Chapter One: Teaser
If this were a horror film, she reflected, she'd probably be screaming wildly as she ran down the narrow tree-lined path. It wasn't though, so she didn't. In this moment, she really didn't need to drawn any more attention to herself. After the first two seconds of pure unadulterated panic, adrenaline kicked in and with it an unexpectedly Zen-like calm, and a primal self-preservation instinct. Run quickly, but carefully, she thought, or you'll wear yourself out. And if you trip and fall, it's all over. Her boots were already making enough noise as they crunched against the loose gravel, so she moved closer to the trees, muffling her footsteps in the dull mud at the edge of the path. She could still hear the pounding of her heart and each ragged breath that was torn out of her, but essential body functions were out of her control. The less noise she made, the less chance it had in finding her. Of course if she simply stayed on the path she was currently following, it wouldn't need to track her, it just had to wait for her to slow down. She needed to get away, but she wasn't quite desperate enough to take her chances in the surrounding woods. The terrain was far too uneven, and she might end up safe in town, or she might end up running right off a cliff. The odds were almost evenly matched but judging by her luck lately, they weren't in her favor.
She actually laughed out loud at that last thought. She was now thinking in terms of luck? What a human construct. She probably would have cried if she didn't need to conserve all her energy for survival. She tore her eyes from the path ahead, assuring herself it was even, and chanced a look behind her. All she saw was darkness. She couldn't hear it behind her either, but she could feel it. Earlier, when she'd realized it had cut off her only exit she'd turned to Jimmy in those first moments of terror. He, she realized, didn't quite understand the severity of the situation and he'd pushed her in one direction around the quarry and had sprinted off in the other, towards the lighthouse. The path was circular, connecting up on the other side of the stony lacuna, and even though it offered few chances of escape, she'd started to run. Staying still meant death.
Now, however, as she tried to think of another way out, she was discovering that guilt was an equally strong human motivator, even if it was slightly delayed. She heard a muffled cry from the other side of the quarry. She frowned, trying to catch her breath. She thought it had been following her. Surely it hadn't caught up with him? She shuddered- what if there was more than one? They didn't want her that bad, did they? She wasn't important, just a loose end, why would they send two? She could feel it behind her, and felt slightly reassured to her own surprise. If it was still after her, Jimmy was safe, for the time being at least. Right?
If she turned around she was dead. If she continued down the circular path she was dead. If she just stopped, she was dead. Dead, dead, dead. Now that's what you'd call ironic, she thought with an almost manic grin. She knew she shouldn't be afraid of death, but she was. She wasn't ready to go. She had unfinished business, and was just getting the hang of living.
She found new determination, and with it a plan. I'm being chased by a fire demon, she thought, cataloguing. I'm running towards the ocean. Salt water. What could possibly be better? Sure, it wasn't as effective on Demons as it was on ghosts, but it was a purifying agent and surely would slow it down. She couldn't kill this thing, not yet anyways, but just maybe she could get out of this alive so she could figure out a way. She turned sharply, as she almost missed the path that led down to the rocky shoreline by the water. Hopefully Jimmy would see it as their only way out, picking their way across the rocks, and once there she could convince him to swim to the rocks that cropped up from the waves twenty feet out.
She scrambled down past the circle that often held campfires, crawling carefully over the slippery rocks. Jimmy was nowhere to be seen. She took a deep breath. It was now or never.
The plunge into the water paralyzed her for a moment as her system adjusted to the shock of the harsh icy water. She fumbled for the zippers on her boots, letting them sink to the ocean floor rather than get dragged down with them. She kicked out, stifling a cry as her feet scraped against barnacle-encrusted rocks. She swam furiously forward, forcing herself not to surface until she felt the rocky shelf with her hands. A wave swept by, slamming her body against the ocean floor, and she willed herself to stay conscious despite the pain. She dragged her aching body up onto the damp stones, her skin stinging, her eyes burning. She turned, slowly standing up, hoping to beckon Jimmy to her. He wasn't on the shore. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Two dark figures stood on the edge of the overlook. One stepped forward, one stepped back towards the edge. Jimmy had taken the wrong path. He was trapped at the edge of the overlook. He took another step.
"Jimmy, no!" she cried, finally breaking down, unable to stop herself. The figures turned towards her, and she could see Jimmy's face, illuminated by the moonlight. He was smiling. The dark figure lunged. Jimmy stepped calmly over the edge.
She wasn't sure if she screamed as he plunged to the rocks below. She felt like the sound had been turned off, her ears filled with a faint ringing. She tore her eyes from Jimmy's broken body splayed across the jagged rocks, and stared across at the figure that stood on the rock she'd plunged into the ocean from. It was motionless, and she forced herself to turn her back on it, her eyes searching the open sea for a boat that could take her to relative safety. It all seemed so unnaturally quiet and empty. It can't end like this, she thought. It can't end like this.
She'd been right. The demon couldn't cross the salty water to get her, and neither could its magic. But nothing could stop a well-aimed rock from sailing through the air and colliding with her skull.
She was unconscious before she hit the ground.
(imagine fire, the logo, and creaking noises here)
