Pain drags me back to consciousness. The first thing I feel is the cold. Not the sterile chill of a hospital or the damp breeze of the stormy night—but somehow a strangely familiar cold.
My body aches like I’ve been slammed into concrete, every muscle burning, my head pounding with a fierce throb. I groan and try to move, but even that feels like a mistake. The ground beneath me is cold and damp. I clutch my hands into fists, crunching foliage in them.
I open my eyes, the blinding light filtering through strange, swaying trees above, causing me to blink rapidly. Panic claws its way up my throat as I sit up. The unfamiliar place spins around me. “Ouch,” I moan, pressing my hand to my throbbing head. Luckily, it doesn’t feel like I’m bleeding, and I don’t have a concussion, which is a good thing. I blink again, my head stops spinning, and the image of this new place becomes more focused. I realize something very unsettling. This isn’t home. This isn’t anywhere I know. I look around me, panic crushes what little calm I had left.
Where am I?
The sound of the whimpering wind echoes through the branches, rising and falling like a wounded animal. It weaves through the trees with a voice too human to be natural—soft, breathy, almost sobbing. I try to listen for any familiar sound, a car engine, a church bell, anything familiar, but the hammering of my heart echoes too hard in my ears, making it impossible to hear.
I stumble to my feet, gripping my towel tight around me. Nothing’s familiar. Everything coming into view is too twisted, too wrong. The forest feels like it’s watching me, like I’ve stepped into a place that remembers pain.
Tall, gnarled trees stretch their limbs into the sky like skeletal fingers, their trunks cloaked in veils of moss and twisted vines. The leaves—what few remain—are the color of rust and dried blood, scattered like warning signs across the ground.
Fog snakes through the undergrowth in tendrils, thick and silver, clinging to my skin. Each breath I take is heavy with the scent of damp earth and something faintly metallic—almost like iron. Shadows hang between the trees like watching eyes, staring at me. A chill drags down my body.
I inhale sharply, calm down, but fear’s cold, dark fingers grip around my throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.
“Hello?!” I call out breathlessly, but no reply, only the hush of crickets and the mournful cries of the wind.
“Anyone?!” I shout louder, desperation bleeding into my voice. Praying that someone will reply, but still nothing. I spin around, hoping to see some kind of makeshift road that might give me an indication of which way to go, but nope, luck is not on my side.
Okay, Annabeth, think. It’s cold and I’m naked, it’s getting darker and I have no clue what might roam this forest at night. I need shelter to hide and warmth to keep me from freezing to death. So stop freaking out and get your ass moving. I will look for a road or a park when the sun comes up tomorrow. Now, safety is important.
The deeper I walk, the darker it gets, and the path beneath me is barely more than a tangle of roots and rotting leaves. I clutch the towel tighter around my body and take another step, branches creaking above me. I snap my head up, gasping for air, but let out a long sigh when I don’t see anything. I should really stop watching horror movies, it’s making me paranoid. I continue walking, but this time faster and less coordinated, praying silently that this is just some kind of dream.
I come to a dead stop when I see faint lights glow ahead, dim and pulsing like a heartbeat in the mist.
“Finally.” I thought I was going to walk for days, but maybe Lady Luck still likes me. A faint smile pulls on the corner of my mouth. Hopefully, they are friendly and willing to help. But my joy disappears when the lights slowly start to grow, bigger and bigger. My smile fades, and a frown spreads across my forehead.
Is it moving?
My legs move on their own, slowly backing away as the glow pulses closer. My back hits a tree. I press into it like I’m trying to force myself into its trunk, wanting to hide from whatever is carrying that light. Why? I don’t know, but my whole body is screaming at me to run, run as fast as my feet can carry me, and hide.
Voices fill the silence, but I can’t understand what they are saying; it’s not a language I’m familiar with. The voice grows louder. I look around me for a place to hide. It’s too late to run, they will hear my footsteps, and if my heart won’t stop pounding so hard, hiding won’t help either. I spot a dead tree close by that looks like it snapped from a strong wind. It might be hollow inside. Cautiously, I make my way towards it and climb in. Please, please don’t let them notice me. I fold myself into a ball, pressing my knees hard against my chest, hoping it will block out the shattering of my teeth and the pounding of my heart. I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my forehead hard against my knees when the voices roar next to my hiding spot. Their footsteps are loud and heavy, indicating that whatever it is, it is big. Just walk past, please, just keep walking.
