I was tired of running. No matter how many times I paused and turned, the creature was always close on my tail, with its hulking figure and imposing aura surrounding it. Needing to catch my breath, I took shelter under one of the forest's pine trees.

I turned my gaze up to the sky, foreboding clouds billowing overhead as-

No, that's not right.

The sky was coated a black as deep as charcoal as it-

Mmph, not that either.

As I looked around my surroundings, and then into the void beyond, I realized-

The battery died.

Crap.

I looked up from the black screen of my laptop, allowing myself to return to the reality I had been so keen on attempting and failing to ignore. The coffee shop was about as casual as you could get, with others staring at whatever was on their devices themselves, and the baristas hard at work behind the counter. There was a pervasively warm air in the café that might have been coming from my forgotten mocha sitting beside my silver laptop, but I like to think otherwise. It was rather hospitable, especially since I had come to be recognized as a regular.

There were a number of spruce wood tables with dark oak chairs strewn about the establishment, my personal hideaway being located in the corner opposite of the door. It gave a great view of the bustling main street outside, as people not only came and left the shop, but went about their daily commute as normal. I felt safe here, as I could be left to my lonesome should I feel it, or sociable, since the workers were so familiar with my presence in the establishment.

"Hey, Koro! You, uhh… oh, I was gonna offer you another coffee, but it seems like you've barely touched that one!"

And then there was Shizumi. If there was anyone I would trust my life to, even though I doubted she was capable of even hurting a fly, it was her. She sat down in the chair across from me, two cups of what I could only assume to be coffee in hand, and placed them down in front of her.

Shizumi and I had been friends for longer than either of us could remember. If you sat me down and asked me to, I could pick out her vibrant smile and warm orange hair from any crowd, no matter how massive. And even though for a while we had began drifting apart, due to my career taking off and her starting a new job herself, we had been reunited by fate once again months later when I learned she had been scouted as the Ultimate Barista.

"Yeah, Shizumi, I was just too caught up in trying to finish this scene is all. I've been stuck on it for well over a week now, and my notes aren't really guiding me anywhere," I told her, finally thinking to pick up the mug. The mocha inside was cold, but that was solely on my hands, yet despite this, it was still as rich a flavour as ever.

She pouted, putting her finger to her chin. "Is that so? Sorry I can't really be of much help," Shizumi laughed sheepishly, "but, if you want, I can read what you've got so far for you, Koro!"

I shook my head. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm a bit of a stickler for keeping my work a secret until it's ready, you know? I want you to experience the entire thing with a fresh mind, not know the entire plot by page 1. Beside, my computer died."

I averted my sight from Shizumi to my own reflection in the monitor. I had read online that some fans were attracted to my shaggy, dirt brown hair and pale green eyes, but with them looking back at me, I didn't quite understand where they were coming from. Not to mention how weird that really is, but it's not like I can stop them or anything. To each their own, I suppose.

"That's a shame, Koro," Shizumi said in understanding after taking a short swig of coffee.

"I'll get over it eventually. Writer's block can be chipped away at, after all," I replied. "Oh, speaking of, do you know what time it is? I need to be back at school by noon, I got a call back from one of the publishers I sent In The Trees to, and they said they loved it and wanted to discuss possibly getting it printed and onto shelves. They said they'd call at noon, and I left my phone in my dorm, and I really can't be late for this."

Her eyes widened in excitement. "That's amazing, Koro! This is great news, I'm so happy for you!" she stood up suddenly, nearly knocking over the cups after bumping lightly into the table.

I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Oh, it's nothing, really. I'm more surprised someone reached out to me about it so quickly."

"That's because you're an incredible author. It wouldn't be your Ultimate talent if you weren't, you know," she argued back, calming down and lowering back onto her chair. She seemed deadset on supporting me, and I couldn't deny that her purely optimistic personality had been rubbing off on me lately, it still felt like I hadn't earned it yet.

"I mean, I only really wrote short stories before this, aside from journalism. Not really my cup of tea, unless editor Noburo gave good word about to the publishers? I dunno," I shrugged, closing my laptop and sliding it into the carrying case sitting beside my seat. "So, the time?"

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, you should go, Koro, it's 11:30," Shizumi exclaimed as I stood up, straightening out my dark grey dress shirt and slung the strap of the case over my shoulder. "Call me when it's done, I wanna know all the details!" she pumped her fist, careless of whether or not she'd take out the coffee on the ascent.

"I will!" I called back as I entered the busy street. "Talk to you later, Shizumi!"

"You too, Koro!"

It all felt surreal. Only at age seventeen, and prospects were high for having my first proper novel hit the shelves in the coming weeks, and yet I was still regarded as the Ultimate Horror Author. I couldn't even tell you what it is about the genre that attracted me to it, but the fact that it all turned out well was too good to be true. I didn't even feel like I was someone special among the people making their way down the street, but that I was simply Koromichi Takamoto, some budding writer who found success after a brief journalism stint. I could still tell you the exact details of what the article was about, but as I was excitedly walking down the street, too many things were racing through my mind to pin one topic down pat.

So life decided to do it for me.

I stopped. I don't know why I stopped, but I stopped. There was a distinct chill running down my neck, seemingly out of nowhere. You know humans have the innate ability to know when they're being watched? It was originally developed to protect early hunters from being jumped by dangerous animals. It seems like some traditions never die.

I turned my neck to the stores across the street. Everything seemed to be in place, nothing out of the ordinary, until I saw it. It? Him. It.

