Posts
By Jen K.
Part 1
Waking
with a low, pained groan at her already aching head, Jesse lifted her head off
of the ground and lifting herself up onto her elbows with effort, she swept her
gaze over the immediate area.
Her
forehead creased as she realized she had no idea where she was. From her
initial sweep, she could tell that it was late-- the moon was high overhead--
and that she was in the middle of a field of some kind. A low, hollow breeze
was stirring the tall grass all around her.
Despite
the full moon, visibility was shoddy at best, and as she sat there, feeling
nausea set in as her migraine pounded away hard behind her pained eyes, she
wished she had a flashlight.
"Where
the hell am I?" she managed softly as her eyes swept over her
surroundings, feeling her stomach clench uncomfortably as she realized how
small her voice sounded in the darkness, feeling it closing in all around her,
"Am I dreaming?"
Feeling
the dirt bite into her knees, she looked downward, and her forehead creased as
she realized she was still wearing her green spaghetti-strap night-shirt and
her black sleep shorts, and that her feet were bare.
Well
that answered that question, she reasoned, shifting back onto her backside and
drawing her knees into her chest, lifting her hands to brush the loose gravel
and dirt off of her knees.
"Good
evening..." a low voice suddenly spoke in the darkness, and she leapt
to her feet, whirling around to see who had spoken them.
She
swallowed hard as she stood there, realizing she was still alone in the field,
with the darkness feeling oppressive all around her, leaving her feeling very
much exposed as she stood there with nothing to defend herself with.
"You
didn't think you were all alone here, did you, Jesse?" the voice came
again, and again she whirled to look behind her, her long hair whipping around
her shoulders with the action, forcing her to lift her hand to sweep it back
out of her face, to keep her vision clear.
Again,
she found only darkness all around her, and she felt the low breeze stir the
hair hanging down around her ears as she panted heavily in the wake of her
fear, her heart hammering hard against her ribs as ice shivered its way down
her spine.
"You're
not alone," the voice came once again, and she swallowed hard.
"It's
just a dream," Jesse assured herself.
"Are
you sure?" the voice smirked, practically in her ear now.
Gasping
and spinning around hard as she took a step backwards, she sucked in a sharp
breath through gritted teeth as she lifted her left foot almost immediately
after stepping down on it, bending to rub her thumb over a small cut made by a
sharp rock she hadn't noticed before she'd stepped down on it.
"Who
are you?" she whispered under her breath, searching the darkness with her
eyes as she stood there, feeling exposed and feeling her foot throb softly.
"Why
aren't you running, Jesse?" the voice again, and again she whirled, to
no effect, keeping her weight on her good foot and the front of her left foot,
to keep dirt from getting into her cut.
"Because
you're not real," she said through gritted teeth, her eyes searching the
darkness for any signs of movement.
"I'm
as real as you are," the voice was lowered even further still, barely
audible now above the low whisper of the wind as she stood there, scouring the
darkness with her sweeping gaze for any sign of whoever it was who was speaking
to her.
She was
trembling all over now as fear and panic began to set in, feeling more than
anything that she was being watched by whomever it was.
Turning
when she heard footsteps from behind her, she gasped and whirled to find her
wide eyes meeting the gaze of an imposing figure a full head taller than she
was, if not taller.
His
eyes. More than anything of his figure swirled in darkness, she saw his
fathomless black eyes, and she felt her blood turn to ice in her veins as his
soulless eyes gazed right back into her own eyes.
"Who
are you?" she breathed softly, holding his gaze and unable to move as they
stood there, face to face, "What is this place?" she asked, shifting
her weight awkwardly beneath his cold gaze, biting back a low grunt of pain as
she accidentally stepped down onto her cut foot.
"We're
in your head, Jesse," his lips curled slowly into a creepy, leering sort
of smile as their eyes held.
"What?"
she regarded him curiously, her look confused in the wake of his words.
"I've
always been here," he murmured, taking a single, measured step towards her
as their eyes held.
Suddenly,
he came forward, and she cried out as he shoved her hard with both hands,
knocking her flat onto her back, sending a jolt of pain shockwave-style through
her body as her elbows and her backside hit the ground hard only a second
before the back of her head hit, making her vision swim as she blinked hard,
grunting softly from the pain of impact as he stood there, staring down at her
with his soulless eyes, the same cruel, leering grin on his lips.
"Time
to run, Jesse," he chuckled lowly as he watched her with those cold eyes,
towering over her.
"Why?"
Jesse blinked, shaking her head and trying to clear the dazed feeling that
clouded her mind, forcing herself to sit up before him and lifting herself onto
her knees, "Why are you doing this?"
She
gasped as he bent suddenly, taking a firm grip on her arms, then she cried out
in pain as she felt the sensation of searing pain in her flesh beneath his
touch, and she felt him lift her onto her feet as though she weighed nothing at
all.
Suddenly,
he shoved her away hard, making her pinwheel her arms and stumble over her own
feet to keep from falling, and feeling a jolt of pain shoot up both of her
outer arms, she lifted her right hand, turning her gaze to her left upper arm
and letting out a soft gasp as she realized that her skin was red and raw where
he'd gripped her, as though she'd been burned by his touch.
"Run
for me, Jesse," he purred, his low voice rumbling at her as his dark eyes
glittered in the darkness, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up as
she turned her head and lifted her wide eyes to meet his gaze.
Feeling
her heart already pounding in her chest at the hungry look in his dark eyes as
they held her own, Jesse turned on her heel, taking off running headlong into
the darkness as fast as she could manage on one good foot without looking back,
feeling the cool night air sting as it passed over her newly-injured arms.
His grin
broadened as he watched her head off into the darkness, and he bowed his head,
his eyes still following her as he stood otherwise unmoving, for the moment,
giving her a head-start.
"I
like it when you run," he purred in his low, rumbling voice as his grin
spread across his face in the darkness, his dark eyes glinting hungrily as he
started after her.
*************
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