93. It was Here Tonight

Continued...

He didn't even glance back. His strides were too fast, too determined as he moved toward the tree line.

The tall, dark silhouettes of the trees loomed in the distance, an impenetrable wall of shadows.

And then—my eyes almost unnaturally got pulled by something else.

The fallen log.

A single rose, stark and glaringly red, sat atop it like a beacon. Its petals gleamed in the moonlight, taunting me from afar.

A chill shot down my spine.

It was here.

It was here tonight.

And Jake—Jake had just walked straight into the woods.

My mind barely processed the thought before my body moved on instinct. Logic screamed at me to stop, to think, to do anything other than what I was about to do.

But I couldn't just stand there.

Not when it was waiting. Not when Jake was alone in there. 

Ignoring every ounce of self-preservation in my being, I sprinted into the night, straight toward the one place I shouldn't go.

My feet never stopped until i was swallowed whole by the world beyond the shallow tree line. This world was dark and quiet. 

Unusually quiet. The last time I was hear, it was singing with life. crickets, owls hooting and leaves rustling.

But may be it was the sound of my own rapidly beating heart in my ears drowning all the other that I could hear nothing else.

I couldn't even think anything else as i raced and raced, taking a simple straight path, occasionally swaying when a particularly large rock laid in my path or a fallen tree log. 

My feet didn't stop. I needed to find Jake. I needed to save him before whatever lurks these woods reached him before me.

"Jake! Where are you?" my voice was airy as I called out, followed by silence. 

I would have turned back long ago, but every time I would stop to catch my breath or call out to him, I would see him turning a tree, or glimpse of him rushing forward. It was like he was playing hide and seek with me. 

But why?

"Wait, stop. Jake!"

I would again begin to follow after his trail.

All the while, a dreadful question keep appearing to the forefront and I kept pushing it back. It was probably useless logic, trying to scare me into going back. I needed to be courageous. 

I can not think about it right now. 

My foot then got caught a vine in the undergrowth, I flew forward, floundering, trying to catch myself but alas, I fell.

My knees scraped the rocks lying around on the ground and palms scratched by the sharp twigs fallen from the trees overhead.

I sat up, a painful groan slipped past my lips as I assessed the damage to my person.

Remaining there on the ground suddenly felt not only like a good idea but also an only option.

My breath was too fast, my lungs felt like burning from the strain I was putting on them. 

Yup, I'm gonna stay here for a second. And in that second I would go over the thoughts that were nagging to be processed.

And again the question was the first one to pop in my head. 

Why would Jake run into the forest in the night like this? 

Immediately my own head answered the question as if it was begging me to let it. And finally let I did: Unless... that wasn't Jake.