DOORS - A Roblox Doors Story (Book 2)

Epilogue

The nearly full moon was creeping across the sky, casting long shadows across the forest landscape. Stars sparkled in the black void of the night, though dark clouds were beginning to cover it all, stalking slowly across the night sky.

The forest was dark, but it was alive. The sounds of the night seemed deafening. From the songs of crickets and cicadas, to the sound of rustling tree branches from owls or bats, to the roaring of moving water that sounded not too far away. And the sound of heavy footfalls hitting the hard ground paired with heavy breathing.

Seek doesn't know how long he'd been running, only that it had been too long. His heart was pounding, his throat was dry and cold, and his entire body ached. He was still invisible at the moment, but his lack of visibility did not hide the sounds he made. His breathing was loud and unsteady from having been running for so long.

After his initial escape from the hotel, he had been running for a while, before stopping after the sun rose. He rested, sleeping through most of the day in a sheltered hole beneath a tree's roots. He had woken up at some point in the mid afternoon, and had continued running after that. The sun had since set, leaving Seek in relative darkness. It was growing hard to see, and Seek felt that he'd soon collapse. Still, he continued running.

As the sound of roaring water grew louder, Seek grew closer and closer to his breaking point. And right as the river came into view, his knees buckled and he collapsed, panting heavily. He lied there for a while, trying to catch his breath. After several minutes, he shakily sat up, a hand pressed to his chest, feeling his heart pounding relentlessly. He looked around him, at the dark forest that surrounded him. Gentle moonlight filtered through the canopy of the trees, and sparkled on the river. He could hear leaves rustling, and could see the little lights of fireflies.

Seek exhaled, looking down at the ground. He pulled off the silver cuff, and became visible once more. His clothes were torn in some places, and he had some bleeding cuts as well, from the brambles and thorns that had caught him as he was running. Seek pulled a small stick out of his hair and flicked it away to the side. He looked down at the wrist cuff in his hands.

Looking at it made his skin crawl, and his heart ache. Seek squeezed his eyes shut, still breathing heavily, before opening his eyes again, and throwing the cuff away, watching as it landed in the river, never to be seen again.

Seek continued just sitting there, trying to catch his breath. His legs felt numb, and the places he had been cut were starting to sting.

He had done it. He had run away from the hotel, and was finally free. Where to go, though, he didn't know. At least the hotel had provided warmth and things to eat and drink. He had none of those things anymore. He was alone, and on his own. It was really cold, too. Seek didn't really see a future where he'd make it out alive without hypothermia. He didn't really see a future at all. There was nothing for him.

Seek let out a frustrated sigh, before shakily standing back up. He needed to find a way to cross this river if he was to continue, and he didn't really know what to do about that. He started pacing, muttering to himself as he tried to think of something.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here...?"

Seek froze. He knew exactly who that was.

"Just do what you're going to do already," Seek growled, not having the patience nor energy to deal with Shadow.

"You're no fun," Shadow said, appearing in front of Seek. "But really, you didn't actually think running away would make you safer, did you?"

Seek didn't answer, only growling softly at Shadow's words.