Before We Go; Tim Wright X Reader

Ch: 07

Y/N sits up from the hard ground, her lungs suddenly desperate for air. She breathes in too quickly and starts to cough. Chest heaving, her fingers grab at the ground. Dirt, dried up leaves. And surrounding her, tall trees. Slowly, very slowly, the panic sets in even when she tries to fight to stay calm.

She's in a forest.

***

Y/N stands up too quickly, fright overwhelms her and she starts to hear the beat of her heart loudly in her ears. In an attempt to find out where she is, she spins around in place. She sees nothing but trees and bushes and rocks in her line of sight. Not even the loud birdsong that echoed around her was enough to quiet her anxious thoughts. Her chest clenches, her hands that rested by her sides start to shake. Panic, pure panic has set a dark fire to her mind.

She doesn't know where she is or how she got there. She doesn't remember anything after she fell asleep in her car. Those memories are blank, but she knows that they are there locked away somewhere deep in her mind. If only she could remember how she got here.

Taking a deep and shaky breath in, she checks the pockets of her jeans and coat. Nothing. Glancing down where she had wakened up, she tries to find anything. All she sees are piles of dead leaves and dirt. Nothing of importance.

Just as she was about to give up, she spots a pair of keys from the corner of her eye. They weren't hers, but they had to be here for a reason. Even if they had nothing to do with what was going on, its best to keep them just in case. Picking up the unfamiliar keys, she studied them for a few seconds then stuffs them in one of her pockets.

Glancing up at the roof of the forest, she winces at the unbearable light of the bright sun. Her eyesight becomes fuzzy, the back of her eyes start to burn.

Abruptly, Y/N hears a loud ringing in her ears. She can't hear the birds anymore. Can't hear the rustling of leaves. Can't hear her weak, frightened intakes of oxygen. Then, it's quiet. No more noises echo in her ears. Just the soft breeze.

Just as quickly as the peace came, it ends. Her legs felt heavy, too heavy for her to stand. All she can do is fall to her knees, breathing hard because of the alarming discomfort building up. This tension. She knew this feeling. Knew it all too well. She hated the familiarity she had with it. Hated the way the fear kept building up and up until she was about to crumble apart and fall, hated the dread that shackled and clenched itself around her heart like steel chains. It was too overwhelming.

Y/N bends down towards the ground and keeps her head rested on her folded arms. She doesn't want to see it. She knows its there somewhere in the tall trees watching her. Studying her. She knew running wouldn't save her. It would find her. It always does. She just has to wait it out. Wait for it to get bored of her quivering figure.

She couldn't stop shaking. She didn't know what to do-

A branch snaps from behind her, and as if it scared the creature off, the feeling of being watched vanishes. It was gone. Her chest losses that sick, tight feeling. She slowly stops shuddering.

Y/N slowly lifts her head up and turns around to look at where the disturbance came from. Upon seeing who stood above her, her eyes widen. Her mouth lips part in shock.

"I-It's you..." She manages to speak through her surprise. Relief holds her tight in its arms, she wasn't alone.

"Do you know what's going on?" She asks him immediately, "I don't remember coming here..."

"I don't know any more than you do." Tim glances down at her, his dark eyes are as vacant as his exhausted expression. She briefly wonders why he almost looked bored. He didn't seem as terrified as her. It was almost like he was...used to this. Used to being used and tormented. Used to the horror and pain.

Y/N stares hard down at the ground for a while, her chest still felt very heavy under the distress. Her heartbeat was gradually becoming steady again. She had to think clearly, so she had to calm down.

"Well, let's go look for a way out of this forest and figure out where we are." She suggests quietly as she stands up from the ground, she sees him nod in agreement. His eyes remain distant and hollow as he trails his vision across the many trees. He almost held a look of familiarity studying their surroundings.

Choosing a direction at random, she starts to walk.

"Um, wait." A hand suddenly grabs her wrist to halt her movements. Confused, she glimpses back at Tim and waits for him to say something.

"We need to go this way, " he points in the opposite direction where she was going, the corner of his lips awkwardly curl up in an attempt to smile. It doesn't last long.

"Oh..." Embarrassed, she gently pulls back from his grip and tries to act cool, "Well, lead the way."

They walk forward for quite a while, they both remain quiet. The only sound comes from their footsteps, twigs, and leaves crack under the pressure. The sun is cruel today, the heat almost becomes unbearable. Her feet ache the longer they walk, she isn't used to walking on such rough ground. She can't remember the last time she went hiking or did anything outdoors. She never had any time to herself anymore.

"So.." She begins to speak, to crack the stillness in the air, "You seem to be pretty familiar with this area. Do you happen to know where we are?" She watches the back of his head, she stares at him hard, wondering if he can feel her gaze.

Tim is quiet for a few seconds, "Yeah...I'm very familiar with this place. Rosswood Park. We are in Tuscaloosa. Bad things tend to happen here, in my...past experiences." His words are heavy with what she thinks is grief.

He peeks back at her, so she instantly averts her eyes to the ground and continues to watch where she steps, "I see..." It's quiet again.

It feels as if they have been walking for hours, she wasn't keeping track. As time did go on, she felt like she was being watched. It felt like a pair of eyes were glaring holes into her skull. On edge, her pace becomes a bit quicker.

This goes on for a bit until she turns to look behind her. Nothing. She was just paranoid again. It was nothing.

Inhaling deeply, she continues to walk on the unmaintained dirt trails behind Tim.