1 Chapter 1

It's cold. It's toward the end of October; the wind is frigid, the leaves have already fallen off every tree, and the air smells like snow. My fingertips are numb and my breath, coming out in pants, is leaving wisp of smoke in the air. No matter how much I breathe in it seems I can never get enough. That's what happens when your running in only your underwear. My feet hit the dirt ground covered in leaves, nearly tripping over every branch. My feet and hands are bleeding but even with the throbbing sensation, fear keeps my feet trudging along on this path, hoping to get back to civilization.

The woods were never my favorite.

How did I get here? One minute I'm on my way home from a therapy session and the next I was tied up in only my essentials. I was in some kind of cabin, my head aching from a blow I undoubtedly sustained to my head. The room was completely empty except for a sink and some tools hanging on the wall.

I pondered how I got here. No one hates me. I don't have any enemies or friends. I live at home with my parents. No job. I keep a relatively low profile with not much people noticing me. Then my mind drifts to the local news reporting a string of murders of young women with brunette hair. But at the time I thought it was a million miles from me.

Time had passed for about a day before anyone approached my location. Footsteps clashed out side. My whole body tensed up, as if preparing for a blow. The door creaks open and I shiver from the cold brought in. The man that comes in is my age. Medium build, average height, light brown hair with a crooked smile. The smile creeped me out but those eyes of his chilled me to the bone. The were an icy blue with no emotion beside the fear that reflected in mine.

He parts his lips as if he's about to speak but closes as he decides against it. He pulls out a knife and I start to quiver but all he does is cut me loose and says to me "Run".

I don't need to be told twice.

I start running faster than I ever ran in my life. Fear courses through my veins, worse than any anxiety attack I've had. But I can't afford to lose it. My mind and body need to work together to keep myself alive. And then I'm on the ground. I had tripped over a root that comes out of the ground.

He's right behind me.

I screamed for help, even while knowing no one would come. He knew that too as he chuckled when I tried. "You didn't last as long as thought." He said. " I was hoping for more of a chase." He point the knife towards me and stabs downward into my abdomen. For some reason a small part of me thought this was a sick joke. But there was nothing funny about the blood that pooled around me. Even as he kept thrusting the knife into my small body, I thought maybe I can still make it out of this. But as my vision began to blur and my mouth filled with metallic, I knew I was gone. It's cold. That's what happens when you die.