From afar, I watched with fearful anticipation, my heart pounding, as the castle's gate opened. And three large black beings sped out. So fast. I could not even tell what they were.
But whatever they were, they were headed this way.
I quickly glanced up to see the figure on the balcony turning and heading back inside a large door.
But I had no time to wonder who he was. I speedily turned around, heading up the mountain slope.
I turned to see a small stream next to me. This is where I found myself when I awoke. The clear stream held no sign of the red murky substance that had somehow brought me here.
Where was here? This question haunted me as I ventured further into the twisted forest.
This place felt like home but somehow darker. Even the sun that loomed above me was a dark burgundy color—like something was blocking its light.
This place could not be home. But an evil twin.
I continued to run up the slope, which brought me to an even denser part of the woods. It looked so uninviting I almost turned back around. But a sudden HOWLING from somewhere in the distance quickened my steps.
I pushed myself into the brush, causing my dress to rip even further than it had already had from the maze.
"Damn it," I said, as the branches continued to rip my once glowing wedding gown. It was now so torn both my legs and torso were now exposed.
Another HOWL came from somewhere close behind me. It was followed by two more howls as if the creatures were communicating a plan.
My heart began to pound in my ear.
I fought the brush standing in my way, almost tripping several times. The roots of the trees sprouted like fingers from a grave, attempting to pull me to the ground.
The cries of the creatures were suddenly very close. They closed the distance between us in no time.
I looked ahead of me to see a tree with several low-hanging branches. At that moment, I knew a way to save myself.
I hastened my run, ignoring the branches that whipped me as I passed, jumping onto the lowest branch and forcing myself up several branches above, until I found myself fifteen feet above the ground.
Wheezing, I placed a hand over my heart, out of breath. It felt as if my heart might leap out of my chest. And it almost did when I heard footsteps approaching.
I leaned as far as I could against the tree, attempting to shield myself. I glanced below to see, to my shock, three large creatures below me.
They were black, the faces and bodies of wolves, but were the sizes of grizzly bears.
I watched as they sniffed the ground. One, the largest, began to smell around the tree. I held my breath, watching.
It continued to sniff, up the trunk. I felt that any second now, it was going to look up…
Suddenly one of the wolves let out a howl, running off. The other two quickly followed.
I let out a large sigh, taking a breath.
"What in the world were those things?" I asked myself, still frightened by their sheer size.
Suddenly a low growl rumbled next to me.
I quickly glanced up to find a pair of red eyes—belonging to a huge black panther. Even bigger than any panther from back home.
It glared at me with an arched back. Ready to strike.
I began to back away as quietly as I could.
"Easy," I said, frightened--
When suddenly it swiped its large claw at me, and I fell, hitting several branches on the way down.
I landed on the ground. And let out a groan.
Just as the panther stared down at me. Ready to strike.