Stalking
Red eyes. They were glaring at her through the darkness, clearly standing out from the blackness of the trees. I've seen this before, she thought, a tinge of fear pricking her stomach. Still, the eyes were fixed on her; unmoving, just staring. As she returned the gaze, her thoughts raced madly in her head: she'd seen this in a dream many times before… was this another dream? Or was it real? She couldn't be sure.
Unable to decide this, she tore herself away from the deadly stare and began to run. She didn't know where, she just had to get away. Despite this, it was almost impossible to find her way through the black mesh of trees before her. Each one towered above her with no apparent end, and they crowded together like giant spider legs. She was practically blind with no way out, and now she could hear the faint sound of growling coming up behind her. It was after her again.
As well as her own feet squelching against the ground as she hurried on, she could make out the sound of claws scraping against the tree trunks. Though the blazing red eyes were familiar, she had no clue what was following her. Every time she came to the forest, the creature would be there, staring her down with those piercing rubies that sent a chill down her spine.
And still she could sense the hollow, hoarse breathing of her stalker, getting more and more intense the further she ran. Her legs suddenly seemed powerless and she could no longer gather her energy. She slowed to a jog, then a walk, though she was desperate to travel faster, and yelped with pain as her foot gave way as she fell roughly to the ground. The forest floor felt of nothing in particular, except coldness. Panicking, she tried to drag herself along in a crawl but, for some reason, she could hardly move an inch.
She heard stiff claws pressing against the dead leaves nearby, and knowing something was coming up behind her, tried to scream, but couldn't make a sound. The last thing she heard was a rattling snarl that seemed to go right into her ear, before...―
"Stephanie! Wake up!"
Steph's eyes snapped open as she inhaled a huge, loud breath. She was lying in bed, the sunlight filtering through the curtains and her mother leaning over her, cupping her face in her hands.
"You're dreaming again, darling."
"No! No!" Stephanie screamed and began to thrash wildly, anxious to run from the room. "It was there, Mum, it's real! It's going to kill me!"
Caroline held her daughter tightly, pressing her face into her shoulder and stroking her fawn hair. After a moment, Stephanie stopped thrashing and relaxed in her mother's arms, sobbing into her shoulder.
"It's not real, sweet, I promise you. It's nothing but a dream… just a silly, silly dream…"
Stephanie mumbled something unintelligible into Caroline's nightgown, her arms tight around her waist. Caroline stayed silent and calm, continuing to caress her daughter's soft hair and rocking her like a baby. While Stephanie's vision was hidden, her mum spared a long glance to the bedroom window, where she glimpsed the familiar pair of red eyes in the shrubbery, staring straight into her own.
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