I let out a long breathe, feeling tired another night of restless sleep and haunting dreams.
I dreamt a far more vivid dream than all others before.
I was running. I could feel pain every time I set foot on the ground, but I couldn't stop.
Not now.
Not yet.
Not before I got away.
Keep running.
Keep going before HE finds you.
It was like a deep ingrained instinct ringing constantly in my head. An instinct desperate to keep me alive, one that let me know that if I stopped that would be it. That it would be the last thing I did.
As I felt my lungs burning from the unfamiliar strain and my heart pounding, I heard him calling out my name almost playfully. Like we were playing some twisted version of hide and seek. The creep was toying with me.
But where was he? I crouched down, huddling at the base of a tree trying to keep out of sight in case he was near.
I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself and slow down my breathing. Otherwise he'd hear me.
Snap.
My eyes opened as I tried to find the source of the noise but all I could hear were my own shallow breaths. I tried to see if one of the shadows in the forest resembled a human silhouette but it was too dark to see anything on a moonless night.
I stayed like that, crouched and freezing, for a little longer hoping that maybe. Just maybe he had left already.
That was my last thought before strong hands grabbed me from behind, muffling the scream that burst from my throat.
I desperately clawed the gloved hands that had a vise-like hold on my throat but I could feel myself blacking out as my body failed to receive more air.
Wake up…this is not you.
As I struggled against the heaviness of my body I fought desperately to take in a breath before I truly died.
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up–
WAKE UP! I screamed.
And with that, it was as if my body had received a signal and I could feel myself back in my room still in bed.