Leena ran at a full sprint.

She heard some howls behind her like that of wolves, and her legs pumped faster. Her hat fell off, releasing her hair to the air.

The streets turned more ominous as darkness crowded around her like water drowning her. She started gasping more, adrenaline suddenly failing. It was like she was swimming, her arms flailing around as she tried to reach the town gate.

The thickness of the pitch black was swarming in her vision.

The howling turned to shrieking, and it grew louder.

She gasped out as she heard growling to her right.

Turning her head, she saw one of the strange spotted tigers flashing its white teeth at her from the shadows of an alleyway. She was too terrified to scream or do anything except keep running.

The gate was up ahead.

She felt her legs start to turn to jelly.

She fell.

“Ah!” she cried as someone grabbed her hair.

“Got you,” said a sing-song voice. She was pulled around, cut hand scraping against the road.

Big round eyes, a long, crooked nose, and a mouth smeared in ghoulish makeup pressed into her own face. She tried to back up, but he pulled her close where his lips almost touched hers.

His eyes were black.

She tried to scream, but nothing came out from her opened lips. Her limp limbs were like a rag doll’s. The face backed out and burst into a grin, showing all his devilish teeth.

“You’re the girl, aren’t you?” he said, his voice wispy like a snake, “Haha. You’re the girl!”

Her eyes widened.

“You’re the girl!” he howled, shaking her. She felt wetness all around her.

He dropped her, stepping on her chest and laughed with grotesque amusement. The ice cold shot through her back.

Trembling, she focused on the knife in her pocket. She tried to move her arms, but all she could do was inch them slowly, too slowly.

The man suddenly started to tear at her jacket, her clothes, chanting.

“I’m gonna get some good grub tonight!”

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She let out a shriek.

All she could do was scream and scream, eyes shut tight to block out the trauma.

Something warmed her from the inside. She felt it exploding inside her like a star dying a million miles away. It stretched like lightning from her heart through to her fingers and toes.

Her eyes shot open and the man was gone; she was spreadeagled on the ground. It was still dark, almost pitch black, and she could hear more screams, closer, in the distance.

She scrambled to her feet and ran again, energy renewed and feet light.

When Leena reached her home, she pulled open the door and slammed it behind her, forgetting her grandfather in her fear.

At the door was Grandfather in his chair, with an axe on his lap and a glass of alcohol on the table next to him.

Leena froze, her legs quaking and giving out. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she cried. As she brought her hands up to her face, Grandfather grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to him.

His eyes were intense, and his breath was rancid up close to her face. She began to whimper.

“I told you…not to leave…” he hissed, “I told you not to leave!” He emitted a guttural cry as he smacked her face with his free hand. Her cheek stung. He smacked her again.

He dragged her to the basement door, opening it and thrusting her down the dark steps.

“I told you not to leave!” he screamed, slamming the door and leaving her in the dark.

Involuntary moans and snivels leaked from her lips as she shivered, collapsed against the wall facing the stairs. Her legs were numb. Everything was quiet except for the sound of pacing upstairs, Grandfather’s footsteps falling heavy against the wooden floorboards. It was pitch black with a dim light creeping out from under the door at the top of the stairs.

She huddled there for a long time. Or maybe it was a short time.

There were no other windows in the basement.

The footsteps upstairs eventually settled, and she felt a bit of relief.

Leena finally shifted, a bit warmer, though still cold and wet. She examined her hand, slit across the palm, with its dried blood clinging to her skin.

She uncurled, feeling the pain in her body from the stress and anxiety unfurl into dull throbbing and sharp stabs. The basement was eerily quiet with only her gently roaring breaths in her ears.

Shakily, she stood, stretching out her tired and contracted muscles. She crawled up the stairs with her hands and feet, slowly, and reached for the knob.

It was locked.

Her lips downturned again, and she felt the tears well up in her eyes again.

She slipped down the stairs and cowered in the corner, waiting for Grandfather to come back.

“I was down there for three days,” Leena finished, “And I don’t want to go back there.”

“How long ago was this?” Bo asked gruffly.

“Uh…I think…maybe a year ago?”

“A year? You’ve lived like this for a year?” he asked in surprise.

“I guess. It might be longer or shorter. I don’t really…I can’t tell what…I don’t even know what season it is supposed to be.”

“It’s supposed to be early spring,” he replied, “Or it was, I thought…”

“You’re not sure? I thought you were fine,” she said.

“No. I’m fine. I’m fine,” he replied, “But this darkness has a way of…distorting things. Let’s just get to the town. I have a couple things I need to look into and then we can go. Just…stick by me, okay?”

Leena wrapped her arms around herself.

They stopped, the town looming in the distance like a forbidden shadow, a hostile animal crouching for its prey. Leena could see the outline of the gates, not too far from where they were.

It looked normal, like nothing had happened that night.

But a cold wind blew, and her stomach shrunk, rolled, and rotted inside her.