Finding Jesse (Side note set after "Run Jesse")

Finding Jesse (Side note set after "Run, Jesse")

By Jen K

               "We're in your head, Jesse," he'd told her as he'd smiled that creepy, leering sort of smile, his dark, soulless eyes clashing with her wide, frightened ones.

               I've always been here.

***********

               I've been watching you, Jesse.

               All these months, I've watched you.

               I told you once that you drew me up from the depths, from the darkness, out of your boredom.. your loneliness.. your fear.

               I remember the way you trembled against me as I admitted such things to you.

               How I craved your fear, Jesse.. from the very beginning. Your fear, your.. uncertainty. I told you once that I could almost taste your fear on you. I fairly tremble now at the very thought of it.

               I remember the flash of fire in your eyes, the way you taunted me with your strength, despite everything I did to crush you, to break your spirit. I remember how you fought me.

               And ohh, how you fought me.

               I have had others before you-- so many others-- nameless, faceless, endless others. Every one of them lonely as you were, aching and alone and lost in the night, every one of them waking me as, one by one, they turned to the darkness, to save them from their boredom, to distract them from their loneliness.

               They never had your strength, Jesse. I dared not imagine any one person could possess such strength. You were a woman apart, Jesse. A fire that would rage against anything and everything that tried to put your fire out.

               And as the months passed, as I watched you from the darkness, from the shadows-- I knew I had to have you.

               In the beginning, when I woke, I watched you from the periphery, hovering just beyond the very limits of existence, keeping my distance because I knew you were not yet ready to see me, however brave you thought you were when it came to facing your fears.

               And you did believe yourself brave, didn't you Jesse?

               As the months passed, I drew steadily closer, watching you and your growing fascination with the darker side of existence, your growing appetite for dark things-- things that would make your heart race and your hair stand on end. Things that would raise goose-bumps on your flesh. Things that would make you tremble and gasp and whirl in your chair from where you sat at your desk, wide eyed, frightened as you looked to make sure that you were still alone, safe and sound in your room.

               I was there with you, and though you didn't know it, not then, some part of you sensed it. I could see it all over you each time you'd turn back to watching whatever horror movie you'd lost yourself in that night, knowing you were listening to the darkness more than you were listening to whatever movie you happened to be watching.

               I find myself wondering whether you'd have pursued the darkness so greedily, with such hunger and drive if you'd known that I was there. That I was watching you... that I was waiting for you.

               Would you have turned back? Would you have re-doubled your efforts?

               You should have been careful, Jesse. For when you so greedily seek out the darkness, if you're not careful, there comes a point that the darkness awakens, and decides to come for you.

               I found you, Jesse.

               "You wanted this Jesse," I'd told her, and she'd looked shocked at the thought.

               "All those nights curled up in the dark in your bedroom with your laptop, safe and sound and cozy in that safe and sound and cozy little life of yours. Sheltered, protected... safe... Your soul called out to me from the darkness, brought me up from the depths. You wanted this, Jesse. Admit it."

               I could see the realization dawn in her wide eyes as I spoke the words to her, I could see the fear sinking in as I spoke.

               "You tried to tell yourself that you were sweet... innocent... simple... That your simple, uncomplicated life was enough for you... that that boyfriend of yours was enough for you... But no," I'd told her, and ohh her fear was so thick on her I could almost reach out my fingers and touch it.

               "Night after night, when he left you alone, you sought me out in the darkness... out of your boredom... your loneliness... your emptiness... You wanted the nightmare... the demon... the monster... And here... I... Am!"

               You should have been careful, Jesse.

               But now, it's far too late to turn back.

Run Jesse- Part 10

Jesse Will Return.

