The wastelands called to me, and I was in no position to ignore the warning. The place where I had first clawed my way back into existence was where I needed to head towards. As I retraced my steps through the forest, the air was siphoned from my lungs like I was being suffocated. The trees seemed taller, and their bark blackened as if tainted by an unnatural energy. The silence stretched between each of my breaths I took, and every step I took seemed to enhance the noises I was making.
Something wasn't right.
The first time I passed through here, I was driven by desperation, my mind fogged from the void. Now, I was aware of my surroundings, of myself, of the way the world felt. The stillness was oppressive. No insects chirped. No leaves rustled. It was as if the forest itself was holding its breath, waiting.
I wasn't alone.
At first, it was just a feeling—an itch at the back of my skull. Then came the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Distant. Measured. The moment I stopped moving, they did too. My breath hitched in my throat. I turned slowly, scanning the darkness, but all I found was the void between the trees.
I wasn't imagining it.
I exhaled sharply and kept moving, forcing myself forward even as every instinct screamed at me to run. But I knew better. Predators love the chase.
That night, I found shelter beneath the twisted roots of a fallen tree, exhaustion dragging me into uneasy sleep.
Then came the nightmare.
I was running. Fast. My legs burned, my lungs screamed, but I didn't stop. The ground beneath me shifted like sand, though my feet pounded against hard soil. Shadows stretched around me, twisting, reaching. A guttural growl tore through the air behind me.
I turned and then.
Claws. Teeth. A flash of pain.
I hit the ground, warmth spilling from a wound I couldn't see. Then my chest tightened and the world darkened.
I woke up violently, swinging both fists at the air.
My breath came in ragged gasps and my hand pressed to my chest where the pain had been. But there was nothing. No wound, no blood—just the phantom sting of something that had felt so real.
As my breathing slowed, my fingers traced along my arms, my sides, my back. That's when I noticed them more pronounced than before. Scars. Deep, jagged, uneven signs of battle I didn't remember. Signs of claws that had once ripped down my flesh.
A chill ran through me. The dream… it wasn't just a nightmare. It was something else. Something I had forgotten. Or worse—something that had been taken from me.
The next night, I saw what had plagued me in my nightmares. The creature.
I moved cautiously, each step deliberate, when something flickered in the corner of my vision. Eyes. Glowing, red, unblinking, staring at me from the darkness.
I didn't move. Neither did it.
For a long moment, we watched each other, an unspoken understanding crackling in the air between us. This wasn't just an animal. It knew exactly what it was doing.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it vanished. No sound. No movement. Just gone.
The realization hit me like ice in my veins. It had been watching me this entire time. Studying me. It wasn't hunting me, no, at this point, it was toying with me.
After days of moving cautiously and attempting to get back to the wastelands, I finally reached the waterfall.
The place where I had once leapt to escape this same creature that was stalking me. Now, I had to climb.
Every movement was measured, every grip carefully tested before I pulled myself higher. My muscles burned, my fingers ached, but I refused to stop. The entire time, I could feel it watching.
Then, a thought struck me like lightning—
Why is it here? Why is it waiting?
And then the pieces fell into place.
This creature wasn't just some wild predator wandering the forest.
It was put here.
It was meant to kill Runners.
The camp… I had been running from more than just torment. It had been a prison. A containment center.
And the place where I had resurrected—the wastelands?
It was a Safe Zone.
My grip tightened against the rock, my breath catching in my throat.
They had tried to erase me upon arriving in the forest.
But I was still here.
And now… I wanted to know why.
A cold wind howled through the canyon, carrying whispers that almost sounded like voices. I paused, fingers clenching against the rock. Was it just the wind—or was something else calling to me?
I climbed higher, my fingers raw against the jagged stone. The feeling of being watched grew unbearable. That thing wasn't just observing me from below—it was following my every move.
Then, a sound cut through the wind. A low, guttural breath. Above me.
I snapped my head upward, my stomach twisting into knots. A shape loomed at the edge of the cliff, silhouetted against the pale glow of the stars. The creature.
It had anticipated this. It knew I would come back. And now—it was waiting.
I clenched my jaw and kept climbing, my pulse hammering against my ribs. The moment I reached the top, I would have to face it. There was no running this time.
I wasn't sure if I was ready.
But ready or not—the next move was mine.
The wind picked up, the whispering voices becoming more distinct, like echoes from another time. I swore I heard my own name carried in the breeze. Was something else waiting for me up there?
The creature shifted, its form barely visible against the night. The slow scrape of claws against stone sent a shiver through me. It wanted me to know it was there. It wanted me to be afraid.
I exhaled, forcing the fear down. I had already died once. I wouldn't let them take me again.
With one last pull, I reached for the ledge and when I pulled myself up, I was eye to eye with the demonic being that had been stalking me like a lion hunting a gazelle. This was it.