DAZAREE: Escape

Dazaree found herself running away as quickly as she could without thinking about where she was going. There are no directions, thus there is no way home. She was lonely and restless. Nothing made sense to her at all anymore, and all she desired to do was get out of that suffocating environment.

She's scared of herself and what she just did. Her whole body is trembling and what scared her most is that she couldn't feel any pain. She's continuously wishing that this night was a dream. A bad dream that she could easily forget once she woke up. But it's not. It's the reality.

Dazaree didn't stop running even though the streets were dark and scary. She thought nothing was more terrifying than herself.

When everything started sinking inside her head, questions started flashing in. "What have I done? What is it me? I don't remember anything. Did I lose consciousness and did all of that? But how?" she thought to herself.

Tears continue to flow from her eyes, causing her to bite her lips in an attempt to stop herself from sobbing as she slows down. She began to wonder if this was why her aunt despised her and referred to her as a family plague. She desperately wanted answers, but she knows only her real parents can provide them, and she doesn't even know who they are. The only people she can call family have also left. She's now completely alone.

All of her energy was suddenly drained, causing her to collapse on the grass. Her eyes are heavy as if she is about to lose consciousness. She tried to open her eyes and fight the tiredness to continue, but it was futile.

Dazaree was so preoccupied that she didn't notice she had passed through the woods and was surrounded by tall, large trees. When she regained consciousness, she realized she was no longer in the subdivision. She didn't know how to get back to her aunt's house.

As she began to sob, she rested her head on the large, lofty tree, closed her eyes, and hugged herself. When a breeze blew in her left ear and heard a faint voice, she stopped crying. It was vague, but she knew it was coming from men. It happened again as if the wind was whispering to her. She tried to figure out where the faint voice came from as it became louder and clearer every minute.

It felt like she's hearing things but she continued to listen. Maybe someone is here with her too, she thought. She tried to pay close attention to the voices she thought were approaching her as the words become clearer.

"We are... just..."

The voices were somehow fading when the breeze dissipates or change directions so she tried to follow it with her ears.

"Are you sure you detected a castre?"

The voice then became so clear that it shocked Dazaree causing her to fall on her knees.

"Yes. I can't be wrong."

She's terrified that she's hearing voices that are causing her heart to race. She looked in the direction where the voices were coming from, but there was no one there. How can she hear their voices when there is no one around her? She jumped to her feet, her body trembling in fear. Ghosts, as far as she knows, do not exist.

"I have nothing to worry about," she mumbled.

But... what did she just hear?

"Let's hurry. We can't disappoint him."

Dazaree looked around hoping for answers to her questions but to her dismay, she couldn't see anyone. The surroundings darkened that she could not see if there were people or not as she walks. She tightly covered her two ears as she stepped back.

"If the Castre tried to escape, kill it."

Her feet spontaneously ran away from the voices that she heard because of the fear that enveloped her system. The conversation was too creepy that made her body feel cold.

She should not have gone here, she thought. She stopped at the tree because of tiredness. Her foot was sore and weak and was out of breath.

Dazaree touches her head and it seems like it was long ago when it stopped bleeding. She heaved a deep sigh and sat on the ground.

"Because of what happened earlier a lot of things are already going through my mind which made me imagine things," she thought to herself and shook her head.

She wanted to get out of the forest but she doesn't know her way out. Staying in the woods for a long time gives her some creepy feeling. She must've been crazy.

Dazaree looked around when she abruptly heard a crackle. Fear and nervousness engulfed her body again. She doesn't know if a wild animal is around her or a serial killer. She gulped three times as she scanned the area. It's too dark because the tall trees are covering the light that is coming from the moon.

Immediately, she stood up and walked backward. She must get out of the forest. After all, woods have wild animals roaming around freely.

She just kept walking backward nervously until her back hit a hard cold object. Her eyes widened as she gulped in fear. Her body froze in her position as her cold sweat started rolling down her forehead. She's scared that once she turns around, she will see something scary but she still did it anyway hoping it's just a tree.

Slowly, she turned around making herself regret it. A huge figure of a man in black clothing met her eyes. His expression was solemn as if he was slowly stealing her soul. She coughed upon realizing that she stopped breathing because of fear.

"W-who is this man?!" she screamed in her mind as if she was muted. She couldn't see his whole face because of the darkness that is making her shiver more.

She was about to take a step back when he said, "Don't try to move," which made her gulp several times due to her baritone voice.

The moonlight flashed across his face, illuminating the massive scars on his face and giving him a dark aura that made her body as cold as ice. He's dressed in black under a long velvet black jacket that reaches his knees paired with black leather shoes.

She couldn't look straight at his emotionless dark eyes any longer and looked away. He is taller and bigger which makes him look like he is in his thirties. She got distracted by the gold-colored pin that has the shape of a circle on the left part of his jacket. For some reason, she stared at it for a while before coming back to her senses.

"W-who are you?" Finally, she was able to speak but it felt like she has drained all her remaining energy and dropped from her knees. "Is he one of the men I heard earlier?" she thought to herself.

"You are coming with us." He said, ignoring her questions.

The man doesn't seem to be taking a no for an answer as his eyes are fixated on her eyes. He couldn't be mistaken, she's the one they are looking for.

Feared that he may hurt her, Dazaree took a step back and look around to find an escape route. All that is in her mind now is to escape the man. She's sure that he's up to no good and she can't risk going with him.

Dazaree wanted to cry out in terror as lumps formed in her throat. She feels as if she won't be able to escape even if she attempts to run because she's beginning to feel weak right now. She could only hope that someone would come to her aid, even though it seemed impossible first at this point as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Please... someone. Help me," she prayed in her mind. She doesn't want to die yet.

"You're fast as usual... Jake."

Dazaree looked up when someone abruptly spoke behind her back. A figure of a man not so far from them can be seen in the dark woods.

***

End of Chapter.