Run Jesse- Part 9

               "I'm not looking to kill you, Jesse," his voice purred at her sometime later that night as she hid behind a bookshelf, near a window.
               "Aren't you?" she called back to him, ducking around a pillar and dashing out through an archway, ducking out of sight as he came into the room.
               "If I wanted you dead, you would be," he reasoned, and she hated him for the smirk she could hear in his voice.
               "Then why?" she shook her head, at a loss, "I mean, if you don't want to kill me--"
               She gasped as she suddenly saw him seem to appear before her out of nowhere, forcing her to slam back against the wall behind her as he stepped in even closer, effectively pinning her in place.
               "Mmm...." his voice rumbled lowly in his throat as he bowed his head forward, inhaling through his nose as he brushed it along the underside of her chin before he lifted his head, to meet her gaze as her eyes opened. "I can almost taste your fear," he purred, his dark eyes glittering hungrily as his cruel grin widened.
               "Taste good?" she shot back, glaring at him and trying her best not to show him how frightened she was.
               "You have no idea," he purred at her with the same wicked, cruel smirk on his lips, his eyes glittering hungrily as they burned into hers.
               She gasped as she saw the flash of the blade of the knife she'd almost forgotten he had, wincing as she felt him drag the tip downward along her left cheek, scoring her flesh and bringing a thin trail of blood to the surface.
               Suddenly, the knife was gone, as though it had never been, and she gasped as he brushed his fingertips along the cut he'd made on her cheek, feeling the searing heat of his flesh burning her before he withdrew his hand and lifted it, to show it to her as her eyes opened.
               "Want a taste?" he smirked at her, his fingertips smeared with her blood.
               She turned her face away, swallowing over her comeback along with her revulsion over his actions, knowing sass would do her no good with someone as crazy as he was.
               The more she fought him, the more he liked it. If she'd learned nothing else about him since the first night he'd come for her, she'd learned that much.
               "Mind if I have one?" he purred at her.
               "Little late to ask for my permission, isn't it?" she asked him, swallowing hard as she saw him slip his fingertip into his mouth, seeing him suck her blood off of his finger as he drew it out again, and hating him for the smirk on his lips.
               "You wanted this, Jesse," he purred at her.
               "What?" she shot him a wondering and suspicious look.
               "All those nights curled up in the dark in your bedroom with your laptop, safe and sound and cozy in that safe and sound and cozy little life of yours. Sheltered, protected..." his grin broadened, "Safe...." he seemed to be mocking her, his eyes glittering dark, hungry as he held her gaze, "Your soul called out to me from the darkness, brought me up from the depths. You wanted this, Jesse. Admit it."
               "How could I want this?!" she shook her head desperately to dismiss the idea, her eyes wide at the thought.
               "How indeed," he smirked at her, catching her gaze again.
               She cried out as he suddenly came forward, curving his hand around her neck and slamming her back against the wall once again, sliding his hand upward and forcing her to tilt her chin upward as he bowed his head low over her shoulder, his touch scorching every inch of her flesh as he came into contact with it as he directed his lips towards her ear.
               "You tried to tell yourself that you were sweet..." his deep voice rumbled low in her ear as he held her captive before him in every sense of the word, "...innocent.... simple.... That your simple, uncomplicated life was enough for you... that that boyfriend of yours was enough for you... But no...."
               She could hear the smirk in his voice now as it curved his lips, and she hated him for it.
               "Night after night, when he left you alone, you sought me out in the darkness... out of your boredom.... your loneliness... your emptiness... You wanted the nightmare... the demon...." his voice rumbled lowly, sending shivers running down her spine, down her legs and into her toes, "The monster... And here..." he bowed his head, whispering his lips along the underside of her jaw, "I..." he whispered against her chin, bowing his head low over her other shoulder, directing his lips towards her other ear, "Am!" he smiled against her flesh.

Run Jesse- Part 8

               Later that night, he finally caught up with her at the end of one of the dungeon corridors, and he shoved her back against the wall, drawing a large-bladed knife seemingly from nowhere and pressing it against the tender flesh of her throat as he watched her wide eyes.

               He saw her tense as he pressed the knife against her flesh just hard enough to make her gasp, and he realized she was trembling softly all over before him.

               "Please," her voice was almost non-existent in the wake of all the screams and cries he'd already gotten out of her that night.

               Lifting his eyes from her neck to her face, he saw a tear slip down from the corner of her eye, glinting softly in the light of the torch on the wall.

               "Please don't," she shook her head gently, imploring him with her eyes.

               "Why not?" he asked her, searching her gaze with his own, his look curious.

               She closed her eyes as he trailed the sharp edge of the knife upwards along her flesh, steeling her jaw and doing her best not to cry as she felt him use the flat edge of the knife to guide her into tilting her chin upwards, to get a better look at her face.

