Prelouge
I was running, heart pounding, feet thumping.
Branches tore at my arms. Roots lunged for my feet. My breath came in ragged bursts, each one searing my lungs as if the forest itself wanted to keep me here.
I had to get away.
Had to get away from it.
Had to get away from the monster... that could only be described as my best friend.
The ground blurred beneath me. My ears rang with the sound of my own pulse. Somewhere behind me, the forest groaned, and I could almost hear the shape of its footsteps closing in.
Then—impact.
Something hard and heavy slammed into the back of my skull. White pain flared through my vision. My knees buckled, my stride faltered.
The world tilted, slowing around me in a strange, syrupy way just before it all stops. My fingers grazed the earth as my legs refused to hold me.
My world turned to black and I thought back to how this day began.
So normal. So average.
If only I knew.
