Petrified
Silent footsteps walk through a petrified forest. Twisted roots stick out of the ground and dead branches reach into the sky like they’re looking for forgiveness for the sins committed throughout the centuries. The feet pause, a manic giggle escapes from parted lips before a lifeless body is dropped onto the ground. The empty eyes of a young woman stare up at the silent walker, the full moon illuminates her face just enough so the silent one can see how her mouth is stretched into an eternal scream. He laughs wildly at the expression for a short moment before turning around, his laughter following him as he walks back the way he came.
The forest is silent for hours. A dense fog settles over the strangled roots of the trees, the young woman lying on the dank ground, her limbs still twisted from where she’s been dropped.
A snap of a twig marks the end of the wait. A lone figure walks through the fog, the face concealed by his hooded coat. He leans over the lady, long pallid fingers brush over her scarred neck, the moon catches sight of sharp white teeth before he's leaning in further and biting down where his fingers were just seconds before. The young woman’s body spasms violently, her eyes clenching shut before a scream escapes her mouth and pierces through the placid air. The sound is gone in an instant as the woman’s body stops moving, lying almost disconcertingly still. The hooded figure pulls the young woman into his arms before he’s rising to his full height and walking through the thick wall of fog, the forest and the full moon being the only witnesses to what had taken place.
***
She wakes up seated at the end of a long dining table. It all looks familiar to her, like she’s been here in another life. Something deep in her bones tells her that she should run, that this place is not safe but she stays sitting. She notices for the first time that there is a young man at the end of the table, he looks like a dream she had not too long ago. His pallid fingers are playing with a glass of what looks like strong red wine and he’s looking at her with black eyes like he’s about to do something horrible.
The young woman isn’t sure what happens but suddenly she’s behind a large oak door. The young man is beside her looking excited but all she can seem to feel is dread. The door starts to open with a loud groan of protest, and she hears the sound of rain and thunder before she sees it. The woman goes to take a step backwards but the man stops her from moving any further with a dangerous look. She guesses that even if she did try to run earlier she wouldn’t have made it very far.
He looks out at the scenery before them, a lightning strike crashes through the sky and she’s able to see an endless expanse of trees, it’s gone as quickly as it came. “If you make it out of that forest before I catch you then you get to go home” the man speaks the words menacingly and it makes the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She nods, if she said no she’d be stuck in this place and she wouldn’t like to find out what would happen if she stayed.
She feels fear settle deep in her bones as the seconds tick by and all the young man has to say is “run” before she’s sprinting out of the door and into the pouring rain. She realises that she doesn’t know where to go, the path she was following ends at the line of