| abstract | - The sun was setting. The shadows started to creep up on me from whatever dark place they came. The air started to grow cold. I flipped up my hood and kept walking. I would eventually run into a trail, right? Man, I knew it was a bad idea to go on a hike by myself. I had lost the path hours ago, yet I proceeded to march through the forest on my own in the middle of April, just before it stopped getting cold at night. "This is hopeless," I sighed, "I'm going to be out here all night!" Depressed and tired, I sat down on a rock to rest. Little did I know how downright exhausted I was, because a few minutes after sitting down, I started to drift off...
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* I woke up with a gasp. It was pitch black, no moon. I remembered my backpack and dug through it, desperately trying to find a flashlight. I could've sworn I packed one, but it wasn't there.
* CRASH* I jumped at the sudden noise. It sounded like a wooden plank being snapped in half, but louder. I thought that a tree may have fallen, and I decided to go check it out, so I got up and walked in the general direction of where I heard the noise come from. Now, don't call me crazy when I say this, but I swear I kept seeing flashes of purple light in my peripheral vision. They almost looked like... Eyes. I tried to laugh off the creeped out feeling that was crawling up my spine, but to no avail. "Oh no! I'm so scared! Haha, come and get me, scary monster!" That's when I heard them. The noises. They sounded like screams, but at a lower pitch, slowed down, and played in reverse. They surrounded me, flooded me with unknown terror. I'm a tough guy, not easily scared, but I have to admit, these noises horrified me. I couldn't pinpoint the exact source of the sound, it seemed to be coming from all over. I heard a twig break. "Who's there?" I asked. My question was soon answered. A pair of gleaming purple eyes stared at me from just beyond the blanket of shadows that surrounded me. All I did was stare back. I didn't blink... I COULDN'T blink... Or move at all for that matter. I was frozen in place. The owner of the eyes stepped closer to me, parting the curtain of darkness and revealing herself. Yes, it was a girl. And a rather pretty one at that. Actually, she was beautiful. The light from her eyes illuminated her gorgeous sharp features and smooth blonde hair. Her body was strong and lean, but... Her looks were too perfect. Like, TOO perfect. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the beautiful teenage girl had a demonic twist to her. Not only did her eyes glow like a purple flame, but she had rather strange finger nails, almost like claws. Her legs were excessively long, and as she smiled an evil smile, i noticed that her canine teeth were much larger and sharper than they should be. "Are you sleepy?" She asked in her angelic voice, "I can sing you a lullaby." As she started to sing, the beautiful, haunting notes pushed away all fear, and I began to relax. I was much too relaxed. I fell on the ground, still unable to move. The last thing I remember seeing was her reaching out towards my neck and snapping it in a single blow. The pain was excruciating, but fast, as the world faded to a hazy shade of red. Something was floating in the foggy, dark redness. It was text. "You died. Quit or respawn?" Without thinking, I selected respawn. I woke up with a gasp. It was pitch black, no moon. I remembered my backpack and dug through it, desperately trying to find a flashlight. I could've sworn I packed one, but it wasn't there. Something about those few minutes felt familiar, like déjà-vu. It seemed like I had been there before, doing that same thing... In a dream... I shrugged away my uneasiness and set of into the woods. "It was just a dream," I told myself as I walked through the trees, "I just had a bad dream." Even though I wanted to believe it, I just couldn't. My thoughts were interrupted by a blood-curdling scream. It was high-pitched, and it came from behind me. The voice sounded like that of a girl, but in the midst of the scream the voice cracked and turned into a low, creepy, demonic croaking sound. The voice switched back to a girl's voice, but this time, it had a strange staticky echo to it. I turned around and started running toward the source of the screaming, hoping that I could find another human being in this dark, desolate place. I heard the scream again, louder this time. "Hold on!" I yelled, "I'm coming! Don't worr-" My breath was stolen from me, and I was unable to catch it back. I looked down at the long serrated hunting knife, penetrating the skin on my chest, going right through my heart. I looked up into the glowing purple eyes of the one holding the knife. She smiled, smiled at my peril. "Life is for the strong." She said, "Rest now, weakling." She jerked the knife out of my chest and started wiping the blood off of it with a bandana. She released me from her stare, letting me fall to the ground, in pain. The world was fading fast. Everything turned a hazy shade of red. "You died. Quit or respawn?" Again, I selected respawn. I woke up with a gasp. It was pitch black, no moon. I remembered my backpack and dug through it, desperately trying to find a flashlight. I could've sworn I packed one, but it wasn't there... I paused, confused. Didn't something like this happen before? No... That's impossible. I shook my head, hard, and walked into the trees. After a while, I came across a murky pond. I was thinking about stopping there and resting, until I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned around fast to see... Nothing but a few glowing purple embers falling to the ground. They were surprisingly close to me, but nobody was there. "Hello? " I asked, "Stay back, I have bear spray!" ........... There was no response, however, I knew I couldn't stay there. Call me a psychopath, but I was extremely paranoid that someone, no, SOMETHING, was following me. "Don't be silly," I told myself, "There are no such things as monsters. I just had a nightmare, and now I'm paranoid. That's all." I turned around and looked for a way to get across the water. I saw only a fallen tree, and I decided that I had no better option. As I started to cross, something tapped my shoulder from behind. I had a feeling I knew who it was. I spun around again and saw, again, nothing but embers. I turned back as to continue on, but there she stood, right in front of me. "Hello there, sir." She said as she stared me down, freezing me once more. "You look dirty," she said, frowning. "I have an idea! Why don't you take a bath?" She smiled as she shoved me into the water. I was still frozen, unable to swim. As the water filled my lungs and I sank to the bottom, everything turned a hazy shade of red. "You died. Quit or respawn?" For the last time, I selected respawn. I woke up, just like before, and opened my backpack, just like before, but this time, I pulled out a notebook and pen. I'm writing my story, hoping that someone will be able to read it before I die for the last time. I've had enough of this torture. The next time she kills me, I'll select quit.
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* DEATH IS THE ONLY ESCAPE.
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