Chapter Four: The Ridge
433 Words
The forest floor was a maze of jagged roots and damp ferns that seemed to reach out and grab at Leo’s ankles. Behind him, the snapping of dry pine branches echoed like pistol shots.
It was gaining on him.
Leo ducked low, throwing his shoulder past a low-hanging pine branch. The air burned his throat with every ragged breath he forced into his lungs. He didn't dare look back. He knew that if he turned his head even for a split second, he would trip.
Keep moving. Don't stop. Don't look back, he repeated like a frantic mantra in his mind.
The terrifying part wasn't just the speed of the creature—it was the fact that it didn't sound heavy, despite its massive size. It bounded through the dark undergrowth with a sickening, fluid grace, its footsteps shifting from a heavy thud to a soft, pattering pad, mimicking the way an animal stalked its prey.
Ahead of him, the dense canopy of trees suddenly broke open, replaced by a steep, rocky embankment. The ground dropped away sharply into a deep, gravel-filled ravine.
Leo slid to a halt, his sneakers spraying loose dirt and stones over the edge. Below him was a sheer drop of at least fifteen feet into a dry creek bed choked with jagged boulders.
A dead end.
He whipped around, his chest heaving. The shadows of the pine trees twisted and stretched under the pale wash of moonlight. Out of the gloom, the figure stepped into a clearing just ten feet away.
It stood tall, wearing the shredded remains of his black hoodie. But the disguise was slipping. The skin on its face rippled like oil on water, melting and reforming in rapid, nauseating pulses before settling back into a terrifying, blank mimicry of his own features.
The creature tilted its head at an impossible ninety-degree angle, its jaw unhinging with a sickening pop.
"Nowhere left to run," it rasped, using Leo’s exact voice, though it sounded hollow, like a recording played backward inside an empty cave.
Leo gripped the straps of his backpack, his knuckles turning white. There was no romance, no distraction, and no escape route. Just pure, cold survival.
He looked down at the rocky drop below, and then back at the shifting horror blocking the path. With a fierce surge of adrenaline, Leo made his choice.
He didn't run. Instead, he dropped into a low sprinter’s stance, locked his eyes on the creature, and braced himself for whatever came next.
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