Suddenly, they are quiet, and their movement stops.
No, NO, NO. I clench my legs tighter. Something big and hard grips my shoulder. I jerk my head up and gaze into two deep, black pools of death. My eyes widen as I stare at the face of a monster, canines as big as those of a lion. Scars run down its face like they’re decorations and not wounds, long black braids framing its monstrous face, green skin peeking through the chest hair, and big ears protruding from the side of its head. This is no man, this is a predator. He yells something at me, anger edging in his tone. His grip tightens on my shoulder, and it feels like he’s about to crush me with his one hand. Tears blur my vision, my body won’t stop trembling; I can’t breathe. Seconds pass, and another one comes into view, also yelling at me.
“I…I…” I try to form words, but nothing. What the hell are these creatures? The scarred one leans in and narrows his eyes at me as he looks at me in disgust. I slowly lean away as fear spikes through me. Fuck Anna, why must I be such a scaredy cat?
His friend bares his teeth at me, like he’s going to rip me to shreds, and then says something to scarred face. He jerks his head in his direction, clearly not pleased with what his friend just said, but with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he grabs me.
“NO!” I try to fight him off, but it’s of no use; he is too strong. He tosses me over his shoulder and yells at me, causing my body to freeze in fear. I might not understand what they are saying, but that sounded like.
If you don’t stop moving, I will kill you.
My body swings limply as they walk, the stench of blood and death invading my nose, making my stomach churn. I swallow it down. Screaming might only make things worse—might anger them—and I doubt anyone’s coming to save me from the monster gripping me like a sack of potatoes.
Somewhere ahead, I hear running water. A river?
The one I think is the leader roars, his voice rough and commanding. The group halts. I’ve counted at least five of them, maybe more—I’ve only seen their feet. The one carrying me stops and yanks me down from his shoulders like I weigh nothing. I hit the ground hard, pain shooting up my spine as my butt slams into the earth. I grit my teeth, refusing to let the tears fall.
He turns his back on me.
Now. This is my chance. If I want to escape, this is it.
I spring to my feet, clutching the towel tighter, and bolt into the forest. My legs burn as I run, branches slashing at my skin, the cold biting at my bare body, but I press down the pain. Behind me, I hear its roars, and the thunder of its footsteps pounding after me.
“HELP!!” I scream as loud as I can. “PLEASE!! HELP ME!!” The footsteps grow louder. “HELP!” I shout as loud as my voice allows it, giving it my all, tears streaming down my cheek, lungs burning as I force my body to move faster, ignoring the pain of thorns piercing the soles of my feet, ignoring the scratches of the branches on my limbs. I won’t stop. I need to escape. The crunching starts to get louder and closer.
“NO!” I cry out when I realize I will not be able to outrun him. “HELP!”
A sharp pain shoots through my back, and I stumble to the ground; I start crawling, crying as I try to make my escape, but the monster’s foot slams onto my back, pressing me to the floor.
“Please, just let me go.” I cry out, digging my fingers into the dirt as I try to drag myself out from under his foot, but it’s of no use. “Please,” I beg. He leans down, growls something that does not sound friendly into my ears. His big hands grip my body.
“No!” I kick against him, trying to push away. “Let me go!” I demand, but it’s no use. He lifts me into the air, turns me around like I’m a child throwing a tantrum, and roars into my face, his spite splashing onto me, clearly showing me how annoying it was. I stop fighting. “Please, just let me go.” I plead, gazing into its black eyes that show no remorse, and I know this is a wasted effort. Monsters like this have no heart.
My body goes numb as defeat threatens to creep in, but I shove it down. He huffs and tosses me over his shoulder again, carrying me back to his pack. I don’t fight it this time, but not because I’ve given up. No, I’m biding my time. Every step he takes burns into my memory, every face, every sound. Let them think I’m broken. Let them believe I’ve surrendered. When the moment comes, I’ll be ready. I’ll run, and this time, I won’t stop.
