𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀✔️

EIGHT|BEAST

"Amora, Dan just called to say that he can't pick you up today, so you'll have to walk."

"Dan?" I asked, furrowing my brow. Daniel would never let anybody call him Dan, not even me.

"Yeah? Daniel, he called. You've got to walk today, understand?" Tamsin repeated slowly, emphasising each word, and I grit my teeth at the fact that she was talking to me as though I were a mere child, incapable of an intelligent thought.

"Oh ok, thank you for telling me..." I mumbled,

-Never let your anger show.
Everybody knew Tamsin was extremely friendly with the managers wife, so one wrong word and your job could be in jeopardy.

Five minutes later of wiping down tables and mopping floors, my shift was finally over.
Removing my apron, and grabbing my coat I headed to the diners front doors, and after double locking all the doors I started my long journey home.

I actually enjoyed walking, as Daniel never let me walk to or from work before, so this was a first and as a result, I wasn't sure exactly which route to take.
It was starting to get dark and the bronze dusted sun was fast fading behind the rows of trees that littered the horizon.

Left, the road ways, a lot longer, but safer.
-probably.
There would be people and building to guide me on the two hour walk.

Or right, into the woods.
Slightly more risky, no people, no cars.
Just me.
Alone.
But quicker, the walk through the woods would cut strait across and only take about forty five minutes.

I weighed up my options, the safety and security of the road, or the direct route of the woods.

Daniel would be mad if I was late, he would get angry.
He was probably drunk already, so even though the woods weren't exactly safe, they were safer then being late and angering Daniel.

So into the woods it was,

My feet thudded against the path right before the opening of the trees, spreading wide like the mouth of a monster, ready to swallow you whole into the darkness.

I pulled my coat tighter around my self, attempting to shield my body from the chilly night air,

I took my first step into the woods.
The abundance of dead and decaying leaves crunching underfoot, as I descended deeper and deeper into the darkness.

No sound except those I made myself,
It was silent, but eerily so.

The woods continued on for what seemed like an eternity, no difference in the trees to determine which way was which, I could only hope that I was heading in the right direction, and would reach the other side soon.

The only light being the fragmented moon, barely visible against the silhouette of the branches above, intertwining and curling like thin, tendril like fingers, and thin cloud of mist coating the horizon and distorting the distant trees.
-Making them look like people, twisted and contorted into unnatural positions that I'm pretty sure weren't possible for the human body to perform.

I jumped at a shifting of leaves behind me, spinning around only to be faced with darkness,

'Deep breaths', I told myself, trying not to let my hysteria get the best of me.
-Trying not to let it fasten its chains around my angles, weighing me down until I could no longer move.

I cried out as blur of colour rushed past me, before disappearing back into the black of the night, it's heavy footed steps echoing throughout the wood.

I could hear it, and it could hear me.
I couldn't see it, but I'm pretty sure I could see me.

The footsteps stopped, and a creature arose from the darkness.

I gasped and took several terrified steps back at the sight...

A large roan grey wolf, it's fur shimmering in the strips of moonlight that shon through the trees.

Paws buried deep into the fallen leaves, it's body tense and paused, waiting to attack. It's striking grey eyes not ever leaving mine, and it kept tensing and releasing its muscles, as if having an internal fight.

I took a shaky step backwards, and the wolf released a lowly growl, lips pulled back to reveal the shining white canines underneath.

A small whimper escaped my lips, and as I went to take another step backwards, my foot caught on a foot and I fell sprawling to the floor at the feet of the wolf, completely vulnerable and at the mercy of the creature before me.

I watched as it took a predatory step towards me, teeth bared in a deadly threat. The look in the beasts eyes was that of a deranged man, waging a war inside himself, and the wolf shook it's head, as if to rid it's self of a sane thought.

If I stayed, the beast would no doubt kill me.

Yet if I ran, I would most likely catch me.

I couldn't fight,
I couldn't stay,
And I could run...

But I could try.
-I had no other option...

I turned tail and ran, my feet pounding against the forest floor, my throat felt tight and my breaths were shallow and scratchy.

"Help!" I screamed, the words burning my lungs, "Daniel!"

A vicious snarl ripped through the air and I cried out as a heavy body collided with mine, sending me sprawling across the ground.

This was it.
-This was the end.

And then, the beast's jaws clamped down upon my neck.

***

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