[nikole.sarina]: 552.Short Stories.The Chase

Prompt: "You wake up in a strange place. All you know is that you have to get out. Now what?"

       I woke up, still groggy, my head throbbing quietly. I felt as though I had just puked my guts out, and been whacked on the back of my head with something very solid, that happened to be very heavy as well. I noticed the surroundings; I couldn't quite place where I was. Some woods in the middle of nowhere, by the looks of it. The night air was cool, the sky long since blackened. A breeze swept the air, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I didn't like this place. It gave a sense of foreboding, and the only thing I knew was that I didn't want to be here. I got up, ignoring the dull pain in my skull and the bitter taste in my mouth.
      Starting to wander around, I was looking for a path, not caring where it led as long as I left this place. The tree branches cast odd shadows on the ground as I felt my way through the darkness. Finding a trail of sorts, I started to walk along it. The smaller, newer branches on the trees were at the same level as my arms. They scratched and scraped at my arms, and as I tried to listen for a clue as to why I was such a nervous wreck, the sounds of my own steps distracted me. I got the distinct feeling that I wasn't alone. And that whatever it was that was near me, was not a friendly spirit. I quickened my pace.
       Something nearby rustled the bushes. I jumped, but continued on my path. I needed to get out of there. That was all that my mind was screaming at me: get out. By now, I was running. I tripped on a tree root and fell to my knees. Now that there was nothing to distract my hearing, I listened carefully to my surroundings. My follower had not seemed to notice I was down. I heard the footsteps picking up speed. Figuring my end was near, I felt there was little to no point in running any further. I breathed deeply, fighting to calm myself. No good. A figure was starting to come into my line of vision.
      Whoever was following me looked about my size. “I could take them,” I thought. Slowly, I pulled myself up off the ground and waited, preparing to defend myself. I felt my mind drifting away, despite my attempts to focus. Everything seemed to become more dull. Fading away, faster than I could control. I figured this was the end, for me at least. That I was dying. But just before I was yanked away from this strange, forbidding forest, I caught one last glimpse of the one following me. Strange enough, they looked just like…..me.
      All this time, the person I had been running from was no different than the person I had become. I was running from myself, deluding myself into thinking that I was afraid of someone else, when in reality, the only thing I feared was…myself.
      Unexpectedly, I was yanked away from the forest. The next thing I knew, my alarm clock was making its annoying bell sound and I was safe in my bed, though covered in a cold sweat. This realization shocked me. From then on, I was always dully aware of the one thing that I feared. Myself.