The Dream

Run. Don't look back. Don't dare look back.

Heart pounding. Breath burning. Don't think, just run.

The only sound I can hear is the pounding of my eardrums as my heart races. If I look back at all I might trip. If I don't, then how will I know if it follows?

Branches crack underfoot as dart past large pines and maples. My feet are being sliced by the fallen needles and loose branches. Do not stop. Ignore the pain. If I knew where I was, it would be far easier to control my panic. The woods are new. The smells are different. The night is quiet.

The hair on the back of my neck electrifies. Without warning, my legs force my body sideways. A response so primal that I dart left before my head registers the new direction. The sickening snap of the creatures jaws, followed by the unmistakable thump of its body, send a new adrenaline through. I barely missed death. Impulsively, I turn around.

All I see is the glimpse of a huge shadow and the glint of eyes. Before I feel it my right foot gets caught. Falling. Falling. Pain flashes through my arm like needles. Head speeds faster toward the ground than it should. Pain seers my skull first through piercing marks under my hair, then to my forehead as it makes contact with the ground. I wake up.

I open my eyes and find myself in my dark bedroom; on the floor. I grab my forehead. Must have hit the nightstand after I fell out of bed. It takes me a moment to realize my left arm fell asleep, for there is a tingling pain from my bicep down. I gingerly get up and sit on the bed. Flicking on the nightstand lamp, I see my hand webbed with hair. Must have been laying funny and pulled my hair when I fell.

I recall parts of my dream as the feeling returns to left arm. I should check myself for other bruises, I think as various points start to throb. As I examine for bruises, something odd catches my attention. Five perfect scratches followed by what looks like the bruises from being grabbed are 0n my upper arm. I run my hand through my hair. The back of my head is bleeding slightly; for blood is smeared on my fingers and palm after touching my hair. The room starts to feel much smaller as panic sets in. My right ankle is tender, where it got caught before I fell? Wait, that was when I was dreaming. Right? Instinctively, knees to chest for comfort; like a small child. Sharp pains are felt as my feet brush the sheets. Covered in little slices and pine needles stuck in some places between the toes and the arch. "Am I still dreaming?"

"Who said you were ever dreaming to begin with." The low angry rumble of a mans voice comes out of my closet. The sliding door squeaks as its opened. Out steps the man. Dressed in robes, hood shrouding his face. "You messed everything up, vemana." He spits these words with such venom; paralyzing me to my spot. Can't think strait, can't move. The stranger stalks' toward the bed. I begin to stutter incoherently while shrinking on the spot. He grabs a handful of hair, twists, and pulls me to my feet. I scream in pain.

"No! No, no, no, no, noooo!" He starts dragging me toward my closet. Hands on his. Prying at the fingers to let go of my hair, head shrieking as loud as my screams over the pain. Dragging my feet, trying desperately to slow him down as his pace quickly takes us to my closet. I get pulled forward, turned to face the open closet. Burning red smoke and the smell of sulfur choke my throat, preventing me from making more than coughs for noise. Head gets shoved forward. My right knee is kicked in. "Now die proper, vemana," is heard as I fall into the pit.

My head is throbbing. Face is sticky and every inch of my body aches. Bound and gaged, blinded with cloth. The only reliance I have is my hearing and my sense Crunch... crunch... crunch... crunch. FootstepHow Barely audible over my now pounding heart, came the sound of slow breathing, followed by the warm air on my neck. If my head didn't hurt so bad I might be able to hear more. A finger strokes my left cheek up toward my hair and tucks it behind my ear. Hot breath and a quiet, but low

"So you thought you could escape me. Jumping home was a mistake, vemana. You are mine to kill. But why do you smell desirable?" He draws away, leaving my ear cold. The leaves crunch again and the movement is away to the left. Ok time to think. I am bound and gaged, can not see, everything hurts, and the attacker is to the left. What happened to the creature with the sharp nails and the large form? If that man is on my left, is there a wall or a tree directly to my right? Do I blindly try to move, test what is actually bound and run for it? I might die faster that way, but who knows what is planned for me by this man. Ever carefully, shifting my legs and arms, I discover how I am bound. Arms are behind me, legs are free, and I am completely nude. There is a surface to my right and my back is pressed against another surface. Feels like a corner, not a tree. Crap, I am inside a shelter or building. Which means one exit. I won't be going anywhere.