k foliage of this mucky forest. I begin to lose momentum. The brandy begins to slow as the whiskey takes the lead. She's bleeding, I notice as she passes.

of what I’ll see. "it's gone!" I mutter in a scratchy voice. All I can see is the tall

stop and take a seat near a boulder on the rocky ledge of the river. I take a deep inhale of the cold evening air. A slight sen

loud cracking of small trees and the

st me!?", I

cries back; Tears po

-----------------------------------

the lake. It was so beautiful; we just couldn't resist. The sun was peering just over the mountains, lighting up the wild primulas and rhododendrons. There was a small shack with a broken water wheel and a deck at the edge of the pond. The moss growing on the roof suggested it was

eyes peering through the vegetation, at the edg

ith her fingers curled to her mouth, and her

?" I wo

raised to a standing position, on two feet, like that of a human; and the grey hairs of its fur coat r

we sprinted off, completely o

-----------------------------------

st me!?", I

cries back; tears po

e would emerge from the waters; hoping it would conceal her scent from the monster that preyed upon us. I continued my escape, running as fast as I could. My

ing was huge and fast. I'm a good runner but I wasn't trained to outrun such a predator who seemed stronger and faster than I am. The panic I felt increased as I began to realize I mig

lease no!”

y, I tuck in my head and lean into a front flip, slamming my back into the cold wet earth, as my body drags a wide streak of mud behind me. There's another ledge below. The force of my body propels me right off the edge feet first and I try to catch my balance as I feel the

to my feet and quickly break a low-hanging branch off the tree

thought to myself, i

error of what comes next as I point the tip of the broken edge of my new spear towards the unknown.

gone. I must have drifted from the river; I could no longer hear the roaring waters. All I could smell was the thick, humid, musky, cold air, with a hint of pine an

the rustling of leaves and the crackle of a twig from the top of the ledge up above and looked up to see those very eyes peering down at me. Stricken with fear, my body froze. The Monster greeted me; its mouth slowly opened, exposing its long sharp teeth; revealing to me a wicked, homicidal grin on its face. Instantly,

mud to get away; as the beast struck the tree behind me, gashing an imprint of its claws into the bark. I steadied my balance and

the hunter and myself was insufficient. It was close enough for the snarling and sounds of its claws digging into the earth to be heard. I st

parking an ounce of hope. I must be heading

he beast. Not having enough time to weigh the options, I decided to cross the river. I darted along the bouncing boards held by rope as fast as I could. My naked feet were inflamed, swollen, and bleeding. I cringed with each step as they connected with the

. It could have easily taken me by now. Each time it wa

its time capturing

African Lion? Each time I traveled a certain length, it would resu

continued to increase, it would catch me. I ne

d on the top of my underwear as I rushed to pull myself up any branch strong enough to support my weight. I continued climbing almost to the top of the tree, where any branch higher would surely break. Content with the last branch, I sat down and curled my legs into the

g, from down below. It was coming from a differ

g to flank me

self for finding this tree and evading the beast. That was until the monster's body came into view. My slight moment of happiness, faded. Before now I had been

r than my pickup t

ce been tagged by a hunter. It began wagging its long bushy tail like a playful dog while circling t

n handy at this very moment. It worked well with deer and coyotes. My nerves were starting to calm down as notions of

moss, scooping up a handful of dirt from underneath. It brought the dirt up to its muzzle, closed its eyes, and took a long deep sniff. Instantly, its eyes opened, and it let out a ferocious snarl. The beast tur

o myself; "it's foll

eting me, once again. It displayed those massive, razor-sharp, fangs; with that same wicked, homicidal grin as it had done ea

was going down. It was just peering over the horizon. This stupid animal, whatever the hell it was, had been chasing me for hours. My whole body was t

" I mocked. "What's the matter

mpting to intimidate me; the intimidation worked, fear was growing in my chest again. A sharp vibration shot up the tree as she sprang up to the second branch, with ease; the one I had struggled to reach. She

my branch as I scolded myself for being such an idiot. "Why did you

to the tip of my pinky toe. The blood started gushing out from my already inflamed foot. Still paralyzed wi

ite the drips to strike her tongue. She licked her lips a few times, letting out small grunts as she was clearly enjoying my f

f and slam directly on my side breaking through several limbs below that. The sound of my ribs snapping was louder than the sound of crackling wood during a bonfire. I slammed into the earth belo

d into my eyes with desire. She removed her gaze from mine and turned her attention to scanning my body. I watched in horror as she dropped down to her knees next

y chest. This time, she doesn't scratch me. She gently slides her claw from the middle of my chest, down my stomach, past my belly button, and then grasps ahold of my boxers. Scooting off me and to my side, she roughly lifts the top elastic part of my underwear with her thumbed claw and pee

irises changes from black to crimson instantly. She quickly moves her jaws to my side and chomps down her razor-sharp teeth into my belly with a ferocious roar vibrating from her throat. The unbearable,

-----------------------------------

baked moon illuminated the surrounding forest. I rolled over onto my stomach and positioned myself to run a marathon, the instant they fired a pistol. I held still, list

ack to me. I examined my body for fractured bones and the bite, but nothing was there. There was no trace of t

I inhaled some mushroom spores and had a severe hallucination. Given that I seldom recall my drea

clothes and gear laying on the deck and nothing else. I rejoic

ime. It's 12:32 a.m. The thought of going to school tomorrow makes me groan. I type i

at the hell was th

Where

don’t

ing me! Plea

maybe it

ore after I get home.”