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She kept moving, even when everything inside of her demanded she rest. The higher the altitude the more ragged her breathing. Sheneeded blood, but hadn’t passed anything worth hunting in some time.
A stick snapped, not far behind, and she stilled. Her heart pounded like a war drum in her chest, each beat a desperate plea for survival. Was this it? Had he found her?
She stilled and waited for the smaller animals of the mountains to scurry, but they appeared undisturbed. Yet, she sensed something out there.
Had it been Cerberus, he would have shaken her out and tormented her, using his power to rip open the earth and down trees in her path. The forest had been calm for hours, so why was she suddenly on edge?
When a branch fell, she bolted like frightened prey. Sprinting through the dense forest, her feet crunched over the frost-covered underbrush. The impenetrable darkness flashed whenever the occasional sliver of moonlight pierced the canopy above. Her senses were on high alert, every rustle of leaves and snap of twigs sending jolts of fear through her frazzled nerves.
No matter the distance between them, Cerberus’s sinister presence loomed like a dark specter. Her mind played tricks on her, hearing sounds that were not there and seeing sights that did not exist.
Born of nightmares, she sometimes felt him most in that place between sleeping and awake. Once, she thought she saw his crimson eyeswatching her in the dark, glowing like rubies on fire with malevolent intent.
He thrived in the darkness, a nocturnal predator who enjoyed toying with his prey. Perhaps her instincts were correct and he was close by, or maybe her mind was deceiving her, drunk on fear and her ever spiking adrenaline. The anticipation of the hunt wore her down mentally and physically, but it would further invigorate him.
Her steps slowed for only a moment so she could pause long enough to listen. Looking back, she sensed danger closing in. She was not alone.
It was either Cerberus or something just as threatening. The oppressive weight of a threatening presence bore down on her, and her mind raced, searching for an escape. She needed to outmaneuver whatever stalked her.
Varying her path, she leaped through trees, creating a labyrinth that would confuse whatever trailed her in the forests. When she reached an icy stream, she stepped into the water, covering her tracks in the brook’s cold, unforgiving embrace.
She pushed herself harder, her legs burning with exertion, her lungs aching with every breath. The forest seemed to conspire against her, branches reaching out like skeletal hands to claw at her clothes and skin, roots rising from the ground to trip her. But these were merely natural pitfalls, not necessarily the evidence of Cerberus.
Still, she had to keep moving. Shivering, she struggled to regulate her temperature. In a moment of desperate fear, she wished Juniper was there to cocoon her in a protection spell. But most of all, she wished she could wrap herself in the sanctuary of her arms.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through her ankle as she stumbled over a jagged rock poking out of the stream. She cried out, the sound swallowed by the night, as she fell to the ground.
A low, guttural growl purred into a malicious laugh. Panic surged through her, adrenaline spurring her to scramble to her feet despite the agony that shot up her leg. He was there.
Desperation clawed at her insides as she limped in frantic flight. The forest thinned, and trees gave way to a steep, rocky incline. She scaled the walls, using her hands to steady herself, her fingers numb and trembling. The summit seemed an impossible distance away, each step a battle against the treacherous terrain and her weakening resolve.
The earth trembled, marking his nearness and taunting her. When she lost her footing again, it was too late. Her pack slipped from her hands, tumbling down the incline and hooking onto a branch. Her weapons were in there. She needed to get to them. This was it. She needed to end this before he got to her.
“You can’t run forever, girl. We have a score to settle.” His voice echoed through the canyons, sinking like a nearby whisper into her mind.
She frantically scrabbled the rock wall, backtracking to her pack, and then saw him. He moved with a preternatural grace, his dark form a blur as he closed the gap between them.
Her pulse thundered in her ears, and her vision blurred with tears of fear and frustration as she stretched desperately for her bag, only to knock it loose from the root and watch it fall down the mountainside.
Her breath turned to ice in her lungs. She spun and climbed upward, forgetting the pack to once again focus on escape.
His low laughter taunted her hopeless flight. He was nearing on her in unmarked strides, appearing closer and closer without ever seeming to move.
Chest heaving, her gasps turned to sobs as she scaled the wall. Her wet clothes froze under the relentless wind. She screamed as Cerberus emerged from the shadows ahead, his eyes locking onto hers with a predatory gleam.
He had her.
This was it.
She’d waited too long and there would be no escaping him now.
“It’s time to have that long-awaited reunion you’ve been putting off, girl.”
She spun to flee, but Cerberus was upon her instantly, his hand clamping around her wrist with a vice-like grip. She screamed, a sound of pure terror, as he jerked her to her feet.
“Did you honestly think you would getaway?” His breath washed over her face, and she whimpered. He laughed, the sound cruel and promising. “What’s that now?”
Lips trembling, her words stammered out. “K-kill me. Please.”
