The creature standing several feet away from her was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
It was very large and enormous and had the striking features of a dog.
It has grey-yellowish fur, glossy and thick with a patch of white on one side of its face.
And its eyes, which were a dark shade of orange seemed to bore a hole through her soul as its intense gaze continued to linger over her.
Gripped with fear, Stormy's heart began to pound and her breathing quickened.
Her muscles tensed and beads of cold sweat suddenly began to form on her forehead.
Subconsciously, her survival instincts suddenly kicked in and she began retreating back in fear as the creature slowly advanced towards her, its paws kissing the earth with the flow of lightness and its eyes still fixated on her.
At this point in time, the only thing Stormy wanted to do was run away from there. Far away from the creature and the woods as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.
Before then, she had heard several stories of wild beasts that lurking in the darkness, hiding behind the shadows of the night and preying on innocent people who gets lost in the woods, however, she just brushes them off, thinking they were just mere false stories told to scare them away from venturing into the woods.
Now that she was in the middle of the woods, all alone, staring into the eyes of an unknown creature that looked like it would attack her any moment, Stormy was immediately hit by the sudden realisation; the stories had been true all along.
But then she realised this too late.
Had she known earlier on, she wouldn't have even thought of ever stepping foot into the woods at night, all alone and with nothing to protect herself.
Thinking about how she could've been sleeping at home at that moment, safe and sound had she not decided to come into the woods, Stormy was full of regrets.
All she had wanted to do was to have an adventurous and enjoyable moonlit night outside of the castle and now here she was, lost and alone in the woods, facing a huge and ferocious beast that seemingly looked like it's been hungry for days.
If only she had kept the promise she made to her mother.
Her mother!!!
As the thought of her mother suddenly popped up into her head, Stormy began to feel dreadful.
She's been in the woods for quite sometime now and was sure her mother was probably worried sick about her.
She has caused her mother too much sufferings already and wouldn't want to top it up by letting herself die in the woods in the most gruesome and cruelest way one could ever imagine dying, just like that.
Even if it was impossible, she will still try and fight for her life.
No matter the circumstances, she knows she has to survive for the sake of her mother.
With the thought of seeing her mother once again, Stormy suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy burst through her body, coursing through her veins and invigorating her.
Now confident due to her newfound strength, she immediately began to hatch an escape plan.
Bracing herself, she placed both hands firmly on the ground, and slowly pushed herself up, all the while keeping eye contact with the creature.
The instant she got up to her feet, Stormy began to cautiously take several steps back, and readies herself for the right moment to dash straight out of the woods.
But then, right at that very moment, she suddenly tripped on a chunk of wood and lost her balance.
As she slumped to the ground, she hit her head hard against another piece of wood and began to lose consciousness.
Through her blurry vision, Stormy caught sight of the creature looming just right above her, staring down at her intensely, however, she was too weak to do anything and just lay on the ground motionless, awaiting her fate.
At this moment, she already knew she was never going to see her mother again.
As the darkness began to seep in, enveloping her in its wide embrace, Stormy prayed silently in her heart and asked God to take care of her mother and give her the strength to cope before finally drifting of into the world of oblivion.