Haunting-Adeline

from every spot that our skin clashes.
I suck in a sharp breath, the ever-present fear and adrenaline s ll
steadily pumping into my bloodstream, nearly drugging me with the
potency and making me delirious.
“Yes,” I whisper, answering his ques on before I snap my leg up and
knee him right between the legs. He manages to dodge the brunt of the
hit, but it gives me enough room to slip from his grasp and run.
A loud, cruel laugh rings out as I nearly rip the door off its hinges before
taking off into the night air.
Cold, wet droplets of rain splash onto my skin, soaking me immediately,
but I don’t let the downpour deter me.
Terror pushes me forward, my legs kicking as I bolt off into the woods.
My feet slip from the slickness on the porch, and it’s then that I remember
I’m fucking barefoot.
Too late now. I forge on, gri ng my teeth against the bite of rocks in my
feet as I bolt across the driveway.
As a child, I had always wanted to explore these woods. They’re deep
and incredibly easy to get lost in. My mother and Nana never let me step
foot inside them as a kid. Somehow, that restric on carried into my adult
life.
The warnings I received as a child subconsciously kept me from ever
going into the woods and exploring. And now, I wish I had.
It doesn’t even take a minute before I’m completely turned around. The
only light offered is from the moon, and even that is weak due to the
canopies of trees clouding the sky.
I keep pumping my legs, harder and faster. Too scared to stop. Too
frightened of the devil nipping at my heels.
Un l I trip over a root, my body pitching forward and then crashing
noisily into the ground. I land awkwardly on my hands, pain flaring in both
wrists as they give beneath my weight. My toe throbs from where it caught
on the root, my feet bloodied and abused from running barefoot in the
goddamn woods.
I’m breathing heavily, heaving out panicked puffs as I roll onto my back. I
have to shut my eyes from the onslaught of rain, blurring my vision and
leaking into my nose and mouth.
Raising a hand to cover my face, I open my eyes and look around.