The House at the Edge of the Cliff

So Close Yet So Far

Your legs were heavy and buckled dangerously underneath you as you ran into the forest. Threatening to make you fall to the ground. You had been trapped in that room for who knows how long, your running speed and leg strength was suffering from the lack of movement from that.

You were barely able to keep your balance, twigs and dried leaves crunching underneath your shoes as you bolted away from the house.

Your heart was thumping loudly in your chest, your breathing was quick and erratic. You were afraid that any second now the man would pop out of nowhere and you would be captured again.

There were the traps you needed to look out for as well. You remembered all too well how Jeremy stepped into the bear trap and you running over the net trap.

Who knew what other traps could be hidden and where. There could be a minefield of hidden ones absolutely everywhere. You kept your eyes mostly on the ground. Highly alert for anything that might look like it's attached to a trap.

You could not go slow and get a better look at the area. You were still way too close to the house to even considering slowing down. You were just going to have to keep a good eye on the ground.

You fought off panic from taking control of you, trying to put all of your focus on where you were going. You knew you were still on the mountain, but where exactly was unknown to you. All you needed to do was get a sense of direction. If you could do that then you could find your way down to the town.

Once there you would go to the nearest inhabited building that would let you contact the police. They would come up and you would tell them everything.

They would find the place you were taken, take that man away then all of your friends would go home! That was of course the best thing you could hope for. What if he realized you had escaped, killed your friends, and then left before you could even get off the mountain?

The thought made your legs buckle another time and you crashed harshly against a tree. You gripped tightly into the bark ridges with your fingers as you took in long and deep breaths.

Your chest stung and it felt like you were breathing hot air, even though the air itself was very cold right now. The sun was beginning to set, making the sky grow a darker blue and casting a slight shadow over the mountain.

You cursed under your breath from behind gritted teeth. That was going to make it a lot harder to see any kind of trap material. Luck really was against you.

You took this moment of rest to search around the area with your eyes. maybe there was a landmark that you had seen before? To the left? No. To the right? Nothing over there either. You were still in an unfamiliar area.

Once you got your breath you would continue to run as fast as you could. You would remain going in the direction you were already going until you made it to the town or something else made you turn a different direction.

Your breathing hitched to a harsh stop as a sound from the way you came started up. Dogs... Barking dogs howled in the distance. Coming from the direction that you just came from. No doubt tracking you down by scent.

" Fuck! Shit! Fuck! Fuck!" You sobbed out as you pushed yourself from the tree and started to run at full speed again. You propelled yourself away from the approaching dogs as fast as you could, the extra dose of adrenalin pumping through your veins allowed you to run slightly faster.

However you were still running from dogs, they would eventually catch up to you. Your legs were shaking so badly, feeling half numb from shock and just troubling you even more.