The Beast - by Natalie Koch, 10th Grade

The forest around me was suffocating. The tree’s howled with laughter as the wind rustled their silhouettes against the pale moonlight. The forest was mocking me at my desperate attempt to escape my attacker. But I couldn’t blame them; I didn’t even know why I was trying. It was as though the tree’s themselves were draining away my last strains of faith. They were cascading there leaves down to the damp ground in front of me, provoking me to slip. There roots stretched out over the beaten path, desperately trying to snag my feet upon them. Not only was U being hunted by an unimaginable beast, the forest, nature itself, was playing against me, and I was losing fast. As the darkness of the woods began to consume me, what I thought would be my sanctuary was quickly turning into my death bed.

As I approached the heart of the forest, the plants around me were thickening. I spread my arms across my face as I charged through a particularly large group mesh of sharp branches and thorn veins. I stumbled out into a clearing on the other side, covered with scratches and thorns in my skin. I didn’t have time to brush myself off, I had to keep moving. I kicked my brain into over-drive as I scream mental to tell my throbbing legs to resume their speed. Instead, they collapsed under my weight, my body tumbling onto the cool, soggy ground beneath me.
The cool dirt felt relaxing against my hot, sweaty face. I felt as though I had been running for days on end, but in reality, it had only been about forty-five minutes. For several, tense seconds, the forest around me had gone completely silent. The only thing I could hear was the thumping of my heart against my chest as I lied motionless. A wave of new hope washed over me. Perhaps the beast had grown tired, or better yet, had lost track of me. Whatever the case, I took the opportunity to check my battered body. With my adrenaline temporarily easing off, huge excruciating pain surged through my legs. I tried to relieve some discomfort by massaging them with my trembling, dirt covered fingers. It was no good, the pain had escalated to the point in were my legs were numb. With a shaky breath, I slowly picked off thorns protruding from my irritated skin. Tears collected in my eyes as I pricked each one by one. Time passed as I got the majority of the thorns out. I longer I stayed here, the more at risk I was for the beast to return. I figured my next best move would be to try to back track home along a different route, cringing at the fear in running into it through the way you came. I braced myself as I struggled to get into an upright position, then onto my feet. I staggered around before I was able to keep my ground, then gingerly made way towards a small, open path on the other side of the clearing. Suddenly, an ear piercing howl roared from behind me. I swung around and locked eyes with my pursuer. An enormous, black shaggy dog like creature stood before me. Its eye’s like fire, razor sharp teeth, and large matted paws stood ten feet away. It took a couple of paw steps forward, growls rumbling deep from his throat as he was about to pounce. I staggered backwards, frantically trying to flee the monster. Suddenly, the ground below me disappeared, and I feel down what I think was a cave, and hit the bottom with a thud, blacking out.