I bolted. My feet pounded against the uneven ground, slipping on loose dirt and wet leaves, but I couldn't slow down. The shadows in the forest seemed to stretch out, twisting around me like hungry hands. Branches reached down as if to grab me, scraping across my arms and face, but I didn't dare stop.
My breath came in short, frantic gasps. The cold air cut through my lungs like shards of glass, but the fear made me push harder. My side burned—every breath a jagged pain—but I couldn't let it stop me.
The sound of footsteps. Not mine. Someone else was out there, closing in. I could hear them now, the crunch of leaves, the snap of twigs underfoot. But I couldn't risk turning around. I couldn't afford to know.
Suddenly, I stumbled. My ankle twisted beneath me, and I crashed to the ground with a yelp. The force of the fall knocked the wind out of me, and for a second, I thought I might black out.
But no. No. I couldn't.
I gasped, struggling to get my breath back. My heart was hammering so loud in my ears, I could hardly hear anything else. Every second felt like an eternity, each one pulling me deeper into a nightmare I couldn't escape.
With trembling hands, I pushed myself up, clutching the wet earth beneath me for support. The world was spinning, but I refused to let myself fall.
Another noise. Closer this time. A rustle of movement—too deliberate, too measured. Whoever was out there wasn't running. They were waiting for me to make a mistake. To falter.
I didn't look back.
I couldn't.
I started running again, faster this time, my body crying out with each step, but the adrenaline was the only thing keeping me going. The trees blurred past me, but my eyes were fixed on the narrow space between them, the small opening that promised escape.
But then—I heard it.
A voice. Low, almost a whisper, but it sliced through the night air with a chill that froze me in place.
"Janica."
My name. But it wasn't Jason's voice.
I froze, my body going rigid, every instinct screaming at me to move. But I couldn't.
The forest around me was alive with sound now. The whisper of the wind through the leaves. The thump of footsteps moving in sync with mine. Whoever it was, they were close—too close.
I didn't turn around. Not yet.
I forced my legs to carry me forward, pushing past the panic, the terror, the ache in my side. I had to keep moving.
The shadows seemed to press in harder now, the space between the trees closing up, turning everything into a maze of black and grey. And still, the footsteps behind me grew louder.
Closer.
I risked a glance over my shoulder, my heart leaping into my throat.
A figure. Just a blur. But I saw enough. Dark clothing, tall, looming—moving with purpose. They were coming for me.
I didn't know how much longer I could run. My body was screaming for rest, but I couldn't stop. Not here. Not now.
And then, just ahead, I saw it. A break in the trees. The forest thinning out into a clearing, a faint light breaking through the shadows. It had to be the edge.
I pushed myself harder, ignoring the pain that lanced through my legs and chest. The figure behind me was still gaining, every step echoing in my mind like a countdown.
I reached the clearing—stumbling through the last few steps—and nearly collapsed in the open space.
There. A road. A distant, almost ethereal light, far enough away to give me hope.
But the moment I stepped into the open, the sound stopped. The footsteps. The voice.
Silence.
I turned, my body trembling with exhaustion and fear.
Nothing.
No one.
I was alone.