               She gasped as she felt him press the sharp edge against the tender flesh of her throat once more, opening her eyes to find herself meeting his seemingly soulless black eyes again.

               "You're not giving up on me already, are you, Jesse?" he asked her quietly, searching her gaze with his own.

               She swallowed hard over the sob that was dying to come out as their eyes held, and her stomach quivered softly as the blade bit lightly into her flesh, hard enough to get her attention, but not quite enough to mar her flesh.

               Not yet, anyway.

               "It's what you want, isn't it?" she asked him, feeling the tear that spilled down over her cheek as she held his gaze, her lower lip trembling softly as she regarded him, "For me to give up?"

               "No...." he said as their eyes held.

               Her forehead creased as the word sank in.

               "No?" she repeated the word, regarding him curiously.

               "I need your strength, Jesse," he purred lowly, his eyes burning into hers, "I need you to fight."

               "Why?" she breathed, shaking her head gently, her eyes glistening at the thought, her exhaustion from all the nights she'd spent running from him washing over her at the thought of them as she stood there now.

               "Because I know you will," he said, his dark eyes burning into hers as she lifted her gaze to meet his again.

************

Run Jesse- Part 7

               Jesse ran full speed through the corridors of the castle, putting everything she had left into her desperate strides in the knowledge that he wasn't very far behind her as she went, making her way around to all the doors and windows as she passed them by and found them locked and barricaded.

               Diving through an unlocked door, she found herself in a bedroom and hurrying over to a wardrobe on the far side of the room, she pulled the heavy door open, diving inside and turning around to draw the door closed behind her.

               Trembling all over as she crouched low behind the coats inside, she listened to the sounds of the room outside, biting back a silent prayer that she wouldn't hear the sound of his heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor.

               She bit back a sob as she felt the light trickle of blood trailing down from her hairline where he'd hit her last, absently reaching up to wipe the blood away before it spilled into her eye and doing her best to push the thought that she might have a concussion to the back of her mind as she felt around the inside of the wardrobe, trying to find something-- anything-- to defend herself with.

               She'd have killed for a flashlight... lantern... candle... Uzi... hand cannon... blunderbuss.

               Something... anything.

               She felt her heart fall into her shoes as she realized there was nothing with her in the wardrobe, unless she was forced into resorting to throwing a shoe at him, and after the horrors he'd visited upon her thus far, she highly doubted his personal kryptonite was a pair of men's size 10 leather loafers that she did manage to find in the darkness.

               She gasped softly as she heard a door open across the room from where she was hiding, her eyes glistening and her body trembling as she heard footsteps cross the threshold, moving into the room itself. Her trembling grew steadily worse as she heard him drawing steadily closer with each and every step he took, her eyes widening in fear with each step that brought him nearer... nearer... the sounds of his steps and the sounds of her hammering heartbeat in her ears reaching a fever pitch that was almost driving her mad.

               When the doors flew open before her, flooding the wardrobe with torchlight, she couldn't hold it back anymore, and she screamed.

**************

Run Jesse- Part 6

               If she thought the first night was rough, the second wasn't much better, or the third, or the fourth.

               After awhile she lost count of the number of nights she woke to find herself alone in the darkness, trapped in whatever reality he chose for her that night.

               Ohh if only she could have stayed that way, she thought as he'd step out of the darkness, staring her down with those soulless black eyes of his.

               Every night, he'd come for her, and every night she'd turn and run, determined that this time would be different-- that this time, she would get away.

               But no matter how far or how hard she ran, no matter how hard she fought or tried to get away, he always found her, he always caught her.

               "Who are you?" she demanded of him, angry as she glared up at him from where she sat on the stone floor of the dungeon he'd fashioned on that particular night. "Why are you doing this?!" she demanded angrily, her voice cracking, broken as though she'd screamed until her voice was almost nonexistent as she glared up at him accusingly.

               He could see the trails of tears on her face, cutting through the dirt on her flesh, and he lifted his gaze to the cut just above her left temple, seeing a thin trail of blood trickling down over her cheek, the red becoming diluted by her tears as it made its way down to her chin.

               Hearing the quiet sound of metal clinking as he saw her shift before him, he lowered his dark gaze between them, trailing his eyes over the heavy shackles that bound her hands together, and the chain that bound her to the center of the chamber, just past her bare feet.

