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A loud, cruel laugh rings out as I nearly rip the door off its hinges before taking off into the night air.
Cold, wet droplets of rain splash onto my skin, soaking me immediately, but I don’t let the downpour deter me.
Terror pushes me forward, my legs kicking as I bolt off into the woods. My feet slip from the slickness on the porch, and it’s then that I remember I’m fucking barefoot.
Too late now. I forge on, gritting my teeth against the bite of rocks in my feet as I bolt across the driveway.
As a child, I had always wanted to explore these woods. They’re deep and incredibly easy to get lost in. My mother and Nana never let me step foot inside them as a kid. Somehow, that restriction carried into my adult life.
The warnings I received as a child subconsciously kept me from ever going into the woods and exploring. And now, I wish I had.
It doesn’t even take a minute before I’m completely turned around. The only light offered is from the moon, and even that is weak due to the canopies of trees clouding the sky.
I keep pumping my legs, harder and faster. Too scared to stop. Too frightened of the devil nipping at my heels.
Until I trip over a root, my body pitching forward and then crashing noisily into the ground. I land awkwardly on my hands, pain flaring in both wrists as they give beneath my weight. My toe throbs from where it caught on the root, my feet bloodied and abused from running barefoot in the goddamn woods.
I’m breathing heavily, heaving out panicked puffs as I roll onto my back. I have to shut my eyes from the onslaught of rain, blurring my vision and leaking into my nose and mouth.
Raising a hand to cover my face, I open my eyes and look around.
I can’t see him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t close.
My chest is tight, and I work to calm my erratic heartbeat and take deep, long breaths so I can chill the fuck out long enough to hear if he’s coming.
The wind rustles the leaves on the ground, stirring up dirt and debris and drawing out goosebumps across my skin. The sound is ominous. Threatening. Like any moment, the wind will part the trees, and I will see my shadow standing there, watching and waiting.
My soaked t-shirt and leggings provide no protection from the unrelenting rain. The clothing molds to my body, trapping the cold beneath the fabric and allowing it to seep beneath my skin. My bones rattle from the violent shivers that wrack my body.
Sitting up, I suck in a deep breath and hold it, training my ears to listen for footsteps. It takes several seconds before I hear a snap of a twig. The sound comes from directly behind me.
I whip my head around, my eyes frantically searching the woods and my breath once more speeding up. Slowly, I rise to my feet, ignoring the pain pulsing in my battered hands and feet.
I need to hide.
Just as I take a silent step, I hear another snap of a twig. My heart jumps wildly as a foot appears in my field of vision. Like a demon rising from a fire pit, I watch him emerge from between two trees. My eyes widen, my mouth drying from the sight of a massive man stepping out from the shadows, a hood drawn over his face as he stalks towards me.
With that, I turn and I run.
I run with everything I have, pumping my legs and arms as fast as they will go. But in the end, it’s for nothing. I only make it ten feet before a hand is wrapping around my arm and jerking me backward. My body goes flying into his, crashing into his hard chest and knocking the breath out of my lungs.
I struggle against him, fighting like hell to get away, but he’s too big—too strong. He easily overpowers me, circling an arm around my waist and trapping me against his heated body.
Hot breath whispers against my ear a moment before his deep voice penetrates the haze of panic and terror circulating in my brain.
“You can’t escape me, little mouse. I will always find you.” He grabs my face, clenching my cheeks tightly between his large hand. The pinch of the soft flesh digging into my teeth produces a pained moan from my throat. An answering, low growl rumbles from his chest right before he asks, “Are you ready to be eaten?”
Using the hand gripping my face to turn me around, he pulls my body tightly against his. But I won’t go down without fighting.
I thrash my arms and kick my legs, twisting my body to get loose from his unforgiving hold. My violent struggles cause my foot to slip and my body to go teetering backwards.
We both fall, but the impact of my body against the unforgiving ground is saved by his hand catching both of us, keeping him suspended while his arm holds me tight against his body.
Of course, this still doesn’t deter me.
“Let me go, you fucking maniac! I will fuckin—”
“Do what?” he hisses, cutting me off with an angry growl. He traps my body between his and the cold ground, the freezing temperatures invading my body.
