My heart was beating faster than ever before and I feared if I ran any more it would jump out of my chest. I looked back and could not see them, but I knew they would not be far behind. My hiding was futile. Only one thing could bring my salvation, the bridge. I stepped forward, cringing as the dry leaves beneath my feet crackled as loud as a thousand drums and revealed my location.
The trees surrounding me were decorated with flattering hues everywhere from crimson to burnt orange to golden. A stream trickled below the quaint wooden bridge, reflecting the entrancing shades of the striking foliage, but I took no time to appreciate this. I had too many times before, before I knew it was all a lie, so when I learned of the bridge their true colors became apparent.
I picked up a rock from the ground and threw it with all my might towards the bridge. The pebble flew through the air and halfway over the bridge it hit the dividing line, a faint light white that marked my exit, splashed, and disappeared.
I was no more than 30 feet away when they reappeared, stalking me in dead silence. I stood with my back against the tree, feeling the rough bark and took a deep breath. This false Eden they had created would no longer hold me prisoner. My feet crunched over the ground’s crisp leaves as I dashed towards my means of escape. The only mistake I made was to look back.
They were draining everything around me. The once blossoming flowers disappeared in clouds of ash. Trees became swept bare of their leaves and crumpled to the ground as if they were submitting themselves to the power of the ones who followed. A grey air rushed out from them towards me. Color was being sucked from the landscape surrounding me and ringing filled my ears. I screamed, covering them as the noise became deafening. I felt blood pumping through my ears and it began to trickle along my skin, down my chin, and to the nape of my neck. The feeling, that pain, kept me going and when I neared the bridge I jumped.
As I leaped toward the dividing line everything seemed to slow down. The other side was just a reflection of what was behind me and as I touched it the image shifted and became disturbed like ripples did to a lake. I felt the pain fading and looked back. They’ll never hurt me again I thought as I crashed through the portal to the other side of the bridge.
I fell to the ground hard and raised my head to take in my surroundings. So this is what the other side looks like.
YOU ARE READING
Shadow Cat and Other Stories
Mystery / Thriller"The cat leapt soundlessly from one shingled rooftop to the next," this is the first sentence of the first story of this thrilling collection of short stories. Mysteries and cliffhangers cling to every one of these tales, ones that will leave you c...
