Page 36 of Hated By the Gargoyle

Branches slapped my bare skin and I yelped, sure Qanek could hear me from wherever he was.

I stopped in the middle of the forest, trying to calm my breathing so I could hear Qanek.

I whirled in a circle. A branch snapped and I flinched. The sounds of my breathing quieted a single fraction, but the forest made itself known.

Fear curdled my insides. Fear and anticipation.

It was the unknown, being pursued. Though I knew Qanek wouldn’t hurt me, the situation felt far too dire. Too real. The darkness had a way of clouding my senses. Of making me believe in the terrible monsters I’d been warned about as a little girl.

It made every shadow seem like a spectral figure sent to haunt me. Every noise was a beast, ready to claim me.

My heart was beating far too fast in my chest now. I took a step and a snapping branch made me pause. I held my breath, turning my head this way and that until something, a whisper of warm air, rushed across the back of my neck.

I gasped and looked up…

More darkness greeted me.

But then…

Gleaming teeth in the shadows. A feral smile curving in a cheshire cat grin.

I screamed and ran, blind to where I was going, but uncaring as long as it was away from the threat.

Each push forward on wobbling legs made my thighs crest together. They rubbed, creating a friction of desire that not even the fear could stave off.

A whoosh of air overhead and I changed trajectories, only to feel it again.

Laughter echoed through the forest, bounding off one tree, and another, and another, making it almost impossible to discern where the sound had come from.

He was close.

Qanek was close.

I could feel it, even if I couldn’t see him.

Suddenly, I felt a tug against the front of my shirt. A yank, followed by a tear. I doubled over, gasping, but there was nobody there. Even if I now sported claw marks on the front of my shirt, the material ripped to shreds against my skin, leaving my bare skin pebbling against the cold.

I tore the tattered garment off, standing in nothing but pants and socks. My bare nipples pointed, hard and aching.

I ran again. This time, the yank pulled me off my feet. I went flying to the ground, landing on a blanket of soft leaves and earth, and still, I lost my breath. My leg was pulled with such force, I slid across the ground, my back scraping harshly. I kicked out, but met nothing but empty air and found my sock missing entirely.

Fear threatened to choke me.

Something about this felt wrong and yet so, so right. I shouldn’t have been afraid, but I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, and I was almost naked in a night world of a place I knew very little about.

I rolled onto my stomach, scrambling across the earth to get to my feet…

Another yank pulled me back down, my face planting against the floor. I kicked out again, this time coming into contact with something solid, before I felt my second sock loosen and the body disappear.

My bare feet scraped along the earth as I finally managed to stand and run again.

At this point, I didn’t care where I ran or how far. I just wanted to get away. My mind was working in overdrive, my chest beating an uncomfortable rhythm. The unknown sent me into a panic I couldn’t get out of, its claws gripping me tightly and…

Claws raked across the backs of my thighs, breaking through the material of my jeans, tearing holes from ass to ankle.

I tripped. Only this time, a heavy body fell on top of mine, pinning me to the ground. A clawed hand slammed into the ground next to my head, creating deep grooves in the earth.

I moaned, feeling the desire slide out from between my legs.