               "I'm innocent," her choked voice brought him to lift his eyes to meet her gaze again, and he could see the pain that lined her face as their eyes held in that moment, seeing the imploring look in her eyes.

               Suddenly, his eyes darkened before her, his expression shifting over as he regarded her, and just as suddenly, he swung his foot out, catching her hard across the side of the face and sending her flying off to one side, making her cry out and lift her hand to press it against her face, where he'd kicked her as he stood towering over her, a hungry look in his eyes as he regarded her.

               "Precisely," he purred with a wicked and cruel sort of grin, turning on his heel and crossing to close the door of her cell, closeting them away alone together as the sound of the slamming cell door echoed throughout the rest of the dungeon where he was holding her captive.

*************

Run Jesse- Part 5

               Jesse awoke with a start the next morning, already sitting up in her bed, the sheet soaked and clinging to her as she sat there, trembling uncontrollably all over as she fought to recover her breath.

               Glancing down at herself, she felt her forehead crease as she realized she was laying nude in her bed, and struggling to remember if she'd forgotten to put her nightclothes on the night before, she was suddenly forced out of bed at the sensation of a deep clenching feeling deep in her gut, sending her running into the bathroom and forcing her onto her knees before the toilet just as her stomach released, sending its contents spilling into the bowl provided.

               "Where the hell did that come from...?" she whispered softly as she fell back hard onto the tile floor, trembling all over in the wake of her sudden need to throw up as she sat there.

               "Are you alright?"

               Tensing instinctively in the wake of her nightmare, feeling fear grip her entire body, she felt the vice loosen around her heart as she saw a familiar form join her in the small bathroom, realizing he was pulling his t-shirt on as he stood there.

               "Jason," she managed softly, forcing herself to relax a bit as he regarded her from the doorway, realizing his hair was still wet from the shower.

               "Were you expecting someone else?" he laughed softly as he regarded her.

               "No, of course not," she forced a laugh, bending to retrieve a towel from underneath the sink, setting it on top of the sink itself as she straightened. "Did I forget to put my pajamas on last night, or...?" she managed a softly awkward kind of laugh.

               "You don't remember?" Jason laughed, catching her attention as she turned and reached out to turn the shower water on.

               "Remember what?" she regarded him curiously, reaching out and pulling the shower door closed to keep the water from spilling onto the floor.

               "You practically tore my clothes off about an hour ago," Jason laughed softly.

               "I did?" she regarded him curiously, her forehead creasing as she tried to remember doing so as she stood there, her hand held under the running water as she waited for it to warm up.

               "You don't remember?" he asked her, watching her bewildered eyes.

               "Must've still been half-asleep," she forced a smile, shaking her head to dismiss the idea.

               "Woke me up," Jason laughed, turning and ducking out of the doorway, vanishing into the bedroom.

               Turning on her heel, Jesse moved to the sink, reaching for her toothbrush and the toothpaste, to get the sour taste out of her mouth.

               "You okay?" Jason asked her, suddenly reappearing in the doorway to her left.

               "Yeah," she nodded, squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush and sticking it under the water, to wet it, "Just had a bad dream."

               "What about?" he asked her, watching her profile from where he leaned against the doorframe, "Was it bears again?"

               "I wish," Jesse thought to herself as she watched the water spill into the sink, her gaze distant, troubled.

               "I don't remember," she answered instead, shaking her head as he turned and disappeared, leaving her alone in her bathroom, and if ever in her life she had ever wished for anything more as she stood there, feeling her stomach threatening to send her rushing for the toilet again at the memory of her nightmare and the dark, soulless eyes that were still so vivid in her mind, she couldn't remember it.

****************

Run Jesse- Part 4

               Jesse felt as though her lungs were on fire as she fell to rest against a boulder on the far side of the clearing, and she panted heavily in an attempt to recover her breath, lifting her badly trembling hands and letting them rest flat against the cool surface of the stone as she gave in to quiet sobs at the fear that was moving through her at the thought of her predicament.

               "Let me wake up..." she whispered softly through her quiet sobs, closing her eyes and bowing her head to let her forehead rest against the cool stone, "Please, just let me wake up."

               "Not giving up on me already, are you?" his low voice behind her made her gasp as she whirled on her heel to face him again.

