A Short Story

My legs are moving, but the world around me seems to be stuck. I run and run and run, but I am frozen in one place. The ground is slowly growing darker with an approaching shadow, and I’m not running fast enough. A dagger-like pain suddenly shoots up my thigh, and the forest turns into a blur around me as fear propels my body forward. A cry rings out through the wood, and I spin around, ignoring the ghastly shade of my skin when I catch a glimpse of my hand. There is a girl on the mossy ground, with a large dark figure hovering over her. I slowly step forward, hoping to get a better look at her body, and the creature whips its gaze towards me. I meet its cold, hollow eyes, but it is almost as if it is looking straight through me. It focuses back on the girl, and I do too, trying to make out her familiar face. The monster lifts her up as if to cradle her, and I gasp, confusion coloring my mind. She is me.