Present
808Please respect copyright.PENANAwctDBNyz9H
Leaves and branches scratched my arms, face and other parts of my body as I ran along the dark wooded forest. I didn’t know where I was going, but I was pretty808Please respect copyright.PENANAmu4jIOUh4t
sure I was running for my life from whatever was chasing me. The air808Please respect copyright.PENANAvkSCE2Hw1Q
around me was cold and there was fog everywhere. The full moon had come808Please respect copyright.PENANAwlapCFygpX
up and it was as bright as ever. But its light wasn’t bright enough for808Please respect copyright.PENANA26tsod7y5Q
it to illuminate around the forest because of the foliage of the tree808Please respect copyright.PENANAT6XvtrGa0o
leaves above.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAdqPjeLUDw8
I ran, trying to dodge every branch and jump over any fallen log blocking my path. I had fallen over a log at some point and must have badly injured my knee, but now808Please respect copyright.PENANAf9nn4P4vrs
was clearly not the time to check myself. I could feel its presence and I808Please respect copyright.PENANAeIJQfTbdOr
knew it was coming closer and closer. I could tell it wanted me. I808Please respect copyright.PENANAAkYZiLj9ti
could tell it wanted to find me. I could tell it wanted to kill me.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAIG8YvJr4kw
Whenever I felt it coming closer, I would try to push myself and run a little faster. Sweat ran down my face and I was panting so much. No matter what, I couldn’t808Please respect copyright.PENANAVfougqX7Sw
stop running and I wasn’t planning on doing so any way.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAMUsVefNTa8
This was just like those American horror or Africa Magic movies about witchcraft I had watched. I never thought I would be going though whatever happens in such movies in my life. Everything's so real and my heart pumped so fast that the808Please respect copyright.PENANAbk9M4jaxhY
adrenaline that spread throughout my body had kept me going for what808Please respect copyright.PENANAouRT848S77
seemed liked hours.
808Please respect copyright.PENANANtcO2qcdda
All of the sudden, I felt something grab my waist and draw me a few steps back. I found myself pinned to the bark of a tree. For a moment, I thought whatever808Please respect copyright.PENANApq9ieoud8j
was after me had finally caught me. Before I could scream, a hand808Please respect copyright.PENANA8cJ2gpC8lf
quickly covered my mouth and I could tell I was with a person, but it808Please respect copyright.PENANAv9kcT3tbKp
was too dark to even see who it was. I could tell it was a man because I808Please respect copyright.PENANAk1SeTv5j4U
could make out the person’s physique even in the darkness. I could feel808Please respect copyright.PENANAF856B7NZAD
his other strong arm pin my whole body with my back against the tree808Please respect copyright.PENANAZ0VefmiG7g
that I couldn’t even move. The hand he used to cover my mouth was808Please respect copyright.PENANAJfaHtBYEzb
quickly withdrawn. He put up his index finger and placed it to his lips808Please respect copyright.PENANA9GQBdG2hCY
obviously telling me to be quiet. I silently nodded, and for once, my808Please respect copyright.PENANAyEg1WnM7aO
breathing slowed down and I felt my body relax a little. I could tell808Please respect copyright.PENANA68iyBmf39Q
that no matter what, this man in front of me was only trying to protect808Please respect copyright.PENANAyOZqcLQWly
me, but that didn’t mean I had forgotten about the danger around us.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAQjxFaMX7pS
A chilling sensation came over me. The feeling became stronger and I knew it was coming closer. The man still had me pinned to the tree and he just waited in808Please respect copyright.PENANA0DK3oFLGRf
silence. Then a black shadow passed us and it was moving as fast as I808Please respect copyright.PENANAdjkiv8Vk1y
could have ever imagined. The shadow was going to catch me, no doubt808Please respect copyright.PENANAKV2j8LkyX6
about that. Thank goodness the man came before anything happened.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAzRfUdNgJYH
A few seconds later, the chilling sensation had subsided and I couldn’t help but feel relived. The man’s hand that held me to the tree loosened and he took me by the808Please respect copyright.PENANAqJ09k55Kil
hand and dragged me along with him to wherever we were going. He didn’t808Please respect copyright.PENANAxUcIfXLsrA
say a single word to me and it was best to keep quiet in these forests,808Please respect copyright.PENANAQIcdb50UNq
just in case the shadow ever found us. We soon came upon an open area808Please respect copyright.PENANA9nvAraU8Fk
with a few trees around, the moon shone brightly over us and I could see808Please respect copyright.PENANA7Vxsa2Tmbe
the man’s back but not his face. As I continued to look at him, I808Please respect copyright.PENANA7LvplXvPAW
couldn’t help but feel that I know him. I wanted to see his face so808Please respect copyright.PENANA1qI9XddeMt
badly and curiosity took the better of me: I spoke.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAqw0tA7ChlX
“Do I know you?” I asked.
808Please respect copyright.PENANAVEcIFNiaCL
The man stopped walking and I bumped into his back. I felt his body go rigid because of my question. I hoped I hadn’t upset him. He was the only key to getting out808Please respect copyright.PENANAfD0muEn91v
of here.
808Please respect copyright.PENANApmxGSPW7Dx
“Now isn’t the right time for this,” he whispered, “and you better stop talking. We aren’t safe here.”
808Please respect copyright.PENANA8mKwTRYnx6
“I just wanted to know who are you, that’s all,” I whispered. “I want to thank you for what you did for me back there.”
808Please respect copyright.PENANAiLXYpP6EM0
“Don’t thank me; we aren’t out of the forest yet.”
808Please respect copyright.PENANAsIgnPUUAqU
I couldn’t help but say, “You sound very familiar, do I know you?”
808Please respect copyright.PENANA1CiQUpCuVJ
For a moment there was only silence and all I could do was stare at the back of the man who had saved me. He sighed out heavily and he finally spoke:
808Please respect copyright.PENANAp1CdsdkSHL
“Knowing you, you aren’t going to give up so easily, asking the same question just to annoy me. You’re always so persistent and stubborn, Diana.”
808Please respect copyright.PENANA86iVbR5SyT
It was now my turn for my body to go rigid. I stared at him with shock. How did he know my name? How did he know I was persistent and stubborn? I needed answers.808Please respect copyright.PENANA369KzM1N4K
And I needed them right away.
808Please respect copyright.PENANADRkeFXbx9e
I didn’t have to ask the questions that were running around my head as the man immediately turned to face me. My jaw suddenly dropped and I couldn’t help but feel808Please respect copyright.PENANA3vMqlCYUYN
surprised and yet again happy when I saw his face. But some things808Please respect copyright.PENANApNGz6WdO37
weren’t adding up though. How did he know where to find me in the first808Please respect copyright.PENANAivga515lbd
place?
808Please respect copyright.PENANAJhNWaKcr8J
And why of all people did it have to be him?
808Please respect copyright.PENANA1OK5sjr9Xq