All of a sudden I became hyperaware of the movement around me. I could hear the leaves dropping on the ground; a crisp, brittle sound, the rhythmic thud of thousands of steps in the distance, and chilling whispers, barely audible but taunting me. A sense of danger lurking around every corner.
Was this what was happening to the other contestants as well?
The others.
Where were the others?
At the brutal thought of that, every noise stopped. The ground stabilized, the birds stopped crying, and the animals were nowhere to be found. I sat tight, waiting for a sign that someone was here.
Did they all pass already? Was I alone in the woods?
“Run,” a voice said.
So I did. I ran until my legs were sore. I ran, my vision blurring until I couldn’t tell if it was from crying or simply from the physical effort. My breath came in ragged gasps as I ran, and soon my clothes were plastered to me with sweat.
And then the world tilted. The ground, once solid, swayed beneath me, a deceptive comfort. I hissed in pain when one branch tore at the skin of my leg as I passed by, then a low growl, perhaps my own, rumbled as I fought to stay upright. The scent of damp earth filled my nostrils, mingled with the metallic tang of blood. My blood.
My lungs burned, demanding air I couldn’t seem to draw deep enough. The ground, a traitorous friend, attempted to cradle me, pulling me down into its dark embrace. But I wouldn’t yield. Not yet. A primal scream clawed its way up my throat, a silent promise of defiance. The world spun, a dizzying carousel of shadows and pain, and I knew with a certainty that chilled me to the bone that whatever came next wouldn’t be gentle.
I had to run. I had to get out of this cursed forest.
So I pushed harder and harder, disregarding the throbbing pain of the wound and the aching of my legs.
How long had it been since the trial started? Minutes? Hours? I couldn’t decide. I had lost track of time. The thought hit me hard in my chest, and panic seized me. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat threatening to shatter the cage it was trapped in. Air hitched in my throat, making each breath a shallow, desperate gasp. A cold sweat slicked my palms and forehead, and my muscles tensed, ready to flee from a danger I couldn’t name.
I held no vital information, nothing that mattered in this moment. I couldn’t say how much longer until the finish line. I didn’t know if I was halfway through or had two more minutes. I was completely disarmed.
My knees met the ground with a loud thud as my legs gave out, desperate for a few moments of rest. I would rest and continue after. Eyelids closed and?—
“Get out. Get out. Get out. Get out,” a faint woman’s voice mumbled.
I knew it meant for me to get up, but I was so tired. I wanted to lie down, to close my eyes. Just a second. Then I was going to get up.
“Get out!” The shout was so loud the ground trembled under me.
I no longer mistook the voice for my imagination. I knew in fact that there was a real person next to me.
I forced my eyes to peel open, and I pushed on the mud to get myself up, but what was underneath me was nothing similar to the forest floor.
The voice bloomed closer. “Get out. Get out. Get out.”
When I thrust myself up with lazy eyes, I realized the thing underneath me was . . . human.
My heart pounded in my chest, an icy dread gripping me as I stared at her body, her blonde hair disappearing into the dark, leafy undergrowth. Her clothes were ripped over her torso, slight scratches covering her entire abdomen and the small spot above her clavicles. She was caked in mud, her eyes swiveling, and the same words kept repeating like a broken record.
“Get out. Get out. Get out.”
“Georgie,” I said, getting down on my knees. “Georgie, can you hear me?” I asked, slapping her left cheek. But she was unresponsive. It was like she didn’t even know I was here. “Georgie, please wake up. I’m going to get you out of here.”
A long, drawn-out scream pierced the air from my right—the most terrifying sound I’d ever heard. It clawed its way into my ears; a raw, primal sound that seemed to vibrate in my very bones. The scream was a twisting, agonizing sound; a desperate plea that was abruptly cut short, leaving an echoing silence in its wake.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a creeping terror coiled in my stomach. I froze, my breath catching in my throat, my eyes darting around the shadowed alleyway, searching for the source of the nightmare.
I stared down at Georgie. “I’ll be back. Hang on.”
My knees protested with a sharp crack as I straightened, hobbling away from Georgie toward the origin of the terrible scream. Within a stone’s throw lay a sprawled body that belonged to a girl whose name I never got the chance to know. I ran the last few steps, and with a thud, I landed beside her.
Blood trickled from her eyes and ears, the wetness of her tears mingling with the metallic tang on her face.
