Don’t look back! Don’t look back! I yelled loudly in my head. My heart was pounding like a hummingbirds, as my bare feet slapped through the dead leaves that sprawled across the cold forest floor. Something malicious was pursuing me to no end.

Doesn’t that thing ever rest? I thought. My muscles ached and my lungs burned, begging for something to quell its fire. Tripping over an invisible branch below me, my momentum working against me, flinging me across the forest floor. Knowing I couldn’t stop, I watched in horror as I plummeted down a hill. Coming to a complete stop at the bottom of the hill, I couldn’t find the strength to get back up, my lungs burned and my desire of hope faded like a dying wish. Should I just give up and give into that monster?

No! A voice yelled from deep within my subconscious. No Mya! It yelled my name, screaming for me to get up. You can make it!

I sighed, feeling that dark presence growing closer, Ready to consume me.

‘But I can’t keep moving.’ I replied back ‘I’m already at a loss and I’m all alone… I feel so numb, I just wanna sleep… just let me sleep! I closed my eyes, ready to give in. But I felt another presence calling out to me. It was so warm, so loving. My eyelids flew open and the strength I thought was long gone, pumped me up with adrenaline. Shooting back up to my feet, I faced the creature before me. It slowly crawled down the hill, a dead gray hand with black veins decorating its skin, reached out of the shadows in an attempt to grab me. My heart nearly stopped and I couldn’t help but tumble backwards, landing into something soft and warm as it wrapped its arms around me. Not seeing who it was, I took them by the hand and ran.