CHAPTER 16
AVA CLARKE
It's very dark, and I keep running through the dark street. The shadow keeps chasing me quickly, and I run into the forest, feeling branches and leaves hitting my face and body as I continue running as fast as I can at the moment.
I've never been in situations like this, and I should have thought that it would be very dangerous for a girl to be alone in such a completely dark place. I bit my lips hard to avoid screaming. The shadow gets closer, and I turn on the flashlight on my phone to keep running. At that moment, I turn my head back, widening my eyes when I see that the shadow looks like a man.
A tall man, but his eyes are completely red, and he doesn't stop running after me. I can feel my heart beating harder inside my chest; my legs hurt, but I can't stop now. I try to call Lucius again, desperately wishing to talk to him, but I'm in the middle of the forest, and the cell signal here is very poor.
Furthermore, I'm very scared, and I can't believe this is happening to me. I try to run faster, feeling my lungs begging for rest. I don't know where I'm going now; I just keep running between the trees with the flashlight on my phone. Likewise, I look back every two seconds, seeing that the man won't give up chasing me. But I can't let this happen; I can't die alone in this dark forest.
"Please, Lucius...", I murmur in fear, putting the phone to my ear again, and I sigh with relief when Lucius answers this time.
"Lucius, help me!", I say desperately, hearing him move on the phone.
I need to focus when I see the man running after me faster, and I'm getting too slow and breathless to keep running.
"Ava! Are you okay? What's happening?"
"I need help; I'm in the forest, and something is chasing me. Help me, please!", I say this, feeling tears wetting my face at this moment.
This is definitely not human, and I don't know how this is possible.
"I'm coming, Ava. Keep running and don't stop!", he says, and I scream when I feel my foot tripping on a stone or a tree branch.
Seconds later, I fall to the ground, feeling my body rolling on the forest floor, and I groan when I feel my head hitting the ground hard. I try to get up, feeling blood running down my forehead, and I can't find my phone anymore to talk to Lucius.
I'm alone, and I sit down, feeling my head hurt more. Furthermore, I feel dizzy after hearing footsteps, and I lift my head, seeing the creature with red eyes ready to attack me. I crawled to the ground quickly, trying to stay away from this scary creature. It's a man, but he's wearing long black clothes, and all I can see in the dark are his red eyes and sharp teeth.
Oh my god...
He approaches, and I scream loudly, closing my eyes and waiting to be attacked, when I feel a hand on my arm, pulling me up. I struggle to break free and smell something very familiar. I open my eyes quickly, seeing someone in front of me. Furthermore, I'm still very scared and try to stay away from the person.
"Stop screaming; it's me; I'm here now!", I stop screaming when I hear Damien's voice in front of me.
"Damien!", I say his name as if I'm seeing him for the first time in my life.
He's holding my shoulders, and I blink my eyes, seeing that he's holding a flashlight, allowing me to see his green eyes fixed on my face. I sigh in relief, but I turn my head, seeing that the red-eyed creature is no longer here; he found me before anything bad could happen to me.
I lift my head, observing Damien's face illuminated only by the flashlight, and I see his eyes shining as he continues watching me. Furthermore, I thought I would die in this place, but now I can feel my heartbeats slowing down. I blink my eyes, trying to focus on him, but I'm getting dizzy.
"You're bleeding. What were you doing alone here?", he asks, and I open my mouth to answer, but I feel my legs getting weak.
"He was here, Damien! He was here, and he was chasing me, and he was scary.", I say, remembering everything I saw.
"Who was here? What did you see?", he asks with a furrowed brow, looking at me confused, and I point to the dark forest, recalling the tall man's red eyes.
"I don't know; he had red eyes, and his eyes glowed in the dark. I was very scared, and...", I say, putting my face against Damien's chest.
I know I shouldn't be hugging him because he clearly hates me more than anything, but I'm relieved that he's here at this moment. He remains unresponsive, just holding onto my shoulders, and I feel my head hurting more. Seconds later, I lose all my strength and wait for my body to fall to the ground, but it doesn't happen because Damien holds me quickly and picks me up.
I try to open my eyes, but my head hurts too much and prevents me from doing so. I just feel him walking with me through the forest while I continue in his arms.
"Ava!", I hear my name being shouted, and I know that's Lucius's voice.
He keeps calling my name, and I hear his voice getting closer to us.
"She's bleeding and seems to have hit her head very hard...", Damien says to his brother, and that's the last thing I can hear before fainting completely."
Everything feels too confusing inside my head. I raise my hand, feeling my forehead throbbing. I try to open my eyes, and when I do, I realize I'm lying in bed.
Furthermore, I'm in my room in the mansion, and I can hear voices. I groan, turning my head and seeing Lucius sitting near me, talking about something with Damien.
I try to sit up in bed, but seconds later, I see Lucius looking at me with concern, gently pushing my shoulders to keep me lying down.