Annabelle raced through the forest, desperate to get away. She had no idea

what was chasing her, only that she could sense its ruthless hunger. Its hunger to

gnaw on raw flesh, feed on pure spirit.

Rain had began to fall, splashing through the thick canopy and soaking

Annabelle to her pale skin, making her slip on rocks and moss but the thing

behind her didn’t seem to be affected. A tree fell in front of her, still smoldering.

Leaping over the fallen tree she landed on a soft patch of moss. The trees around her began to seem larger, denser, and the path was no longer visible. It was barely past midday but the sky looked dark enough to be midnight.

Annabelle felt a claw slash at her, ripping through her tunic and tearing into the soft flesh of her side. There wasn’t enough time to heal it, nor did she have enough magic. Seeing that there wasn’t any way she could keep running much longer with the wound in her side she strung her elfin bow and whipped around, firing an enchanted arrow. It struck the being in the side and a cry pierced the air.

It’s pace staggered only slightly but that was all Annabelle needed. Taking

advantage of the moment she ran through the underbrush and veered off to the

clearing. She thought she had fooled the beast but it let out a wild cry and a rock came spiraling towards her. Annabelle let out a muffled cry and everything went black.