- This is just something random I've decided to post. It was a piece of creative writing I did a while ago for my English class. It isn't going anywhere at the moment, but if I get any ideas for a plot I may continue it.

So... hope you like it. xxx

The Presence of Evil

The chill wind seemed to pass right through me, causing me to shiver convulsively as I stumbled along. I pulled my cloak up around my neck and squinted out across the plane. The well known track was left several hours walk behind me and my destination was still far ahead. The sun was low in the sky, impairing my vision as I hurried towards the safety of my homeland. My mothers warning echoed in my head:

‘Be sure to find shelter after sundown. Never attempt to travel at night, for who knows what might befall you.’

The growing dread that I would not find shelter before nightfall was starting to unnerve me. I had never traveled in the wilderness alone before, least of all at night.

The sky was slowly darkening, the rough terrain, hard to navigate in the full sunlight, was becoming near impossible to travel through. I knew I had to find shelter soon, but it was clear that I wouldn’t find safety or sleep that night.

The sun started to disappear behind a faraway hill. It smiled vindictively at me, just as if it knew I would be helpless without its light.

I could smell the storm on the air about ten minutes before it arrived. I could not do anything to protect myself against it, nor was it within my limited power to prevent it. The forces of nature were rallied against me, in a twisted desire to break my spirit. My small form and all the rest of the living world would soon be engulfed by a pitch black darkness.

The first raindrops started to fall, and soon quickened until I was partially deaf and soaked through. The first streak of lightening cut the murky sky with a knife blade, illuminating the landscape for a split second. I saw that I had come almost to the foot of a hill. Thunder rumbled fiercely through the valley mere seconds later, proving that the storm was almost directly overhead.

I started to feel intensely vulnerable out in the open. A young girl, all alone on the hillside, far from home; it wasn’t a good combination. I could not go on, as I was undoubtedly lost, yet I could not stop to rest, for the nagging menace, hidden at the back of my mind had finally hit home.

I was not alone.

‘There’s something out there,’

I scared myself with the sound of my own voice, the whisper traveling on the wind to be picked up by sharp ears, watchful eyes glinting in the dark.

I jumped out of my skin as the sound of hooves falling cut through the night. I looked up, my heart pounding against my ribcage as a flash of lightening illuminated a dark outline against the sky.

A black horse reared up in protest to the storm. Power radiated from him, as he turned his proud head to look at me. I gazed up in awe, as I realized this was not an ordinary horse. His flowing mane cascaded down his arched neck, hard muscle covering most of his body. The veins stood out on his flared nostrils, his face delicately chiseled and his intelligent eyes gleamed in the moonlight. This was one of the legendary wild stallion’s of the planes. They were said to guard the land while humans slept, though no-one I knew had ever seen or heard of them save for in stories.

I could still feel the presence of evil, I knew I was being watched. I didn’t know what or who it was, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t friendly. I had heard tales of things that lurked in the wilderness after nightfall. Evil powers, nameless creatures, distorted rumors of strange disappearances. Terrifying thoughts as to the identity of my stalker sent shivers up my spine. The horse might be my only hope of survival.

I ran blindly towards the creature and by some miracle it seamed to understand. It must have sensed the danger too, drawing ever closer to me. As I reached the horse I felt the magic radiating from him. I was lifted from my feet and swung onto the horse’s broad back. He swung around and started to gallop down the hillside. I clung on with my thighs and I grabbed a handful of mane to steady my balance. The wind whistled against my cheeks and tugged at my hair. The stallion’s hooves seemed to barely touch the ground as he traveled at a speed that could never be rivaled by any ordinary horse.

But always, behind us, the menace followed, and it was starting to gain on us. I turned around and felt my heart miss a beat, as I realized with a thrill of terror, what it was...