ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 3: Living Nightmare

A/N: Wow! Two chapters in one day?? 2,294 words?? AAH! I'm having so much fun writing this, I hope y'all are enjoying reading!

The silence was overwhelming. Everything was muted. Her gasping breath, her pounding feet. The fog that floated all around seemed to suck the life from everything around it. The ground was black with rot; grass withered, logs were either as hard as rocks, or crumpled into ash. There were boulders and pebbles, trees that were as black as the soil with no foliage on the branches or on the ground. In the distance, there was the soft, soothing sound of trickling water. But the fog ate so much light that it couldn't be seen.

An eleven year old Echo crouched at the base of a tree, her back against the bark. She had lost track of how long she had been here, in this world. There were few animals, if any. She hunted when she could, and sometimes there was moss on the surface of rocks or trees. But more often than not, she went to bed hungry. Her clothes – already shredded and worn from use- barely hung on to her skeletal frame. There were plump scars from previous wounds, various shades of bruises, small cuts and scrapes covering her body. But on her hips, there was an impressive wound, six inches in length, and nearly two inches deep. A haphazard bandage covered it, it was stained with blood. But there was another stain on it, slightly yellow and it was the source of the scent that escaped it. The wound was infected, and festering badly.

As each day passed, the strength in her leg faded even more. She could barely walk on it now, and she had a feeling that there was blood poisoning or she wasn't far from it. Whatever was happening, Echo was growing weaker. Her skin now constantly had a sheen of sweat, with beads framing her face. The burning just beneath the skin rose to the surface in steam that blended with the fog. Her mouth felt like cotton, she needed water. And soon.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to ignore the throbbing in her leg and instead, get the strength to go to the stream. But Echo had to be careful. Even though the silence was deafening, they seemed to be able know when she was moving. She had been hiding since the one had gotten her. While Echo had been wary from the start, the recent wound on her leg had given her an irrational fear.

She took another deep breath, gripped the handle of her hopscotch knife tighter and stood. Agony ripped through her leg and took her breath away. But she simply gritted her teeth and began to advance towards the sound of water. Echo kept her breathing even and her ears open. She had her knife in one hand, and a dead branch in another that she held aloft in front of her. While Echo was able to dodge most of the trees and brush, the fog was so thick that sometimes she needed help.

Finally the ground became even softer, and she paused. Keeping the weight off her injured leg, she knelt and placed the stick and knife on the ground. Reaching out with delicate fingers to touch the cool water, she allowed a soft smile and cupped a portion in her hand. Echo drank greedily, the water felt amazing in her parched mouth and sore throat. After a few moments, she held her leg out and ever so gently took off the bandage – which was really just a torn piece of clothing wrapped around her leg. She dipped it in the water, squeezed the excess out, and repeated. She had no soap, nothing to wash it clean other than the water. And she had so little clothing and it was already so filthy, it wouldn't really help to try and replace it. She cupped more water in her palm and gently poured it over her wound.

Echo bit her lip so hard it bled to keep from screaming. She tried her best to wash away in puss or any dried blood that crusted the edges, but the skin was so hot and painful that eventually she had to call it quits. She wrapped it gently and just as she tied the last knot, there was a new sound. The soft trickle of the stream was interrupted by the faintest splash.

They were here.

Echo grabbed her knife and immediately stood, staring at where the sound had come from. She didn't check behind her, and didn't see the eight foot tall rippling monsters that loomed behind her, it's lips spread in a gruesome grin that revealed blood stained fangs.

It reached towards her, but Echo – despite being eleven and terrified – was smarter than she appeared. She whirled on one leg, digging the sharpest point of her knife into the side of his neck. The beast's yellow eyes widened in shock as blood burst from the wound and poured over it's side. She yanked out the knife, and bolted. The beast slammed into the water, not even a second after snarls and roars built in pandemonium.

The knife was slippery in her hand, sweat and fresh blood covered her skin. Heart pounding, Echo threw herself through the forest. She kept as much weight off her leg as possible as she ran, she could feel the wound open and blood sliding down. She could hear herd of beasts' pounding feet and snarls. And they were getting closer, so close that she could hear their snapping teeth. And in all honesty, Echo didn't have the strength to keep running.

She came to an abrupt halt. She grinded her teeth and turned, holding her knife tightly in a shaking hand. She had to stand and fight.

And die if need be.

But no more running.