DESTINY'S ECHO

CHAPTER ONE

Fear! The taste of it is everywhere. I feel it in the depths of my soul, I have to get away.

I'm running fast and hard in the middle of the forest deep in the night with my breaths coming in painful gasps. I cannot hear any sounds but that of the wind roaring in my ears, still, I'm aware of the great evil that hunts me. I have to get away... I run even harder, my lungs burn and my legs ache. The forest seems even more sinister in the dark, every tree seems to be reaching for me, calling my name to devour me. I stumble on a tree root and fall down hard.

My right leg gets injured in the process and I'm all to aware of him closing in on me. Echo! Echo! Echo!

He shouts into the night, come out, come out wherever you are, you can run but you can't hide! There's no escape for you, come out and daddy won't punish you.... His every word chills my blood even more. And I resolve to escape with all my being, the forest can't have me, he can't have me, my life is my own. Escape! Escape! Escape! is to ringing my mind and with all my strength, which is not a lot, I stand up, immediately a wave of dizziness comes over me and I reach out to steady myself with the tree nearby. I feel the tree pulsing and calling out to me with the intent to consume me. I pull my hand back immediately barely stopping the tree from sucking it in. I can't afford to lose more time, already, I feel him closing in on me, I don't know how but I just feel it.

I start to run as best as I could whilst limping, the forest is pitch black and I can't see making it harder to escape. Suddenly, I feel everything still, the forest no longer calls my name, I can't here Ted anymore, it feels like a horror movie about to happen. Like every living thing in this forest has gone into hiding, leaving me with the most dangerous predator, the unknown!

Even as I think this, I hear the snarling of a beast and my blood

runs cold. I feel death beckoning, suddenly, the beast is behind me and I don't think, I run and limp and run. It feels like the beast is not giving chase but waiting for the time to attack me, I hear howling and some distant part of my brain registers that the beast is not alone. It's painful to run because of my wounded leg but I keep going anyway. I don't know how, but some innate instinct and the pounding on the ground helps me feel it in my bones when they start to give chase.

Suddenly, there are headlights from nowhere and in the blink of an eye, I slam into the car and scream bloody murder....