Present
538Please respect copyright.PENANAnStCDmExbF
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 pretty538Please respect copyright.PENANAwm1cdeWhmn
sure I was running for my life from whatever was chasing me. The air538Please respect copyright.PENANASsGIPTKigT
around me was cold and there was fog everywhere. The full moon had come538Please respect copyright.PENANA4rW6xIcV05
up and it was as bright as ever. But its light wasn’t bright enough for538Please respect copyright.PENANASW7Bgotwm6
it to illuminate around the forest because of the foliage of the tree538Please respect copyright.PENANAogfuov09AC
leaves above.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAR99jornhy8
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 now538Please respect copyright.PENANAJ792FlqKjk
was clearly not the time to check myself. I could feel its presence and I538Please respect copyright.PENANAcLoE2JJ1XQ
knew it was coming closer and closer. I could tell it wanted me. I538Please respect copyright.PENANAu2JxcATgJy
could tell it wanted to find me. I could tell it wanted to kill me.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAhSZUPuSJPt
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’t538Please respect copyright.PENANAA7xgGFa6i6
stop running and I wasn’t planning on doing so any way.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAHULhyfcg7z
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 the538Please respect copyright.PENANA2tDeDnY870
adrenaline that spread throughout my body had kept me going for what538Please respect copyright.PENANARrGujvnZb6
seemed liked hours.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAwXIUc3pTMv
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 whatever538Please respect copyright.PENANAqWDNux5ygF
was after me had finally caught me. Before I could scream, a hand538Please respect copyright.PENANADJKC1Q2pLI
quickly covered my mouth and I could tell I was with a person, but it538Please respect copyright.PENANAYtt0V8ikcn
was too dark to even see who it was. I could tell it was a man because I538Please respect copyright.PENANAQ9fKJFKhSw
could make out the person’s physique even in the darkness. I could feel538Please respect copyright.PENANAb97qRGTFiu
his other strong arm pin my whole body with my back against the tree538Please respect copyright.PENANA6Q8HKMQ5c9
that I couldn’t even move. The hand he used to cover my mouth was538Please respect copyright.PENANAQ55LSoDaus
quickly withdrawn. He put up his index finger and placed it to his lips538Please respect copyright.PENANAWmieYAgWwH
obviously telling me to be quiet. I silently nodded, and for once, my538Please respect copyright.PENANA4XxiXvlvA2
breathing slowed down and I felt my body relax a little. I could tell538Please respect copyright.PENANAX6mNOHOsXb
that no matter what, this man in front of me was only trying to protect538Please respect copyright.PENANAXlXWm7i9fh
me, but that didn’t mean I had forgotten about the danger around us.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAxynftabkci
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 in538Please respect copyright.PENANAlyPVogtVYh
silence. Then a black shadow passed us and it was moving as fast as I538Please respect copyright.PENANAor92HoRA5n
could have ever imagined. The shadow was going to catch me, no doubt538Please respect copyright.PENANASieX5ujMcG
about that. Thank goodness the man came before anything happened.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAk6iAzQBOTH
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 the538Please respect copyright.PENANANtHPw6gsnr
hand and dragged me along with him to wherever we were going. He didn’t538Please respect copyright.PENANATH6zEs3vRz
say a single word to me and it was best to keep quiet in these forests,538Please respect copyright.PENANAFfVe943l99
just in case the shadow ever found us. We soon came upon an open area538Please respect copyright.PENANALqohTH9Ucw
with a few trees around, the moon shone brightly over us and I could see538Please respect copyright.PENANARuYL9j12Ib
the man’s back but not his face. As I continued to look at him, I538Please respect copyright.PENANAZmWIiRtfW6
couldn’t help but feel that I know him. I wanted to see his face so538Please respect copyright.PENANA7m73emx8sw
badly and curiosity took the better of me: I spoke.
538Please respect copyright.PENANA64Wqb5rWQf
“Do I know you?” I asked.
538Please respect copyright.PENANA9X7YVqjgos
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 out538Please respect copyright.PENANA9HsnsnFIkW
of here.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAueDKM7PrX8
“Now isn’t the right time for this,” he whispered, “and you better stop talking. We aren’t safe here.”
538Please respect copyright.PENANAWi1bzbI8tM
“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.”
538Please respect copyright.PENANATfV7BB9Jbf
“Don’t thank me; we aren’t out of the forest yet.”
538Please respect copyright.PENANAftWDdw16yQ
I couldn’t help but say, “You sound very familiar, do I know you?”
538Please respect copyright.PENANASO2rMXRDO8
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:
538Please respect copyright.PENANAluBfYOX3PG
“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.”
538Please respect copyright.PENANA3J6RzjHLJv
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.538Please respect copyright.PENANAZwZohGAWr9
And I needed them right away.
538Please respect copyright.PENANAZ3CLgXGoQW
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 feel538Please respect copyright.PENANAihxQ3OQbRX
surprised and yet again happy when I saw his face. But some things538Please respect copyright.PENANAbg8xFEltAP
weren’t adding up though. How did he know where to find me in the first538Please respect copyright.PENANAANMxLllaIv
place?
538Please respect copyright.PENANA1adE144eT7
And why of all people did it have to be him?
538Please respect copyright.PENANA17h5hcvfes