The Academy Search

Edge

It was a night much like any other, the moon a silvery sliver in the dark sky, casting eerie shadows across the trees. He was only eight years old at the time and had fallen asleep in his cozy bedroom tucked under his warm quilt. But as he drifted deeper into slumber, his peaceful dreams quickly turned into a chilling nightmare. He found himself standing at the edge of the forest, his small heart pounding wildly in his chest. The woods that had always seemed so inviting during the day now appeared menacing and twisted in the moonlight. He was in the same forest where he used to play with his parents and group of friends, running one after another yet the night had brought a different kind of feeling to him. As his child-self took a hesitant step into the woods, he felt an unsettling presence behind him. Turning, he saw nothing but darkness, but the feeling of impending doom sent chills down his spine.

The sound of distant, ghostly laughter filled the air, and his heart raced as he realized he was not alone. From the depths of the forest emerged a group of shadowy figures, their eyes glowing with malevolence. They wore twisted, contorted expressions of anger and hatred, and as they drew nearer, he recognized them as the embodiment of his deepest fears. With panic gripping his chest, he began to run, his small legs pumping furiously as he plunged deeper into the heart of the forest. The trees seemed to close in around him, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers, ready to snatch him away.

"Mama! Papa!" He could hear his own voice shouting in the middle of nowhere. The darkness of the forest engulfed his little figure, the once familiar place he used to play in now looks terrifying as he was running away from them.

They gave chase, their laughter echoing like a sinister chorus in his ears. The harder he ran, the louder their jeers became, and it felt like he was sinking into a never-ending abyss of fear. Twisting vines snaked out to trip him, and roots rose from the ground to block his path. It was as if the forest itself conspired with his nightmares to ensure his capture.

His breath grew ragged, his strength waning. Tears blurred his vision as he stumbled over a root and fell to the ground. He could feel the icy fingers of his tormentors closing in on him, their grotesque faces leering down, ready to snatch him away into the abyss. He immediately stood from stumbling down and as he continued to run away from them, it was as if he wasn't making a distance from them, he was running slowly as if the time had stopped yet a sense of nostalgia washed over him as he meandered along a familiar trail, his footsteps confident and sure. As he stepped forward, lost in thought, his foot caught on the root once again, and he stumbled. With a sharp cry, he fell to the ground, pain shooting through his leg. This time, he knew he lost all the energy he had within. His tears continued to fall down his face, he was too young to handle his own self.

Gasping, he clutched his wounded leg, trying to make sense of the sudden agony. It was as if the very forest had reached out to grasp him once more, this time in a more literal and painful way. His heart raced, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he assessed the situation. The pain was searing, and he knew he wouldn't be able to walk on his injured leg. Panic threatened to overwhelm him, but he fought to stay calm. He couldn't allow fear to take hold of him again. Summoning all his strength, he tried to crawl to a nearby tree, hoping to use it as support to stand and hide from the group of men who were running after him. But with each movement, his leg throbbed with pain, and he winced, biting back cries of agony. The forest that had once been his sanctuary now seemed to close in around him, its beauty transformed into a tangled labyrinth of pain and suffering. Just as despair began to claw at the edges of his consciousness, he heard a rustling in the underbrush. Panic surged once more. Despite the throbbing pain that he felt, he managed to crawl until he reached the large tree near the bush and hid under its roots, making sure that nothing in his being could be seen by them, and even if it was too painful for him to not let out a cry, he managed to do so for his own safety. He let out the tears streaming down his face and started to feel hopeless for him to be rescued. Back in his home, he knew well that he was protected but it was his own will when he sneaked outside the boundaries of the wall, a child who wanted to achieve something in the woods. He had no idea if his people were looking for him, knowing that they'd assumed he was in his room, sleeping.

"Did you see where the child went?"

He peeked into the holes of the roots, and he knew that day that they were not hunters, they were more than them. Based on the armor that they were using, he was aware that these were the men his parents had warned him to never cross paths with outside the vicinity of their pack.

"He was running in this direction-"

"We will not leave the forest until his body is found." The man laughed. Which was enough to make him feel a shiver down his spine. He can't fight them back, he is a powerless child in front of these ruthless men.

He had the sudden urgency to let out a cry as the wound on his leg tightened, and he made sure to squeeze them using the cloth on his pants to never let a single blood fall to the ground. These men may be ruthless but they were not wise enough to distinguish blood from a werewolf from normal human beings. He was aware of the droplets of blood in the forest, which helped him hide his scents.

He was biting his tongue so hard to never let a single sound out his mouth, he could taste his own blood.

"Wait..." One of the men halted the group from continuing going to the farthest area of the forest.

The leader, a stern and pragmatic figure, turned to the man who had interrupted their progress. Impatience creased his brow, and he began to speak, "Do not waste our time-"

But before he could finish his sentence, the man who had stopped them uttered a single sentence. "Can you smell that?"

His fear grew exponentially as he realized that they had stopped right in front of the large root that he had been hiding behind.