There was a man, or at least what I could only assume to be a man. He seemed to tower over everyone around him, and yet no one was even acknowledging his existence. He was cloaked in all black, except for some mask covering his face. I couldn't make out exactly what it was trying to be, but human it was not. He was not. Was he? I tried to ignore this, chalking him up to some random fan recognizing me in the broad daylight. It wouldn't have been hard for him to see me, either, his height would've made sure of that.

I resumed my initial path back to the school, but the dread still loomed inside of me. I took a quick glance back where he was standing, and he was gone.

He was gone?

No, no, I must just be stressed, and seeing things. Because those conclusions always work well in fiction.

So I did a full 180, turning around to satiate my anxieties, but instead I was greeted with the sight of him behind me. A ways back, yes, but behind me. The corrupted appearance of the mask was in better view, white on one side and black on the other. He tilted his head, but his expression was obscured behind the mask.

I turned around for the second time, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans, and kept my head to the ground, hoping and praying the unsettling man would lose interest, but I knew I was still being followed.

Making a snap decision, I decided to try and lose him by averting my path into an alleyway between two stores I had never been in, and then behind the one to my right. While it may not have been the most reliable of locations to cower in fear in, not to mention smelling awful, the ground littered with trash and cigarette butts, it was my only hope for losing the man.

So, solve this predicament, if you feel up to the challenge. If you're trying to desperately evade a predator you know nothing about, how do you? I've come up blank on solutions while writing, and standing at the back of that building, gazing up at a literal giant of a person, I realized I would never get the opportunity to.

"I don't understand why you're trying to escape, Takamoto," a voice said, presumably coming from him. He wasn't moving, though. His body was completely stationary. He did nothing but stand over me, staring down at me, like I was his plaything.

I took a step on shaky feet back. "Who are you?" I asked, or at least I think I asked. My voice could've gotten caught in my throat for all I know.

"Do you want my name?" he asked, moving ever so slightly, his hands finding themselves behind his back. "I suppose I could share it with you, though, I doubt you'd know it, Takamoto."

My heart rate slowed down, but only getting more powerful, as if it was trying to bust out of my chest and begin running away on its own. I was waiting with unconsciously halted breath for him to say something, anything, but instead he shook his head.

"Although, perhaps not; it may be too early. There is another you may be acquainted with, however. Why don't you meet her?"

And then I blacked out.

I continued to be blacked out.

Even when I was awake, I was blacked out.

So, instead, I pushed forward and came tumbling out of a closet.

Mops, brooms, and a bucket fell down with me, onto a floor I didn't recognize. Pushing myself off of the ground and dusting myself off, since who knows what those supplies were used for last, I found I wasn't familiar with the scenery around me either. There were rows of chairs, all with a sea blue fake leather fabric covering them, and a number of windows showing a dreary, cloudy sky.

Most interestingly of all, however, was another person, standing in one of the rows further back, in front of a window. However, instead of actually peering through it, she was staring at me with death in her eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?" she yelled, unmoving from her reactionary fearful stance. Of everything I noticed about her, her long and oddly-coloured hair, caught my attention first, and how her eyes were a sullen and cold blue.

I looked down at myself, making sure everything was still in place, which, aside from my now-missing computer case, it seemed to be. "I'm Koromichi Takamoto," I said, apprehensively, like it was a question, rather than a statement. "Who're you?"

She seemed to loosen up a bit, exciting her row to meet me in the aisle. More details about her came into view, like her being a few inches taller than I was, and more superficial, like a small cut on her cheek, and how she was barefoot. Her clothes were awfully strange too, a light grey tank top and a pair of orange pants with a seemingly matching jacket that she slipped off and began tying around her waist. It almost looked like a jumpsuit.

"You don't seem like a bad guy, whatever you said your name was. And I guess this answers my question about others being on this boat. I'm Rei Matsukaze," she spoke, not actually looking at me, too occupied with the knot.

"Nice to meet you, Rei," I said. "Say, do you know what an Ultimate is?"

That question seemed to have surprised her. Luckily, she finished fiddling with the jacket, so that gave her ample opportunity to meet my eyes in disbelief. "Y-yeah? Are you one?"

"I am, yeah. Ultimate Horror Author. You?"

"Ultimate Marksman."

That single sentence reminded me of something awfully familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what. Figuring I wouldn't be able to dig an answer out of my brain within a reasonable timeframe, I was about to change the subject before Rei did it for me.

"You said your name's Koromichi? That's kinda stupid," she pointed out, returning her focus briefly to tighten the knot.

I shrugged. "I make it work. My parents wanted to be creative, so they more or less slapped some kanji together, and here we are."

"Are you sure about that? I just called it stupid."

"Hey, I never said it wasn't myself. Besides, yours is Rei, and that… uhh…" I found myself lost for words. "Man, I'm drawing blanks."

Rei planted her hands on her hips. "Rei of sunshine? Some author you are. Anyways, I'm leaving. You can come with me if you want, I don't mind," she stated, flatly, beginning to walk away from me.

I only reacted a second later. "No, wait, hold on! Where are you going?" I ran up beside her.

"If you're on this boat too, then there's gotta be others, right?" she explained her thought process, still not bothering to look at me.

"I… guess. Can't hurt to check?" I decided, agreeing with her viewpoint.

And get to investigating, we did.

Don't have much to say. I'll reveal the accepted characters list when it's finalized, which it's actually close to being. Whoops. I'll keep submissions open for another week, don't think it'll really matter too much though.