All right, I'm back! Now let me get started on the third chapter. This will be in Briar's POV, but the POVs won't always alternate. But they will for the most part.

Note to Lover of Books: Thank you for correcting me! I fixed that mistake.

This may or may not be fun. Depends on my mood *wink*.

Anyway, let's get started. *cracks knuckles*

The forest was quiet.

Not quiet in a bad way, like eerily silent, but rather peaceful, with the only noise being the rustling of leaves, the flow of a river somewhere, and the occasional caw of a bird in the trees. What could go wrong in such a beautiful place?

Nothing, Briar told herself. Nothing can ever go wrong, now.

And then, when it eventually struck, strange was the realization that if she could survive here, she would probably be the first to do so. The forest was forbidden. But, to Briar, there was no reason why it should be forbidden.

And there seems to be no reason why no one comes out alive.

Dread settled in Briar's heart as the thought hit her.

She was the only human in the forest, for sure; no other humans would make it out alive. There might be predators - there would be predators - but she had the gun she stole from Florence to protect her. And a portscreen to comm anyone in times of need.

But many creatures that the villagers had described didn't seem to be those that could be fought off with just a gun.

If they were, then why didn't anyone come out of the woods alive?

That had been the question that had plagued Briar all afternoon, here, but she didn't dare wonder too much.

She shuddered, remembering the images of wide, gnashing teeth and bloody claws that the villagers' stories had painted into her mind all of her life.

Now. She wouldn't need food, because there were enough berry bushes around her to last her a lifetime... assuming they were all edible. Not a very safe option, but at this point, Briar was too tired from the excitement to care.

The river - once she found it - would provide her with as much water as she needed.

Florence had once told her that she was quite reckless with many things... and as Briar realized that she would have to find a place to shelter herr, a source of food, and other things, she began to understand why Florence said that.

Not that the forest wasn't the best place, or anything.

It was perfect.

It was beautiful.

It was peaceful.

And that peace she seemed to find amongst the trees and birds was all she wanted her entire life.

oO0Oo

Night was falling.

Briar had walked all evening, looking for any shelter... at least, a temporary home until she found somewhere better to go. Somewhere she could spend the first night of her new life.

And she had found something.

Well, something decent. It wasn't the best, but it would do.

Now, Briar was crouched under a sort of small, triangular hole made by three boulders. It wasn't perfect. Any predator could see her from a mile off, and that bothered her. She had no way to get to sleep. Every moment, she thought she could see yellow eyes staring through the trees, or shadows moving around.

She remembered when she had seen shadows moving around that morning, through her window. It had been real.

This was real.

Everything about the forest was real.

And all of a sudden, Briar wanted to go home. And just this once, she wouldn't mind Florence's demands. Or anything of the sort...

No.

I have to be strong, Briar told herself, trying to keep as calm as possible.

She let her eyes flutter shut, but they opened, almost immediately. Briar turned to the small pile of berries she thought were edible that she had placed on a leaf, and picked one up, rolling it between her thumb and index fingers, cautiously.

After she had made it through a day, she couldn't die from poisoned berries, of all things.

Slowly, she lifted it to her teeth, and her dry lips watered. She still hadn't found the river, but she would tomorrow. I promise I will, Briar told herself, but she knew that it wasn't very likely that she would be able to live up to her promise.

There was a warm scent wafting off of it, and Briar rolled it onto her tongue. To her surprise, it didn't taste like anything, but hopefully, it would serve its purpose.

I wonder if it gets lonely, Briar thought.

A distant howl reached Briar's ears, and she shuddered, softly. The predators with teeth and claws will keep me company. That was her last thought as her head spun, and she fell back against the cold rock, dizzy and faint.

Briar let the darkness take her into a world of its own.

Briar had unpleasant dreams, that night.

As soon as she fell asleep, Briar awoke into the forest, once more. Except, she wasn't stretching from a long rest; she was running, her old, worn shoes pounding on the soft forest ground. She was running from something, and Briar was too afraid to turn back to see what it was.

Briar thought she screamed, but she wasn't sure.

Maybe it was just her heart, pounding against her throat, willing her to run faster.

Her blue eyes watered as the wind whipped against her face, pulling her blonde hair back. Funny, she would normally have given anything to be out here and running freely... but not from death, as it loomed closer and closer.

And then, Briar looked back.

She nearly stumbled on her footing as she recoiled in horror.

Something was right, to describe what was chasing her. It didn't even seem real... the black creature was rather large, and when it growled, its fangs bared menacingly. Briar screamed. Screamed until her voice grew hoarse.

And then there was nothing.

Something appeared.

It was a face, a face that was so horribly torn apart and bloodied that it was impossible to recognize. The blonde hair, though there were red streaks through it, looked like a wig on a corpse, and the blue eyes - or whatever was left of them - were open and glassy.

Briar's breath caught in her throat.

It was her.

It was Briar's face that was so mangled... one eye completely torn out and replaced by a deep gash. Scars ran down what was once pale skin, and blood coated the lips, making them look exceptionally red, like the images that Briar had seen of the deceased Queen Levana on the net.

Except, not like that.

Instead of the captivating beauty of Queen Levana, which she had heard was all a glamour, this face was completely destroyed.

Briar's gaze traveled down the corpse, and she choked.

The throat, mangled, was brutally torn out, leaving a few clumps of flesh and drying blood.

And then, it was gone.

Briar awoke, gasping for breath.

She was sure that she had screamed at least once or twice in her sleep, and had probably alerted predators - just like the ones she had seen in her dream - of her presence right here. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if they were stalking her right this very moment, just waiting for her...

The thought sent shivers down her spine.

But she had to get out of here, and fast. Yes, she was reckless, but the chances of death right here were higher than if she chose to run somewhere else. Reckless. Stubborn. Both were words that Florence had used to describe her, and she had been right.

All the same, as Briar stepped quietly but quickly through the bushes, she wondered if the bloodied, mangled corpse she had seen was to be her future.

Third chapter done!

I hope you enjoyed, though it was a little shorter than the others (whoops)! Briar is reckless (I got the idea from one of the reviews on the first chapter), and there is so much lying in wait for her *evil chuckle*.

Well, stay tuned, because the next chapter is coming out soon!

Please review!

See ya later!

~ Storm