Fate

3. Full moon.

Penelope’s pov:

I could feel goosebumps appear on my arms from the light midnight breeze. The wind was a nice change to the otherwise warm night.

Standing near the edge of a cliff wasn't a good idea, as I had a severe fear of heights. I could almost feel the edge pull me closer. As if I was slowly falling. For a moment I caught myself contemplating it, jumping I mean or more accurately letting myself fall.

The thought scared me, so I started to step back instead. Until a sound made me swirl around. The only light came from the full moon. So it wasn't much I could see. Mostly trees and a lot of shadows. The sound came again, this time it sounded closer. Like something or someone was moving towards me.

It was almost like I was frozen in place. Like I couldn't move my legs. The fear had paralyzed me.

Are there wild animals in these woods? I know there are cute herbivores, but I'm not sure if there are any wolves or bears. I made a mental note to look it up when I got back home. If I got back.

Between two trees a new shadow appeared. I wrapped my arms around myself, analysing the situation. Am I about to be murdered by a serial killer? Or killed and eaten by a bear? Or even worse; murdered and eaten by a serial killer. Oh, I sure hope not.

I glanced around looking for a way to escape. The nearest way out was a small hiking trail right beside the shadow. Leaving only one other option. Except that would definitely kill me. The height of the cliff was definitely lethal without a rope or a parachute or wings. And I, unfortunately, had neither of those things.

That’s when the shadow began to move again. Closer and closer. And I realised it was a man. A tall man with long hair. He was rough looking with no shoes on. The breeze lifted his hair like he was some kind of model in a photo shoot. Looking closer I noticed that his hair looked greasy and tangled like he hadn’t washed it in a while. His skin and clothing were full of mud and dirt. Not very model like.

I felt like prey standing there in front of the predator. The hungry look in his yellow glowing eyes only added to my fear. He started moving slowly to his right, preparing to attack. I did the same, trying to keep the distance between him and me. I also noticed that I was moving slowly closer to my way out.

As I came close enough, I ran as fast as I could towards the trail. I could hear the man running after me. Feeling the adrenaline pumping through me, I picked up the speed. I ran as fast as humanly possible, my hair flowing behind me. The trees flew by, as I ran toward campus.

As I neared the edge of the forest, the sound of the man’s feet began to fade. I looked over my shoulder only to see that the man was gone. Fearing he might catch up, I kept running until I made it to my dorm.

Only when I was safe inside my room, I could relax. I plopped down on my bed, exhausted after that run. When the adrenaline started to fade away, I felt my eyelids getting heavier. And I was out like a light.