watched the sky darkened. Desperately pulling against the figures grip was useless as he maintained a iron tight grip. Another figure emerges from the shadows, standing between the trees unnaturally still. Unlike the first, this figure was completely covered in darkness blending almost completely with the dark background of the forest, all that could be seen was a faint outline. The shadowy figure watched as I was dragged into an old building. I counted each stair as I was dragged down them, feeling each of them slam into my back with bruising force, before being dragged into a dark room. Darkness consumed and drowned me. An iron like smell hung thick in the air, the ground was damp and cold. A deafening silence filled the air and I panted as I tried to control my panicked breathing. I sat in this silence for a single moment before the screams started. With each passing minute they grow louder and louder, surrounding and suffocating me. Covering my ears I try to block out the horrible sound, but then through the screams I hear one I recognized, Mary. She calls for me, for my help but I can`t move. Reaching round me, I try to find her. A blinding light shines on a single spot across the room and in the center is a small body. I struggle to stand on shaky legs as the screaming dies into the background, all I hear is Mary, her voice slowly fading as I get closer to the light. Squinting as I lift her tiny body into my arms she weakly rolls her head towards me and tries to say something but her voice falls dead. I hold her tightly as she tried desperately to breathe, her chest rising and falling shakely. Soon all movement in her body stops and her dead eyes stare blankly up at me. I feel the figures standing above me but I can't bring myself to look away from Mary's eyes. Tears prick my eyes as I feel something heavy slam into my head.
My eyes shot open as I threw the blankets off of my body, blurry eyes scanning frantically around the room as I tried to blink away the tears that had formed in the corners of my eyes. The room around me was empty, but my heart didn't slow as it pounded loudly against my rib cage. Taking a deep breath as closed my eyes the image of Mary's body flashed across my eyelids as if imprinted. Bright numbers on my alarm clock read half past three in bright letters a mere three hours after I finally fell asleep earlier.
"Just one night of sleep." I muttered to myself as I stood up in an attempt to get my mind off of the dream but I knew that I needed to check on Mary. I always had to after one of those dreams, but there was something different about this on I had seen more of it than usual. Details like the bark on trees seemed to be more lifelike and familiar than they had before like I knew the area and had been there before. Exiting my room and walking towards down the Mary's room, a horrified scream ripped through the air. My whole body tightened as I force myself to run towards the scream, towards Mary's room, only to be blocked by the shadowy figure from my dreams.
Instantly I felt all the air leave my lungs as an iron grip in cased my chest compressing it and pinning my arms to the sides of my body. I stood and tried to fight against it but there was nothing I could do to stop it from reaching out and wrapping it's hand around my throat tightly pushing me backwards until I was pressed against the wall. Dragging me along the wall it moved closer to Mary's room as she shrieked. Each scream tore through the house, shaking me to my own core as I heard the pain in her voice. The figure forced me to look into its eyes and all I could see was my nightmare again. Mary's dead eyes looking back at me through the figures dark hollows. My body began to go numb, my limbs became weaker and weaker with every passing second, the grip on my neck loosened slightly allowing limited air to enter my burning lungs. It wanted me awake, wanted me to watch what was happening. The figure pulled me closer to it only to throw me through Mary's door, still standing above me its grip on my arms tight as ever as I crumpled to the floor.
Looking up and towards Mary's bed I found the Masked figure from my dream standing over Mary's screaming form. I watched helplessly as scratches and bruises formed along her arms and up her legs. As the figure turned, I felt the grips around my chest lift and it watched me as I sputtered for air, its stark white mask looking into my eyes. I felt terror settle in my bones as I watched Mary's body lift into the air and launch towards me, from where I was crouched I barely had time to lift my arms to catch her before we collided, my bare knees scraping against the hard flooring as we slid backwards.
The air was thick with anticipation as I shot my eyes back towards where the figures had stood only seeing empty air. I felt a nagging voice in the back of my head that told me it wasn't the last time we would be seeing it tonight so cautiously I stood, still holding Mary's small body in my arms and carried her over the to the bed, before gently setting her down and looking her over for any injuries. Her thin arms were covered in small bruises and long scratches that stretched her entire forearm. Her legs bore similar markings. Wrapping her in a blanket I lifted her from the bed and scanned the room for her backpack. As I looked she started to wake up, her small frame shaking and snuggling closer to me.
