The Forest is Pretty

Panting heavily, you stops dead in your tracks. You hurriedly look around, feeling as if the forest is spinning around your turning body. You're lost. You don't know where you came from nor where You're going. In the distance you hear a high pitched scream of horror. One of the other girls must've been caught. Don't go there. You tell yourself. Go in the opposite direction and you'll be fine... you'll be fine. You're running again, away from the screams. Branches and leaves crackle under the weight of your running body. You comes across a large cabin, Oh no, your stomach drops instantly as you recognize its features. No, no, no, no, no! NO! You take in a sharp breath. This – No! This can't be... This can't – your head snaps to the right as the sound of shuffling leaves gets close. Ducking behind a bush and its branches is your only option. You do so as quietly as possible. Heavy footsteps pass you as you hold in a quivering breath. When the footsteps are out of earshot. You look in the direction they vanished. Seeing a woman's unmoving body upon the shoulder of a burly man. How did this happen? You asks yourself. I just left this place. You duck right back behind the bush when you hear some shuffling near you. "Oh god..." says another girl. She too must've thought she was going in a different direction. The other girl vanishes in an instant, letting out a sharp yelp. Oh my god... this place is boobytrapped! How am I going to get out of here? You think to yourself. A tear runs down your face as you looks out toward the cabin, horrified. What does this man want from us? You turn back from where you came back from. I'll stay in this direction! That'll surely get me out of here... You're sprinting now. Don't look back. Look for traps. Don't look back. Look for traps. You repeat to yourself. Over and over. Snap! You turn your head. Another girl down. Keep running. You keep running. Sprinting. As fast as you can. Get out of here. You're looking down. Trying not to trip. A quick look up. Stop! A girl is hanging in a net. Go around. Move. You look around. And find the rope holding the other girl. Undo the knot and run. At least you'll know you helped. You go to the rope. You're struggling. Hurry. Hurry! You take a deep inhale. Breathe. The knot comes undone. And the other girl gets free and starts toward you. Run! You're sprinting again. There's no time to stop again. At least she's free. At least you helped. You turn your head to see the girl keeping up with you. You try to dodge her. She keeps up. Easier target in groups. You have to lose her. You change course. There's a trap. You jump over it at the last moment. The girl runs beside it. That was close. Too close. She needs to go. You hear more crackling. It's neither you nor the girl following you. You duck behind another bush. And wait. Breath quickly. Quietly. You look around. Trying to see what caused the crackling. The man rushes past. You close your eyes for a second. Breath. You tell yourself as your eyes flutter open. Just breath. The girl is still with you. She's staring. Expecting you to do something. What now? You can't just run. He's near. But if you stay. He might find you. You wait a few minutes. To make sure you aren't caught. You start running again. You're breathing heavily now. It's hard to run when you're scared. The other girl is still with you. You gave in. If we get caught you're leaving her for dead while you run. You hope it won't happen. You want to survive. You want both of you to survive. Keep running. There's a single gunshot. You and the girl fall to the ground. Look to the other girl. Eyes wide. You both understand to get up and run faster. Push. Faster. Don't worry about what's behind. Just keep running. You run. Sprint. Try to find a road. Keep going. Don't stop. Find a road. You're still running. It seems to take forever. You don't know how long you'll last. Another shot. This time you keep going. You hear the man yelling. His voice getting louder. Don't stop. Just keep going. Don't stop.