Fear

Chapter1

   A dull ache clouded my head as simultaneously a hazy fog clouded my vision. The ache was sharp enough to hurt, but not so strong as to affect my thoughts. Where am I? How did I get here? How long have I been here? Why am I here? Each thought flooded my brain one after the other. The words seemed to echo loudly in my already pounding head. I opened my eyes to reveal my current location. My head hurt and I still couldn't see clearly. I sat up and waited for my head to clear. The wind whispered around me as my vision cleared. I got up and surveyed my surroundings. It was then that I realized where I was and why it was so cold. Goosebumps dotted my arms as my hair stood on end. My pulse quickened and I felt my throat become parchment dry. I had been running, but running from what? I heard a voice telling me to run, so I did, and then I tripped and wound up amongst the trees. I was in the middle of a dense forest, with night quickly approaching. I was afraid of what had forced me here, but I was more afraid of being alone in the shadows. I wasn't sure I'd be steady on my feet, but it would be foolish to stay. I started walking when suddenly I heard a low growl somewhere to my right.

I turned around slowly, trying my hardest to not panic. At first, I couldn't place the sound, and I thought I was going crazy. Then suddenly, on my left this time, I heard it again, another low growling. I whirled around, now fully panicking.

"Who's there?" I called out.

My only answer was more growling from all sides. I then saw that I was being surrounded by creatures with glowing red eyes. I then remembered that I had been running from these creatures. I had nowhere to turn. They had surrounded me. I looked at the creatures and noticed that one of them looked unsure. I quickly scanned the ground around me looking for something to throw. Then I saw it, a decent-sized stone, perfect for throwing. I slowly bent down to grab it. I felt their eyes, glowing with hatred, on me as my fingers closed around the rock. I stood up slowly and turned to face the creature with the unsure look, like a child caught disobeying his parents.

I cautiously lifted my arm to chuck the rock as hard as I could. Just as I was about to hurl it, the creature's eyes flared like wildfire. I quickly glanced around and finally noticed what the creatures were. It was a wolf pack, quite a large one, and each wolf had razor-sharp teeth and claws. Their pelts were disguised by the ever-increasing shadows of twilight. I realized that I had to escape or die trying. I launched the rock with all of the power that I could muster. It hit the wolf squarely on the muzzle making it yelp in pain. I quickly ran towards the stunned wolf hoping that it wouldn't attack. Sure enough, it ran away from me as I broke through the circle of wolves. I looked to see if they were following and I almost immediately wished I hadn't. Not only were they following, they were slowly gaining on me.

I quickly looked around for any trees that I could quickly climb during my mad dash for safety. Then I saw it, an oak, with its branches reaching down to me. I quickly climbed up its strong, rugged, and twisted branches. As soon as I started to climb, they were below me, constantly growling, and snapping at my heels. I began throwing sticks and twigs at them.

"Get away!" I shrieked "Leave me alone"

Almost on cue, a wolf, at least twice as big as the others, padded amongst them. Instantly, the pack was quiet. The wolf wore the darkness, it was so black, yet it shone brighter than the moon. The wolf led the rest of them away as I sat there in the tree. I couldn't sleep for fear of falling, so I had to wait for dawn to come. I never realized just how long the night is until I was completely awake all night long fearing for my life.

When dawn finally came, I surveyed the ground from my position in the oak tree. I then saw that the wolves had a den not too far away in the West. If I was going to escape I would have to distract them somehow or wait until they were out hunting. I watched them for about an hour and realized that I would have to make a run for it. I then surveyed for any other means of shelter, somewhere the wolves couldn't reach me. I had been looking for only a short while when off towards the rising sun, I spotted an old shack. It wasn't too beat down but, it looked abandoned. I slowly climbed down the tree, pausing before I jumped to the ground. I looked around, and then slowly started to ease myself out of the tree. Just before my foot touched the ground, the black wolf exploded from the bushes snapping and growling at me. I just barely managed to pull myself up before it was below me again. I realized then that it wasn't going to leave me alone until it killed me or died trying. I looked around for any other means of escape. Luckily, the trees grew close together and I noticed that I could move from tree to tree. My agility wasn't that of a cat's, but I did my best to move quickly. About two yards away from the shack I noticed that the trees were too far away for me to travel safely. I looked down and saw that the black wolf had followed me the entire time. There was no way that I would be able to make it if the wolf was there. I had no choice but to wait for it to leave.

I had been waiting for hours, there was no brush to hide the wolf, yet it had disappeared. I didn't dare leave the tree for fear that it was waiting for me, somewhere in the woods. I would have to move soon, night was again approaching and I had nowhere to go. I then decided to, once again, leave the tree. I lowered myself down towards the ground and looked around for the wolf once again. I then jumped down and started running. I heard a wicked snarl behind me and I didn't need to look to know that I was being pursued, once again. I gave it all I had and just as I was closing in on the shack, the wolf leaped, catching me off guard, making me trip, and thus we tumbled the rest of the way. I quickly pushed away from the wolf and ran to the door of the shack. I flung it open and slammed it shut as the wolf, once again, launched itself at the door. I heard the door shudder at the impact, but it held firm. I was safe, for now.