"Die, you little brat!" She saw the faceless woman snarl through gritted teeth, and then she pushed her down the stairs.

She flailed her arms in an attempt to save herself but it was futile. The damage was already done.

"No!!!" She tried to scream the word but it just wouldn't come out.

She heavily crashed down on the floor with her neck and skull broken.

Before she fell into the abyss of death, she blurrily saw the woman at the head of the stairs, a creepy smile on her face. "There, I should have done this a long time ago."

***

She snapped open her eyes, immediately sitting up as she gasped for breath. She held her neck to confirm whether it was broken or not but it was perfectly fine.

Her hand went over her head to ascertain whether or not her skull was broken or not but it wasn't. It was perfectly fine too.

Phew! She sighed, was that a dream? She wondered. Did I die? But I'm alive! Who was that woman who pushed me down the stairs? I couldn't even see her face even though she stood right there in front of me.

She had a million questions running through her mind but the one that bothered her the most was… her name!

She couldn't even remember her name! Her own name!

What was my life like? Who am I? Am I dead? No, I am here; I can't be dead. She kept asking herself.

But those questions became unimportant the moment she took in her surroundings.

She was in a forest. Not just any typical forest, the forest was so quiet… eerily quiet that she became uneasy.

There was no chirping of the birds, no buzzing of any kind of insects, nor croaking of the frog, no nothing… just ultimate tranquility! It was as though the whole forest was completely lifeless!

Even the air felt extremely awful.

Another thing that got her attention was the sky. It wasn't any shade of blue… it was dark red casting its hues on the lifeless forest.

It was beautiful in a sense, but on the other hand, it was… unusually odd.

Has the world ended? She wondered, panic setting in, is this where the world was like now? Where was she? This is not how she remembered the world to be.

This was… different!

She scrambled to her feet and then noticed what she had on. She was barefoot and only had on a strappy top and shorts pajamas with her red disheveled hair hung on her shoulders.

She decided to take a look around to see whether she could see a building. She walked aimlessly around the forest, her eyes scanning the whole lifeless quiet forest.

Snap!

She flinched and her heart skipped a beat with fear as she heard a twig snapping behind her.

What was that? She wondered in fear, was she being followed?

"Anybody there?" She asked out in growing anxiety, "Hello? Anybody?"

Then she heard another twig snap.

She was now sure that she wasn't alone. Someone… or something … was there… waiting, waiting for the right time to pounce on her.

And the snapping of those twigs only gave it away.

She gulped, ready to run if the need ever arises. She decided to call out for the third time, "Hello? Anybody there?"

And then she heard it. The growl... it was slow and suppressed.

Whatever it is that is out there isn't human! She didn't wait to confirm; she took to her heels and began to run as far as her legs could carry her.

Her assumption was confirmed. The creature, whatever it was, was chasing after her, its growl getting louder and louder as it neared her.

She just kept running. Even though she had no idea where she was running to, it didn't matter, what mattered at the moment was that she needed to stay as far away as possible from this creature.

She pounded the lifeless ground with frantic footsteps, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The forest seemed to blur around her, the trees becoming a greenish-brown haze as she sprinted through the underbrush.

Behind her, the creature's heavy footsteps crashed through the foliage, closing in with every passing second. She dared not look back, fearing what she might see.

A branch snagged at her strap tearing it a little, and she jerked free, stumbling forward. Her heart was racing; she regained her balance and kept running.

The trees grew closer together here, forming a tunnel of leaves and shadows. She darted through the narrow opening, the creature's heavy footsteps behind.

Suddenly, the forest opened up into a small clearing. A massive stone monument loomed in the center, covered in moss and ancient carvings. She sprinted toward it, hoping to lose her pursuer in the maze of rocks and trees beyond.

But as she reached the monument, a hand clamped down on her shoulder, spinning her around.

"AHH!" She screamed in the ultimate fear, her heart flying out of her chest.

"Hey relax, you're safe." A guy's voice said.

Breathless, she quickly turned around to regard the guy, but her attention diverted to the creature chasing her, which was now in view.

She gasped in fear as she stared at it.

It was the shittiest thing she had ever seen!

It was a terrifying creature, a grotesque amalgamation of the wildest animals, with the sharp eyes of a cat, the nose of a tiger, the majestic mane of a lion, the agile body of a monkey, and the ferocious snout of a wolf and dog. Its very presence was a nightmare come to life.

It sprinted upwards, diving towards her. She was spotted on the ground, fear-stricken! She saw herself dying a second time.

But then, a blue lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere, striking the creature mid-air to the ground.

She quickly turned to where it had come from, it was the guy who had saved her. He had struck the lightning.

"How did you do that?" She asked the guy in shock.

"I don't know." The guy said breathlessly, "One of its kind attacked me earlier…"

The man trailed off as the creature began growling once more, rising to its feet. He attempted to summon the lightning again, but it only crackled weakly like static.

"Uh… it's not coming!" The guy panicked.

The creature was already recovering from the attack and was now on its feet.

"Run!" She screamed and grabbed the guy's arm as she ran farther into the woods.

As they ran, the growl behind was getting closer and closer by every second.

They were finally out of the woods and finding themselves in before a shimmering pink lake that reflected the glow of the dark reddish sky.

They pounced on the lake in desperation, eager to cross to the other side.

The creature stopped by the riverside, pacing up and down as though looking for another route.

They two were finally out of the lake and were on the other side.

"Looks like it can't cross the lake." The guy said a little breathlessly.

"Oh thank God!" The girl sighed, hyperventilating from the run.

"I'm Lincoln, by the way, but you can call me Link." The guy said, still trying to regain his breath. "What's your name?"

"I… don't know…"

"Oh look! Another two souls!" A voice said, startling the both of them.

They quickly spun around and behind them was a couple. A lady and a man.

The lady was clinging on the man with a flirty smile on her face, her hand circling his neck while the man had his hand circled around the lady.

Neither Lincoln nor the girl liked the sight of them. They gave off creepy vibes.

"You're the last to arrive." The man said, flashing them his repulsive brown teeth. "You finally passed the first test. Welcome to Death Academy."