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“I think we all need a piece of her after how spicy she just got,” another one growls, and I clench my fingers into my palms, feeling them dig deep into my skin.
The footsteps grow closer, and I shift my feet, ready to bolt, when everything stops.
Everything.
I feel a cool brush of air on my arm and close my eyes, so worried I’ll look behind me and see someone. Or maybe I’ll see nothing at all. I don’t know which would be worse.
A crack of a branch sounds as they ascend upon me, and I know they’ve spotted me.
I have to go.Now.
“Get her!” one of them shouts.
My arms pump at my sides as I run through the forest. My eyes grow wide when I see a white shadow deep in the trees. A face with dark features. Black eyes.
Suspended in the air.
I scream as I run, pointing into the trees. “There’s someone in the trees! Someone’s out there!”
They don’t listen as they silently run after me.
“Listen to me, you pieces of shit! Someone. Is in. The woods!” I holler, panting with each breath. But they don’t care, they don’t listen. Their only goal is to get me and do wicked things to me.
No.
I see a bridge in front of me, and I curve, making my way to the old wooden structure. A small wooden, rotted railing holds it up. Something that doesn’t look like it’ll hold me, but I have to try.I have to.
Pieces of the boards are missing, but I leap over it, rushing onto the long bridge that suspends over Superior. We’re high up, but not too high. It would be a scary drop, but hopefully—as long as there aren’t rocks underneath the water—I’d maybe survive the fall.
“Oh, shit,” one of them says, and it stops me in my tracks. I stand in the middle of the bridge as I glance over my shoulder, all four of them stand on the edge, staring at me with apprehension.
“What, now y’all are fucking scared? Of a rickety old bridge?” I laugh, grabbing onto the railings as I shove side to side. It rocks easily, swaying in the night air.
“No, baby sister. We’re waiting to see what you do. You can keep running, straight into the dark woods. We won’t follow you on that side. It sits untouched and has for years. I don’t know what stays over there. No one knows what lingers between the trees at night. Otherwise, you can jump over and hope you survive. If you don’t, maybe you’re just saving me the trouble.”
I swallow, looking over my shoulder into the pitch-black woods. They are so dense I can barely see between the trunks. Glancing below me, the water crashes angrily against the shore. Yes, I might survive.
But I might not.
“Or you can come back to us. Pay for your misgivings and how you’ve treated us this evening and fucking pray to God that we let you see the light of day tomorrow.”
I grip the rotted wood. It’s squishy beneath my palm, and I realize how weak it is. I shouldn’t be standing here. It isn’t safe, and I’m surprised I haven’t fallen through yet.
The question is, though, which path do I take?
They all stare at me, expectant and impatiently waiting.
“Fuck all of you,” I whisper into the wind, turning my back to them and making my way into the dark forest. I might not know what waits for me on this side of the woods, but I know what waits for me if I go back to them, and it’s not a risk I want to take.
I step on an overly warped board. It feels like my bare foot steps on a sponge.
And it snaps.
My hands reach out, my fingers digging into the soft wood. It gives underneath me, but I keep hanging on as a scream breaks from my chest. “Someone, help! Please, help me!”
I glance over, my hands searching for more and more stability as I glare at the four men on the other side of the bridge.
They stare at me, shock and maybe a little boredom in their eyes. Malik stands at the forefront, his hand gripping the wood as his jaw clenches to stone.
