Silence. Silence and darkness. It surrounded the girl from everywhere, making her heart beat fast and fear pump in her veins as she ran. Just like a preyed animal.
And she was, actually, a prey.
She kept running, the woods standing tall and dark above her head, her crazy pulse and unsteady pants accompanying her hurried steps. He made no noise, there were no movements that she could notice. But she knew. He was behind her.
What to do? Where to hide? Someone, help!
The female's eyes roamed around, hoping that she could spot a light, a house, a man, anything that would help her. But no one was around. Only her, the woods, and him.
Him.
What did he want from her? She did nothing wrong! She was just walking home from that stupid Halloween party and decided to go through the woods since the road was much shorter if she used that route. She kept walking through the trees, cursing every time she stumbled upon a root or a branch and because her signal disappeared, already regretting that she picked that way.
Getting even angrier after she nearly fell in a bunch of dead leaves and weeds, she kicked the trunk of a tree, more profanities leaving her lips in a furious rant, blaming everyone and everything for her current state.
That, until she heard it.
It was very faint at the beginning and the girl took it as the sound of an animal, maybe a squirrel, that was roaming through the bushes. But it wasn't a squirrel. Not even a fox or a raccoon. It was something bigger, stronger and definitely scarier.
She stopped, squinting in the direction from where the sound came, the dim moonlight making it harder to understand what was in front of her. More sounds, very similar to human steps. She took a step closer, using her phone to illuminate the area until she spotted the figure. It looked like a…man? The being definitely had two pairs of limbs and it was walking on its legs, slowly making its way towards the girl. She didn't like the feeling she got from it.
"Hello?" she asked, staring at the figure in front of her. "Who are you?" she continued, her confusion growing. It was getting closer, 10 meters remaining between them. She didn't know why, but she took a step back.
The figure stopped moving. She noticed that it was wearing something pretty similar to a police uniform, a black hat covering the other's dark, messy locks while its clothes were torn apart. It was pretty tall and she noticed that it had a masculine figure. It definitely was a man. A man with a Halloween costume too. So it must've been some guy from the party she attended. That angered her.
"Are you trying to scare me? What are you, retarded?" she spat angrily, narrowing her eyes at him. She figured that the man was some lame-ass, wannabe who wanted to prank her. That had to be the explanation.
But the figure didn't budge. The person stood silent, not moving even a muscle as if the girl wasn't even in front of him. That annoyed her more.
"Hello? I'm talking to you, asshole. What do you want?"
Silence again. She was turning from annoyed to confused, even a bit scared. She stared at him for a few more seconds, finally deciding to give up on him.
"Whatever. Fuck off, freak." she barked, backing away and ready to turn around and leave.
This time, though, the figure moved.
He looked at her, wide, green eyes shining under the black cap. And his grin- his grin sent cold shivers down her spine. His teeth were sharp, straight and white, his smirk wide and bright. Too wide. She didn't like it. His features were too stiff, his eyes too wide, his smile too big. It screamed psychotic. It screamed danger.
Backing away, the girl watched the figure wearily, cold, sticky sweat making her stomach churn anxiously. The male still stared at her, his smile getting impossibly larger. Taking 5 or 6 steps back, she turned around, picking up her pace. She needed to get away from him.
Quickly, she marched through the trees, not daring to look back. The nervousness made her heart pound in her ribcage, a sickening chill running down her spine. Her instinct told her to move faster and she obeyed eagerly. Just a few more steps and she'd lose him.
All her hopes vanished, though, when she heard steps and sticks cracking from behind, along with a light, overjoyed chuckle. The kind of laugh that makes your skin crawl in fear and heart beat like crazy.
Peeking back, the girl was frightened to see that the man was following her, half of his face hidden under the shadow oh his hat, leaving his disturbing grin exposed, the eerie laugh taunting her ears.
Panicking, the female started running, realizing with terror that the figure picked up his pace too and that he was slowly but surely catching up behind her.
This brought her up to the current situation. She used all her energy to speed up, hoping and praying mentally that she'd escape. The sounds of his steps and his chuckle had vanished, but she knew. She felt. He was still after her and he won't let her go.
The female felt tears pricking in her eyes, panic taking over her body when she heard the laugh again. It sounded so light and naive, almost like a child's one. But she knew that it was wrong. Tales and legends always said that hearing a child's laugh in the night meant bad news and that walking all alone in the woods, especially at night, was something lethal. But she was foolish enough to dismiss those sayings. What a cruel way for life to prove her wrong.
Panting exhausted, the girl nearly fell down, tripping on a rotten brink. Desperate, she wiped her sweaty face and the tears that started to roll down her cheeks as she looked around, screaming panicked.
"What do you want? Help! I only want to go home! Let me go! Please, help!"
But it was pointless. No one beside him and the trees surrounding them heard her pleas. She was all alone.
Finally, she crumbled down, collapsing in front of a tree. She couldn't move, she ran out of energy. And it was futile. She couldn't run anymore even if she wanted. The forest seemed to change its pattern, leaving her lost and afraid, just like a mouse in a maze. The girl knew that she was trapped.
Wheezing, the female jolted when she heard those steps again, scooting back till her back hit the tall oak behind her, wide eyes staring in horror at the view in front of her. The male was making his way towards her, his steps light and slow as if he was mocking her and her agony.
Sniffling, the young woman placed her hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle her horrified sobs. He was getting closer and closer, 20 steps turning into 15, then to 10. Now that he was standing nearby, she could examine him better. The clothes that he was wearing were torn apart, leaving his waist exposed almost completely. The cloth seemed to be soaked in some dark, wet substance, and a voice in her head assured her that it was something worse than mud or paint. His skin had a morbid shade, so pale that it almost turned gray. Just like a corpse's one. What appalled her more was that his right arm was missing, the same dark substance splattered across the remainings of his shirt sleeve and his exposed skin, while in the other, he held a multi-barrel handgun.
The creature's snicker started again, getting higher and louder by each second as he closed the distance, lifting his head so that the girl could see his demented expression.
"P-please…Let me go…I-I won't tell anyone, I-I'll pretend that nothing ha-happened-" she hiccuped, the panic making her quiver and try to crawl back, away from the monster in front of her. "P-please, I don't- I don't want to die! Please!" she screamed, sobbing uncontrollably. The entity didn't seem to pay attention to her words though, his nauseating grin only widening, almost splitting his face in two. Slowly, he raised his left hand, pointing the gun right at the girl's head, his delirious laugh irking the girl's brain.
"N-no, no, please, do-don't- Please!" she begged, her eyes wide as saucers as she realized what was about to happen. "I beg you, I'll do anything, don't!"
"You really shouldn't walk alone in the woods~" the man chirped, his voice dripping with cheerfulness as he placed his finger on the trigger, eyes widening in sick joy.
"No, no, no, no, n-"
BANG!
A shrill scream was heard, the sharp sound traveling through the lonely trees, looking for someone who'll hear the dead girl's shriek.
But no one was around. Only her, the woods, and him.