Against the dark bark of the tree she was barely visible to the naked eye, to mankind's naked eye. However, it was no human that chased her, that followed her deep into the woods. Andrea knew it was animal, and like most animals, could pierce through the darkness that her own eyes could not.
She knew she would have to continue to run at dawn.
Andrea shook with fear and cold, nausea settling in. She hadn't eaten in days, weeks, and the lack of food was having a devastating effect on her body. Her vision was blurred, her body weak with fatigue, and she was sure that she was slowly going insane. In her mind's eye, she saw her body, and she cringed. She couldn't remember what she looked like, what day of the week it was, or even how old she was. It had been too long.
Something cold and wet slid over her arm, but she didn't care. It moved down the rest of her arm, slithering away beneath the rotting forest ground. It was probably a snake, and for a mere second she wished that it had bitten her. Any other pain was better than the pain in her ankle, which throbbed and oozed dark blood as she sat there. Any pain and any death was better than the death she was sure she could feel hovering at arms length. The thought made her smile vainly into the darkness.
A rustle behind the tree, so loud it was almost deafening to her acutely sensitive hearing, made her tense. It was the animal, the thing. It was there to kill her. Instinctively she stood, wanting to die but still fighting. She would not die without a fight.
It made a sound, a horrible sound, that chilled her to her very soul. She whimpered with pain as she pressed her weight down on her hurt ankle. Fresh blood leaked slowly from the gash on her upper leg, leaking slowly down her calf, soaking through her already wet denim jeans. The blood was so hot against her chilled skin that it burned.
"Go away!" Andrea screamed, but she was sure that no sound came out. It didn't matter either way; she would die at age thirteen, her innocence lost to the world. Into the night she plunged, running hard on her hurt ankle, hearing the sound of crushing leaves right behind her. She could feel its breath on her neck, hear the snarling sounds it made over the horrible groans that were emitted from its ghastly mouth. Then she was flung, head first, into the rotting vegetation of the ground.
The horrible sounds of the beast began to form words, as if it could speak in the human tongue. The concept was forever lost to her, for she could not make out the words over the roaring in her head. Andrea struggled as it pressed itself against her side, the warmth of it's body singeing her skin.
"Please, please," she pleaded continuously, eyes squeezed shut, sobs racking her slim, malnourished body. Then she felt it, the claws slowly raked down her back, tearing her shirt. Her skin split instantly beneath the onslaught of the razor sharp tips, blood running down her sides, soaking into the ground.
Blood, so much blood.
Andrea heard a distinct laugh. Could an animal laugh? she asked herself. Then, with her face pressed against the soggy leaves, the pain from the claws slicing at her skin became too much. The first laugh was followed by more, louder now, as if they were screaming in her ears. She screamed back, her cries echoing high into the night, swallowed by the darkness. She screamed until she was hoarse, until her eardrums were about to burst.
Suddenly, there was silence. She was silenced. The earth was silenced. The screams were silenced. Everything stood still, nothing moved, and the pain now was only a dull throb. Over the frantic beating of her heart, she heard "it" stand.
Was she dead?
Then it was on its knees beside her, kneeling low so it could flick its snakelike tongue over the bleeding flesh of her ear. Its breath was warm there, and its tongue wet against her ear. That's when she knew she wasn't dead ...yet.
"Run", it whispered, barely audible over the wind that now swept low to the ground. "The hunt isn't over."
Andrea turned her head up to look into its face, and noticed features there. It was a man, handsome despite the blood that tainted his almost white skin. Tears filled her eyes then, blurring her vision further, and he laughed. His lips were pressed to her cheek before he stood, taking a step back.
"Run!" he commanded, and weakly she obeyed, standing on wobbling legs. In the darkness, she saw him transform into what he had haunted her for days in her mind, her dreams, and had hunted her as if she were an animal. Her life meant nothing to him.
His face was tilted towards the sky as his body changed from human to beast, large razor-like claws breaking through the flesh on his knuckles once again. The claws shone in the darkness like silver, the moonlight playing on them almost sensually.
The hunt would continue, and soon she would be as dead as the ground on which her life's blood dripped.
Chapter 1:
Elisa Hanes looked forlornly into the woods, the straps from her back pack digging into her shoulders. Before her stood the same woods that had taken her best friend, and many before her, and many after. It was all Elisa could do to keep from crying out in frustration.
"You know, you don't have to go if you dont want to," Andrew Young whispered next to her, careful not to let any of the others overhear. "I don't want you to do this just because I suckered you in."
Elisa averted her attention towards Andrew, gazing deep into his crystal blue eyes. "Ah, but that is exactly what you want me to do! I'm not afraid of a stupid graveyard-"
"Even if you have to spend the night?"
"-hunt. And yes, even if I have to spend the night."
Andrew muttered a curse, but quickly turned his attention elsewhere. Elisa, momentarily fazed by the determination that had overtaken her, was quick to give her best friend a kiss on his cheek. Then his blue eyes were back on her own again.
"Okay, I don't understand you sometimes. One minute you get all defensive, and then the next you are kissing me on my cheek." Andrew was smiling as he said this, and Elisa couldn't help noticing the dimples that only accented his gorgeous smile.
"You know, you could kill a girl with that smile," Elisa said before re-adjusting the straps on her bare shoulders. "Come on, we need to catch up with the others."
* * *
The afternoon sun beat down fiercly on Elisa's head, highlighting the golden strands until they shone as bright as the sun itself. She had been walking through the thick underbrush for about two hours now, Andrew huffing beside her as he tried to keep up.
