The Stars Above

When Victoria got back home, she was still feeling as frustrated as she had been right after her conversation with Ethan. She did not understand why everyone was acting so out of sorts, keeping their little secrets. Life could be so easy if everybody just said what their issue was, but instead, she just grew her own little pile of questions thanks to Ethan and Caleb's inability to talk.

So she decided to clear her head and go for a run. Running did wonders for her, putting on whatever music felt right and just jog until her legs gave up. And since this had always been her favorite way of escaping reality, they did not give up easily.

She armed herself with her running leggings and an old, loose t-shirt and took her running sneakers out of the shoe rack. Sitting down, she pulled the laces of her left shoe tighter, once it found its place on her foot. The moment she reached next to her to put on the second sneaker, it was gone. Victoria searched around her, confusion written on her face. It had been right beside her, she was sure of it.

Her eyes wandered over to Asher. He was standing in the living room, staring at her, holding the shoe in his muzzle. She pointed with her index finger to the floor right next to her, a command he knew perfectly well to position himself to. But he took a step back and started whining.

"Come on Asher. Why are you doing this?" Victoria looked at the dog and did not say another word until he finally came to her and dropped it with lowered head and tuckered tail.

"Good boy. There we go." With a quick reach, she grabbed the missing running shoe and put it on.

When she went out she held the door open, sure the German Shepherd would follow behind her. This was not the first run she took during her time here, and he had always happily followed her on her round, getting random zoomies from time to time. But he just looked at her with a tilted head and stepped another couple of steps back.

"Suit yourself," she sighed and closed the door. At least she could not blame him for not speaking up about his issues. He was a dog after all. Not like some other people in this town. She shook her head to interrupt her train of thought before it could reach the whole frustrating topic again.

Victoria stepped out on the road. It was already getting dark but she could see the bright, round moon in the sky giving off enough light to illuminate her favorite off-road track. So she decided on her route, put her Airpods in, and started running.

And it worked. Her mind emptied with every step, as the endorphins rushed through her system the same way she rushed through the graveled paths. The sparser growth of trees along the trail allowed her a steady pace. When she felt like it was a good time to call half-time, she turned around and ran the same path back.

Then, out of nowhere, a thick cluster of clouds covered the moon and took away the granted security of not having to fear a sprained ankle.

"Of course...", Victoria mumbled breathlessly, rolled her eyes, and slowed down. She stood in the darkness for a while, wiping the sweat off her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Her eyes got used to the dark quickly, so she decided to move through the dark at a strolling speed. She could see the outlines of the tree trunks around her and enough of the path to keep on going without her phone's flashlight.

When she turned around a bend, something big was blocking the way. Questioning if she had taken one of the adjacent paths back, she just planned to go around it and walked closer. As she closed in, she froze in her tracks. Did the blockage move? She squinted her eyes to focus on it, but it stayed still. Maybe the rush from the run was playing tricks on her. Another step closer and it moved again. Victoria quickly took out her Airpods and could hear a loud huff coming from the dark obstacle, which was now clearly facing her.

'This can't be what I think it is,' she thought and took a step back. Now that she concentrated on it, she could identify the outlines. A big round body, four strong legs, and two small round ears on top of a heavy head. And it seemed to be more than aware of her, trotting closer, appearing bigger and bigger with every step it took.

Victoria was petrified, unsure if she would be able to outrun the massive creature. Was it just another bear? Or was it the bear that had killed the Sheriff? With trembling breath, she tried to slowly retreat backward, but it angrily bellowed, accelerated, and lifted its front paws off the ground to stand up on its hind legs once it stood right in front of her. It was now far taller than her.

Terrified she stared at the beast. She could hear the call of an owl in the distance, and the bear turned his big head to the direction the sound came off.

Thinking this was the only moment to make it out, she caught the courage to run. Her feet shuffled in the gravel as she turned around to run for her dear life. A loud growl filled the air as she felt a mighty force sweep her off her feet.

A sharp pain drove through her body. She could feel how the claws of the animal had caught her and catapulted her to the side like a ragdoll. Seeing the trunks of the trees turning sideways, she tried to prepare for the impact.

The last thing she felt was a blunt hit to her head that made her lose consciousness.

Victoria took in a shallow breath and opened her eyes, looking at the stars above her. The clouds were gone. With a jolt that went through her body, they slightly changed position. Then, with another jolt, again. Her hands reached out to the ground beside her, but only felt dirt and mud, that slid past her. She weakly groaned and tried to hold on to something, anything, of the nature that passed by her. Another tug on her leg and a low huffing coming from her feet made her heart pound against her chest as the frightening clarity came to her.

She was being dragged through the mud.

With all the strength she could muster, she raised her head and looked down. Her eyes passed the bright round moon that lit up the brown shimmering monster to her feet, its bared teeth around her shoe glistening.

Her feeble attempts to struggle against the jaw of steel clamping her foot were worthless.

When she felt her body being pulled over a rocky patch on the ground, unimaginable pain in her side took her breath away. Her eyes rolled back and while she was sure this was it for her, she gave in to the darkness.