Running. I was running, fleeing, trying to escape. From
what? I don't know. All I knew was that somewhere, somehow, I
made a wrong turn and ended up somewhere I wasn't supposed to
be.
My heart was frantic. My mind was scrambled. MY legs screamed for me to stop. But I couldn't. I wasn't gonna let myself get caught.
Brambles and thorns clawed at my pant legs and tree limbs whipped my face as I ran. The wind howled, as if in laughter, and rallied the leaves into a frenzy.
And on I ran, until I burst through the trees and into a large clearing. The grass was dappled in shadows given by the hanging tree limbs, and the crescent moon shone down at me, shaped like an evil grin.
I scanned the clearing, sweeping my gaze back and forth. Nothing. Nothing at all strange, nothing at all that should stand my hair on edge. But the worried, watched feeling I had been running from was creeping up my legs, wrapping around me like growing vines.
My eyes darted around the edges of the clearing again, lingering a few extra seconds on a patch of shadow at the far end, opposite of me, that seemed to be deeper and inkier than the other shadows.
Suddenly, a wild howl ripped through the air, a crazed, screeching howl that seemed inhuman and unanimalistic. It was the call of a creature, not anything normal at all, and it shattered the silence cruelly. I cringed and covered my ears, trying to block the god-awful sound that sent shivers up my spine and made a cold sweat break out on my brow.
When I raised my head the howl stopped, and I sighed in relief. Then the inky black shadow moved. It stepped out from under the tree, and it was a shadow no more. The moon had shed some light on the shadow, revealing a grotesque black and white thing.
I gasped, stepping back a few steps. The creature grinned, revealing pointed, pure white teeth stained red. It stepped towards me; it's unnaturally long arms swinging at its sides.
Fighting my panic, I tried to move, but to no avail. My legs, too tired to run again, had quit on me and left me stranded at the monster's mercy.
A whimper of fear escaped my lips, and I fell to my knees without intention. Closer and closer the creature came, until I could make out most of its closer features. Its eyes had no color, just white irises, and it wore a black and white striped, clown-like suit.
It was so humanoid, so much like the other people I knew, that it scared me even more.
"My little Peppermint, why are you so scared of me?" It asked, only a foot away. It crouched, so that he was at my eye level, and chuckled.
"You know you're not supposed to be here right?" He asked, reaching out to brush a lock of hair from my face. I froze, unable to make my body flinch away from his cold touch.
Then my brain finally reacted, and I was able to spin on my heel and dash off into the forest. Again I was attacked by tree limbs and brambles, but my panic made me numb.
The black forest never seemed to end, and as much as I ran, I couldn't get out. And though I had gotten a fresh dose of adrenalin, my legs were giving out with each extra step.
It wasn't long before I tripped and was sent sprawling across the ground, slamming my body into the stone-cold ground.
My eyesight swam with little black dots and my thoughts became a jumbled mess, but I could see one thing clearly. The creature, stepping out from behind a tree with his bloody grin and evil eyes.
I felt myself slipping away from reality, farther and farther into the blackness, my mind breaking and cracking, until I could barely feel the cold grasp of hands on my arms lifting me up, up into something's hold.
Then I screamed. But no sound came out, and blackness filled my mouth, my nose, choking me and robbing me of air. I was pitched into the broiling shadows, sinking like a lead weight into the inkiness, never to see the surface again.