               She barely got to register the fact that he'd lifted his arm before he struck her hard across the temple, and everything went black, leaving her slumping to the ground before him, and leaving him towering over her.

               "I hope not," he grinned down at her, his eyes glittering hungrily as he crouched down over her, reaching out his hand to brush her long, dark silken hair back out of her face so that he could see her fair features better. "I'm looking forward to breaking you, Jesse. And if I have to break every bone in your body to do it... again and again..." his smile widened as he regarded her unconscious form, his voice almost purring now in his enjoyment at the mere thought of it, "... so much the better..." he purred, lifting her into his arms and straightening as he cradled her against him, turning on his heel and making his way across the field with ease in his stride.

*************

(Yes this one is short, but if you read the part I post tomorrow, you'll understand why I had to cut this one off so soon.)

Run Jesse- Part 3

               Jesse wasn't sure which was worse as she leaned against the tree, struggling to catch her breath and trying not to think of her injuries-- the times he caught her, or not knowing where he was.

               No one was that quiet... that fast.

               How could she never hear him coming? It didn't make sense.

               She was determined not to let him catch up with her again as she stood there, feeling her heart pounding away heavily against her ribs. If he managed to catch her---

               No. She couldn't bear to think about it.

               Reaching up to absently slip the one remaining strap on her night- shirt back into place over her shoulder, she turned around and peered carefully around the tree, focusing her eyes on the darkness and sweeping her gaze over the meadow, looking for any sign of her attacker, and feeling herself relax only a little bit when she realized he wasn't anywhere in sight.

               "Oww..." she groaned softly, sobbing softly as she clenched her right hand flat against her lower abdomen, feeling her knees give out as she let her full weight rest against the trunk of the tree, closing her eyes as she collapsed onto her knees beside the tree and bowing her head against its rough bark as she pressed her hand against her stomach, remembering him kicking her hard and sending her flying only moments before.

               "Dear me," his voice rumbled in her ear suddenly, making her gasp and whirl to find herself facing him, leaving her pressing her back against the tree behind her as she found him standing only inches before her, a wicked grin on his lips as his black eyes bore into her wide ones, "Did I hurt you?"

               She was trembling all over as she forced herself back onto her feet before him, and as she held his gaze, struggling to get her tongue to function long enough to let her answer him, she knew he realized it as his cruel grin widened until it seemed almost cartoon-ish before her.

               "What was that?" he smirked at her, lifting his hand to tap his fingertip against his ear as he batted his eyes at her, mocking her lack of speech, "I couldn't hear you over the sound of your knees knocking together," he grinned, glancing down at her knees before he met her gaze again, his grin widening as he saw her press her knees more firmly together in the wake of his sudden shift in attention.

               "...yes..." she managed finally, swallowing hard and feeling grateful for the fact that she'd gotten even that one word out, with all the screaming she'd done during the attack, feeling her body aching still from the fight she'd put up in her futile attempts to force him away from her.

               "You can cry if you want," he said as their eyes held, then he suddenly bowed his head low before her, his black eyes burning into hers suddenly from the top of his vision as his smirk widened further still, "In fact, I'd prefer it if you did. The louder the better."

               "No..." she managed softly, shaking her head as their eyes held.

               "Didn't seem to have a problem with it before," he smirked cruelly at her.

               She swallowed hard over the urge to cower before him as their eyes held, searching his gaze with her own.

               "You enjoy it," she breathed suddenly, her forehead creasing as he grinned at her words.

               "Why wouldn't I?" he smirked at her, stepping in closer before her, and despite herself, Jesse shrank away from him, pressing back hard against the trunk of the tree at her back, and biting back a low grunt of pain as the rough bark bit into the tender flesh of her back, still sore all over from all the times he'd managed to catch up with her that night, throwing her down so many times she'd lost count.

               "This is all a game to you, isn't it?" she asked him as she stood there, holding his dark gaze.

               He didn't answer her, and it was getting harder by the second for her not to cower before him as he stood there, staring her down with his cold, hungry gaze, the cold, cruel grin on his lips.

               "Isn't it?!" she demanded, her eyes accusing as they clashed with his own, and she felt anger shoot through her body at the thought that he was enjoying making her suffer for whatever reason.

