Are You Scared?

Chapter 1 - Caught Like A Fly

Darkness surrounded me. Merely the moonlight illuminated my way; silhouettes of trees flew past me, their long fingers reaching out to grab me. The only noises to be heard was the scrunching leaves under my bare feet as I ran, the deep quivering sound of my breathing and the rapid thumping of my heart.

I didn’t dare look back.

A branch from a nearby tree caught the side of the face. Excruciating pain burst through my right cheek as the gagged edges of the branch ripped though my skin. Warm blood oozed out of the wound, forming deep red trails down my face. A yelp raised to my mouth as my salty tears mixed with the deep cut. I wanted to curl up into a tight ball and cry, yet I knew that stopping wasn’t an option. I pumped my arms harder, forced my legs to move faster and faster, fueling myself on pain and fear.

Icy cold wind whipped though my hair and numbed my whole body. The skirt of my dress drifted toward the towering tree, determined to get stuck and slow me down. I jerked to a stop as the fabric wrapped around a thorn bush. Cursing under my breath, I tugged and wriggled the skirt frantically, but the material wouldn’t yield.

Crying hysterically, I gave the skirt a sudden jolt and, with a deafening tear, I was freed. I couldn’t stop the horrible wheezing sobs that escaped my lips. A sense of panic raised in me, as I felt a chill run across my spin and goose pimples form on the back of my neck and arms.

I stun round hastily to search for an escape route, but every direction looked the same: masses of trees looming scarily around me. Through the trees I saw the moon, like a perfectly round beacon in the distance. I ran toward it in the hope of getting out of this God forsaken forest.

That’s where I got the feeling of hundreds of spiders crawling over me. I looked down at my body, but there was nothing there. A dark object in the distance whizzed past my vision in a blur. It was too fast for me to recognise it form.

It’s probably a deer I thought in the effort to calm my nerves. But I knew there that was not possible.

I wanted to run as far away as possible, but my legs wouldn’t move. They were rooted to the ground. My body trembled as I whispered a quite prayer into the night. I was cut short when a hushed voice entered my mind and echoed around my head.

Turn around my dear.

Terror gripped me as the velvet voice filled my mind, trying to lead me into a false sense of safety. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears with my hands in an attempt to block out the sound. But the whispers continued as if coming from every direction.

Knowing there was not other option, I turned gradually, apprehensively, as the whisper instructed.

In the moonlight I could make out the form of an old woman, with her back to me, hunched over. Her body was convulsing in a set rhythm. To most people they would think she was crying. But I knew that was not the case.

She was laughing.  Painfully slowly, she turned her face toward me, relishing in my fear.

She had caught me.

There was nothing I could do. Defeated, I fingered the silver chain around my neck, clung onto the small diamond cross pendant and looked towards the heavens.

This was the end.