I can hear Aiko's flashlight hit the ground. After that, complete silence, other than the rapid beating of my heart.
My mind races to every possible outcome of this situation: Aiko and I get kidnapped, Aiko and I are hacked to shreds by a mass murderer, etc.
We're being watched. I can feel it. That message on the wall just confirms it.
I don't want to move out of the position I'm in. I have a strange feeling that, if I just stay as still as I can, nothing bad will happen.
"Diana," Aiko whispers from behind me, her voice quivering.
I slowly turn to face her. She's clutching her small notebook, staring with utter horror at the metal rack beside us.
When I look where she's looking, my breath catches in my throat.
A tall, hunched figure looms down the aisle adjacent to Aiko and me. Through the rack that separates us, I can see its black cloak and knotted frame. The figure breathes raspily as it slowly makes its way to the end of the aisle.
It jerks its head to face Aiko and me. I can see bright red eyes and... antlers.
When the creature growls, I know it's time to run.
I race past Aiko to the front of the shed and throw the door open. I run down the steps, onto the gravel trail, and into the cold night air.
This can't be happening.
I can hear Aiko, running, gasping for breath. Her asthma was not made for this.
I quickly look behind me and see the figure, standing at the back of the shed, its eyes hungry. Wind ripples through its tattered cloak.
I shouldn't have looked; I trip over my own feet and fall to the ground. The gravel bashes my knee open, and I can feel fresh blood pour down my leg. The pain is jarring. My stomach lurches, and my vision fades in and out.
I feel Aiko haul me to my feet. "It's chasing us, Diana! We have to get to the river!" she shouts over the howling wind.
She's right. I can hear the rabid snarls of the figure from the shed pursuing us. There's no way Aiko and I can make it back to the Academy in time. Our only hope is the river that rushes behind the Academy and out into the Gazoban Gardens. It can carry us away from this monster.
Aiko and I veer off the gravel trail and onto the grass field leading to the river. I stumble over whithered blades of grass, Aiko dragging me forward. I can feel the creature catching up to us, its teeth snapping violently.
Aiko and I reach the edge of the river. Water surges beneath us, sharp rocks poking out at jagged angles. I look at Aiko. She's watching the water, an uncertain look on her face.
The figure is careening towards us now, its mouth wide open, blotched hands reaching out.
I scream as Aiko grabs my shirt and pulls me off the ledge and into the open air. I feel the creature's sharp claws scrape at my neck. Then I crash into the water, and all I can see is white.
***
The water is frigid cold and my body tenses. Everything is loud and all-consuming. I tumble in the blue abyss, at the mercy of this rushing river.
At first, it's just the sound of the water in my ears, but then, something else.
It's the whispers of something ancient. Something that has been rotting and waiting for centuries.
It's calling out to me. Asking me to join it.
I'm watching you.
***
I split the surface of the water, gasping for air.
Thunder booms above me, sending large drops of rain plummeting down. Lightning ignites the sky around me.
"Diana!" Aiko calls out. I look to where her voice is. She's clutching onto a wooden log, her black hair soaking, rain running down her face.
I swim over to her, battling the raging current.
I clamber onto the wood, my hands slipping on the wet surface. "Are you okay?" Aiko asks me.
"Yeah," I say, looking back at the ledge. The figure is standing at the edge, watching as we are pulled farther and farther away from him.
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