12

Elara's breath came in ragged gasps as she limped deeper into the forest, her heart pounding in her chest. The pain from her injured ankle was unbearable, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her moving, pushing her forward, away from the memories, away from the fear. She didn't know how much farther she could go, but she couldn't stop. Not now.

The trees seemed to close in around her, the canopy above blocking out the moonlight. The only sounds she could hear were her own labored breaths and the distant calls of night creatures in the woods. But in the back of her mind, she could still hear her mother's voice, cold and full of fear. Dangerous. Monster. The words echoed, repeating in a loop that made her chest tighten with dread.

I'm not a monster.

She repeated the words to herself over and over, trying to convince herself that she wasn't what her mother had said. That she wasn't the dangerous, uncontrollable force that had terrified her classmates. But the self-doubt gnawed at her, and each step she took felt heavier than the last.

She could feel the tears threatening to fall, but she refused to let them show. Crying wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't make the pain go away. And it certainly wouldn't change what had happened.

As she walked, the world around her seemed to blur. Her mind was a tangled mess of confusion and guilt, and it felt like the forest itself was swallowing her whole. She was lost—both physically and emotionally. She didn't know where she was going, but she couldn't bring herself to stop.

Her foot caught on a root, and she fell to the ground with a strangled cry. Pain shot through her ankle, and she gasped, clutching at the earth beneath her as if it could somehow anchor her. Her body trembled from the strain, but she pushed herself up, her vision blurry from both the pain and the tears she refused to shed.

I need to keep moving.

But the thought of moving, of continuing this torturous escape, was starting to feel impossible. The darkness around her seemed to close in tighter, and the cold began to seep into her bones. She didn't know how long she'd been running—hours, maybe—but she could feel herself breaking down. The weight of everything was too much to bear.

What am I supposed to do?

The question echoed in her mind, but there was no answer. There never was. She had no one to turn to, no one who could understand what she was going through. No one who could explain why she had done what she did, why she had hurt people. And that was the worst part—the fact that she had lost control. That she had hurt people who had never done anything to deserve it. And now, all she had left was this endless forest and the fear that followed her like a shadow.

But even in her broken state, Elara knew one thing: she couldn't go back. Not to her mother. Not to anyone.

She glanced up, squinting through the darkness. She had lost track of time, lost track of where she was. The forest felt like an endless maze, and every tree seemed to blur into the next. But something caught her eye in the distance—something faint, but unmistakable. The flicker of light.

A fire.

She froze, her body stiffening as a wave of panic washed over her. Could it be someone looking for her? Someone who had followed her? The police? Her mother?

She stood there, trying to make sense of the situation, but fear paralyzed her. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't go toward the light—she couldn't risk being found. But she couldn't stay here either. If they found her, they would take her back. And then everything would be over. She would never be free.

Think. You need to think.

Her mind raced, the panic threatening to overtake her. But then, something inside her snapped. She had to do something. She couldn't just wait for them to find her. She couldn't just let them catch her like an animal in a trap.

With a surge of defiance, Elara turned away from the firelight and hobbled deeper into the forest. Her ankle throbbed with each step, but she ignored it, focusing on the path ahead. She had no plan. No strategy. She was just running, driven by the need to escape, to disappear.

She didn't know how much longer she could keep going. The exhaustion was starting to take its toll, and her body felt like it was falling apart. She stumbled again, falling to her knees in the dirt. The pain in her ankle flared up, and she let out a choked sob, her tears finally spilling over as her fear and frustration broke through.

I can't keep running. I can't keep hiding.

But just as the thought crossed her mind, something inside her stirred—a familiar, tingling sensation in her chest. The air around her seemed to thrum with energy, as though it were vibrating with the same intensity she felt inside. And then, without warning, it happened.

The world around her seemed to crack open, the very fabric of reality splitting like a torn page. Energy crackled through the air, and Elara gasped, her hands trembling as the power surged within her once again. It was uncontrollable. It was terrifying. And it was growing stronger with every passing second.

The ground beneath her feet cracked open, the earth shifting and trembling as though it were alive. Trees bent and groaned as if they were struggling to stay upright, and Elara could feel the weight of the power pressing down on her, threatening to crush her.

She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her throat was tight with fear and confusion, and the power was beginning to take over. She couldn't control it. She didn't know how.

The firelight in the distance flared brighter, and Elara's heart skipped a beat as she realized that whatever was happening—whatever she was doing—it was getting closer to them. The people she was running from. The ones who would see her as a threat.

In a final desperate attempt to escape, Elara forced herself to her feet, pushing past the power that was threatening to consume her. She couldn't stay here. She couldn't let them find her. She needed to get away. She needed to hide.

With one last burst of strength, Elara broke through the energy that surrounded her and took off into the night, leaving the forest behind.

But even as she ran, she knew she couldn't outrun herself. The power was inside her. And sooner or later, it would catch up.