Random Things I Wrote

Hallo!

This is a rewrite of part 8. :)

"Maisie! No!"

She heard her shout behind her, but she kept running anyway. If anything, her mom's shouts pushed her legs to run faster, farther.

She sprinted into the forest. Her home was bordered by trees on three sides, and she knew them like the back of her hand. All she wanted to do was clear her head. Was her mom seriously never going to let her go outside anymore?

The sun was setting, making the sky different shades of purple and indigo. If she kept running she would lose daylight, but she didn't care. She needed fresh air.

She kept sprinting, the tree's branches nicking her arms and legs, but she ignored the stinging.

She reached a clearing and slowed down. At this point, the sun had completely gone down, revealing stars and constellations she didn't recognize. The trees surrounding her cast dark shadows, tall and spindly. Almost like fingers.

She didn't notice them slowly snaking toward her until inky black goo crawled up her shin.

She screeched as the shadow washed up her leg and over her eyes. It rushed into her ears and covered her mouth. It stuck her fingers together and she slumped to the ground. She lay on her side, shaking uncontrollably.

This had never happened before, and she had been to this clearing more times than she could count. But then a thought struck her.

Yes, she had been here lots, but never at night.

She could barely hear her ragged breaths. She couldn't see, she couldn't talk, and she definitely couldn't cry for help.

What was she gonna do?

☾

He had been sent out by her mother to find her. They only knew that she had dashed off into the forest hours ago. The sun was just barely peeking over the tree tops, the orange in the sky contrasting the dark shadows in the forest.

He stumbled through the trees, almost tripping on a root jutting up from the ground. He suddenly heard gasping sobs. The only one in the forest had to be Maisie, right? He staggered towards the sound and emerged in a small clearing.

There she was, but something was wrong. Dark black... something covered her face and her hands. It didn't look like she knew how to get it off.

He carefully walked over to her and touched her shoulder. She flinched. He felt her again, and the goo didn't stick to his fingers.

That was interesting.

He crouched down and wiped the tears from her face. She reached up to hold his wrist and played with the little bracelet he always wore. She knew who he was now.

He gently picked her up and he felt her relax in his arms. They could figure out how to fix this later. For now, all they had to do was get back home.