               "The more I scare you, the better you smell," he purred, reaching out to suddenly take a firm grip on her long, dark hair, making her cry out as he tugged at it hard, forcing her head back.

               "No..." Jess panted softly, seeing him lift his hand and seeing him reach out to cup her face in his hands again, her voice breaking in the wake of the screams that had torn from her throat in the not-so-distant past.

               Suddenly, he felt something slam hard into his most sensitive areas, and he doubled over, his hands going to the injured area.

               An animalistic growl left him as he saw her move to dash past him in her desperate need to get away from her attacker, and, reaching out, he caught her by her long hair and gripped hard, jerking her backwards and making her cry out as she arched her back, lifting her hands to try and pry his hand loose.

               "How'd that smell?" she spat through gritted teeth, grunting softly in pain as he tugged hard on her hair at her words, forcing her head back.

               "I'm going to make you pay for that," he growled at her, his voice full of warning.

               Bringing her head back hard suddenly, she caught him directly in the face with the back of her head, sending him staggering backwards, his forehead creasing with surprise as she turned to face him.

               "You'll have to catch me first, you bastard," Jesse managed in her ruined voice, feeling some satisfaction when she saw a trickle of blood trailing down from where he'd bit his lip.    

               Turning, she took off running again, her eyes scanning the darkness as she fled into the woods without looking back.

               Touching the tip of his tongue against the cut on his lip, he allowed a low chuckle as the taste of blood hit his senses, and he lifted his gaze in time to see her disappear behind a tree some distance away, her long, dark hair bannering out behind her as she ran.

               "I'm looking forward to it," he purred under his breath, taking off after her once more, his dark eyes glittering with hunger as he went.

************

Run Jesse- Part 2

               If she'd ever run faster in her life, Jesse couldn't remember it as she tore across the seemingly endless field, making for the outcropping of trees in the distance.

               She might not have known where she was, but she figured any cover was better than none at all, and steeling her jaw, she put on a burst of speed, throwing herself headlong into the grouping of trees and allowing herself to fall back against one of them for a moment as she closed her eyes, to allow herself a moment to catch her breath.

               She was trembling visibly from head to toe as she stood there, desperately adjusting whatever tatters remained of her clothing after he'd managed to catch up with her only moments ago.

               Whoever he was, it quickly became apparent to her that his reason for attacking her hadn't been the one she'd initially believed it to be, which ironically made her feel better.

               No, whoever he was, it was clear he wasn't after....

               Which meant that whoever the hell he was, he was after her for another reason altogether, she'd reasoned somewhere amongst the punches and kicks he'd caught her with before he lifted her onto her feet and shoved her away again, to set her running off again so that he could follow.

               Whatever the hell he was, she reminded herself, feeling various parts of her body that burned still from where his hands had scorched her at the mere touch.

               She hadn't thought he could've hurt her any more than he already had as he caught up with her the second time.

               She was wrong.

               As she sat there, struggling to recover her breath, he'd knelt before her, cupping her head between his hands, and all thought was obliterated as she felt him lift her onto her feet with his grip, his hands burning her more than any fire had burned her in her life.

               Suddenly, she felt the same fire dig into not just her flesh, but deeper still, into her mind, and bowing her head low between his hands, she screamed from the searing pain of it all, her body aching all over already from everything he'd put her through that night.

               And then, feeling her knees buckling from the pain, feeling as though she'd black out, she felt him shove her away again, and she let out a breath as she felt the searing pain in her head stop, leaving her feeling drained, exhausted as she stood there, struggling just to stay on her feet before him.

               "Not giving up on me already, are you Jesse?" he asked her quietly, that cruel grin still on his lips as he stood there, his dark eyes hungry as he watched her standing before him in the darkness.

               "Go to hell," she shot back at him, her eyes angry as they clashed with his, and she forced herself to stare him down.

               "How do you know you're not already there?" he asked her as he regarded her with his cruel sneer, and she shivered as she somehow got the feeling that there was something off about his voice as he said it.

               Turning on her heel, she took off running again, with no thought in her mind other than getting as far away as possible-- that anywhere had to be better than where she was.

               "That's my girl," he purred wickedly as he watched her head off into the darkness again. 
*************

Run Jesse- Part 1

Run Jesse
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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