13

The moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie silver glow across the darkened forest. Elara had been running for what felt like hours, her injured ankle slowing her progress, but the pain was nothing compared to the rising panic in her chest. Her breath was shallow, her thoughts scattered. She couldn't outrun what she had become.

The further she ran, the more the world around her seemed to shift. The trees, once solid and comforting, now bent and twisted, their branches like gnarled fingers reaching out to grab her. The ground beneath her feet seemed unstable, like it was constantly shifting, as though the earth itself were alive and breathing. She stumbled again, her ankle throbbing painfully, but she didn't stop.

In the distance, she saw movement—dark shadows flitting between the trees. At first, she thought they were just her eyes playing tricks on her, the fatigue and fear blurring her perception of reality. But then the shadows grew more distinct. They weren't just figments of her imagination. There were creatures in the forest, lurking just beyond her vision.

A low growl rumbled from somewhere behind her, and Elara froze. Her heart skipped a beat. She slowly turned her head, her eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of the threat. The growl came again, closer this time, and she could see something moving in the shadows—something large, its glowing eyes peering out from the underbrush.

She gasped, stumbling back, her pulse quickening as her mind raced. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. There was no way these creatures existed. But the air around her felt charged, thick with an unnatural energy, and she could feel the presence of something lurking just beyond her reach.

The ground beneath her feet seemed to ripple, the trees warping and distorting, as though the very fabric of the world was tearing apart. Elara reached for her head, her hands shaking as the world around her blurred and twisted. The creatures—monstrous and grotesque—began to emerge from the shadows, their features exaggerated and monstrous. Some had elongated limbs, others had eyes too large for their faces, and some had twisted, serpentine bodies that slithered through the underbrush like nightmarish snakes.

Her breath caught in her throat as she backed away, her heart racing in terror. This wasn't a hallucination. These creatures were real. She could see them, feel their presence, their malevolent energy seeping into her skin.

"No, no, no…" she muttered, her voice trembling. She had to get away. She couldn't let them find her. They couldn't find her.

Her eyes darted to the small, worn bag at her side—the only possession she had left from her former life. The bag that held the small bottle of pills her mother had given her. The pills that were supposed to help her control the visions, to keep the monsters and horrors at bay. The only thing that had kept her grounded in reality for as long as she could remember.

She reached for the bag with frantic hands, her heart hammering in her chest as she fumbled with the zipper. Her mind was clouded with fear, the creatures moving closer, their eyes glowing with an unnatural hunger. She had to get the pills. She had to make them stop.

With trembling fingers, she opened the bag and rifled through it. Her fingers brushed against the edges of papers, her fingers pulling out scraps of fabric, an old map, and a few other random items. But there was no bottle. No pills.

Her stomach sank, and she let out a strangled cry. She searched through the bag again, her breath coming in shallow gasps. There had to be a mistake. The pills had to be there. She had been so careful, so sure that they were in the bag, that they would help her, that they would keep the visions from becoming real. But now, she was alone in the forest, surrounded by nightmarish creatures, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

Her hands shook as she pulled out everything in the bag, tossing it to the ground in desperation. She felt the panic rise inside her, her mind spiraling out of control. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. The creatures were closing in, their glowing eyes growing larger, their twisted forms creeping closer.

"No… No, this can't be happening…" she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart.

The creatures snarled, their mouths opening wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth. They were almost upon her. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The world around her felt like it was closing in, suffocating her. She couldn't escape.

Her hands gripped the edge of the bag tightly, her nails digging into the fabric. She could feel the power building within her again—the same power that had caused the destruction before, the same power that had thrown Tara and her friends across the room. It surged within her like a storm, wild and uncontrollable.

But this time, she couldn't stop it. This time, it was different. The power was darker, more intense, and it felt like it was taking over her body, consuming her from the inside out. Her eyes glowed with an unnatural light as she stared at the creatures, and she could feel them recoiling from her, sensing the shift in the air.

But Elara couldn't control it. She didn't know how. The creatures were still closing in, and the power inside her was threatening to break free.

"Please, no…" she whispered, her voice cracking. "I don't want this…"

But the words did nothing. The creatures were getting closer, their twisted faces now inches from her own. Elara closed her eyes, bracing for the inevitable. This was it. She was going to lose control. She was going to hurt everyone again. She was going to become the monster her mother had always feared.

And then, just as the creatures lunged toward her, there was a bright flash of light. A deafening sound filled the air, and the creatures vanished, as if they had never been there at all. Elara blinked in confusion, her heart racing as she looked around, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

The world was still, quiet, and for the first time in what felt like forever, there was no sign of the monsters. No twisted creatures, no glowing eyes. Just the dark forest, silent and still.

She collapsed to her knees, the weight of what had just happened crashing down on her. She was shaking, her breath ragged, but at least the creatures were gone. For now.

But she knew, deep down, that they would return. And without the pills, without control, she didn't know how much longer she could keep the darkness at bay.