She whimpered quietly into my shoulder as her eyes opened looking up at me. I shifted her so she was more hugging my chest and held her tighter against me giving her the protection and comfort I could give her though while we stayed in this house there would be much for protection but I would give it all to her. Mentally I scolded myself, I should have known this would happen, it does every time I had one of those dreams I should've moved faster and checked on her as soon as I woke up. Recently the attacks have been happening closer together and are becoming rapidly more violent, making me think they have been getting braver. I should've checked on her sooner, I would've been in the room to protect her better and she wouldn't have those bruises. I looked down at her as I reprimanded myself and for a split second I saw her dead eyes, but they were gone as soon as I seen them.
"It's okay sweetie. I'm here, I'm here now." I coo into her hair as I press a kiss on to her head. The masked one had taken a certain liking to Mary and seemed to enjoy hurting her during such attacks yet she never seemed to be awake while the attacks occurred. It never hurt her pass the point of bruising and small thin scratches it seemed like it only wanted to scare her rather than kill or severely hurt her. The shadowy figure seemed to enjoy playing god with me instead. On numerous occasions I've been attacked without warning and occasionally injuring me to the extent of hospitalization. At first it started small, moving furniture or the occasional thrown book, then I saw it. The first time I saw its figure I thought it was my shadow but later I realized it couldn't have been since it had been late at night and there wasn't enough light in the room to allow a shadow to form. It seemed at that point everything escalated, it started targeting me during attacks like tonight, often showing me my worse fears or preventing me from reaching Mary's before she could be injured.
We've tried to leave on numerous occasions, but every time one of us would be dragged back inside by force. The masked one alway seemed to meet us at every turn or the shade would pull one of us away from the other. Mary stays with a family friend during the school year because of these attacks and I only see her during Breaks or while the family goes out of town for her own protection. But when she returns to the house to visit the attacks seem to increase making me believe that whatever is in the house is angry at us whenever we successfully leave. Mary had only been home for a week and was supposed to stay for another one but I needed to get her out of here as soon as possible. I knew she wouldn't want to go, she never did, but she needed to for her own safety. Mary had stopped crying now, but still sniffled slightly as she held onto me tightly clinging to my tear stained shirt.
"Mary, where did you put that bag I helped you to pack incase we needed to leave right away?" I spoke gently to the shaking child. The backpack had clothes, money and anything else I thought she might need if I decided the attacks had become too violent and frequent for us to be safe in the house while she was here. We've never had to use it before but it had been an idea in the back of my mind since the most recent attacks.
"Its right under my bed." She asked, her voice quiet and thick with fear. Her small hands clenched as she put together what was happening.
"I need you to listen to me, Okay?Listen closely to what I'm going to say, Now I need you to remember that I'm not going to let anything or anyone hurt you. I'm going to protect you like a knight in shining armour and nothing is going to hurt you. I just need you to be the brave little princess I know you are, can you do that for me?" I whisper into her hair before pulling her away and looking into her eyes. She climbed closer to me and hung on my shoulder before say weakly, "But what if you get hurt?"
"No buts or what ifs especially if they are in the same sentence." I said smiling gently down at her. I steeled my nerves as I thought about our escape. We couldn't get to the car quick enough and both the figures would probably attack us the second we enter the garage if we even make it there in the first place. We also wouldn't be able to use the front door due to past failed attempts, that ended with a hospital visit, the only plausible way was the window in my room which opened onto the roof above the front porch. It was a stretch but it was our best chance if we made it onto the roof we could get to where the trees hung over it would only take climbing down the branches and we were would be clear.
"Now we need to go to my room, and we are going to play the quiet game okay? You can't make a single sound." she nodded in reply and I grabbed her backpack tightly in my hand as we left the room Mary still in my arms.
Slowly opening the door to her room we crept down the hallway, approaching the door to my room. Still open it allowed the dim moonlight from the window into the room to cast shadows into the hallway. Upon entering the room I noticed that everything had been moved out of place, my bag was missing from its permanent place next to my bed, and the screened window I always kept open was shut tightly. The bag had also been moved and was nowhere in view. Mary nestled her head into the crook of my neck and buried her face in my neck as I moved closer to the window.
I used my free hand to pull the window open. It refused to open, so I set Mary down and pushed against it with my shoulder until it finally moved. It's well greased hinges silent as crisp air blow across my face, sending goosebumps down my bare arms. Carefully I lifted Mary and placed her on the roof just outside my window. Her grip loosened on me as she instead clung to the siding of the house, leaning low and keeping her feet underneath firmly planted to the shingles. Then setting the backpack beside her I gracefully lifted myself onto the windowsill, pulling my legs out the window in front of me.
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, as if someone was watching me, looking around for good measure I saw neither spirits in the room. Ignoring it, I pushed the feeling further into the pit of my stomach and began to pull my legs onto the roof. As I lifted the rest of my body through the opening I felt something grab my arm. My body froze at the touch before being thrown back through the window and into the room.