CHAPTER I:

Again And Again, I Have Chosen To Run

   Run… Run… Run, Run, Run And Keep Running… Past The Trees, Beyond The Streams… And No Matter What Never Turn Back… My Future Is Bleak, but… If I Run… I May Be Able To Change What Fate Has In-Store For Me… So… Just Keep Running… Forever.

  Escape was my only goal. Escaping was impossible though, for no matter how hard I tried, no matter how fast I ran, and no matter where I hid; I was always found, I was always re-captured, and I was always dragged back to the hell from which I came. This hell of a hole was what I had called “home” for 3 years of my pitiful life. My home was filthy, dark, damp, and cold. The cavern was plagued by many large webs which took up the majority of the cavern. I was not alone in this hell hole though, there was one other, one which I would like to never see again.

  She was always watching me, grinning devilishly at me while I writhed in my despair... She would toy with me, just like a child would play with their food, and once a day she would free me of her torturous silk and give me two choices. “You may eat, or you may run… You cannot choose both.” And so I ran, I ran and ran, and ran till I was exhausted or caught, and I was dragged back to the hell from which I came. She would always menacingly laugh as she dragged me back, she mocked me, and broke my spirit, telling me that it was futile… pointless… And everything she said was correct. There was no way I, a human child… her prey…  could evade her, the hunter… a troublesome grown Arachne. But I tried and tried, and kept going till I could no longer move due to my starvation, and on those days, where I would nearly die of my deprivation of nutrients, she would smile gleefully and force feed me her favorite foods, so that when I am grown, I may taste as fulfilling as they do. Thus before my gruesome end, I must succeed in my attempts, for yet another failed attempt would bring me ten steps closer to my dying day.

  But I never failed to learn from my failed attempts, each and every attempt stuck with me, each and every one of the one thousand one hundred and five attempts throughout my stay here will not be wasted, as it let me know where the Arachne who stalks me relentlessly, is afraid to go... Every day I ran I was slowly building a map that would remain in my mind, a map that would contain the layabouts of the trees and streams and grasslands that surrounded the great mountain. I would watch her steadily follow me as I ran, but she would always lag behind me when we came to the center of the forested region, and whenever we passed it, she would immediately grab me and drag me back more ruthlessly than other times, thus I had come to a decision… run through the center of the forested region and make as much noise as possible. If I do not succeed there will be a high chance that I will die, there will be a high chance that she will laugh as she pierces my neck with her pure white fangs, and drains my body of all fluids till I'm left cold and lifeless.

  I Must Not Fail… I Must Keep Running.

  Earlier today... after a thousand lashings from her thin silky whip, she had released me once again from her confining strands and said those same words she had uttered every day for the past three years, words that filled me with hope and despair “You may eat, or you may run… You cannot choose both!” She may not have expected me to run, it makes sense, my body was badly bruised after all. I was aching, and profusely leaking blood, but without a second's hesitation, I replied the same way I have always replied. "I will run!"

  I had bolted out of the cave and made my descent down the mountainside where I was met with fierce winds that chilled me to the very marrow of my bones, but that did not stop me, my willpower was stronger than the frost’s bite, and my endurance held on longer than the winds did last. Rocks crumbled as my feet collided with the mountainside, and the pebbles themselves joined me on my run to freedom, freedom from this mountain of bondage and suffering. To be free, what a pleasant dream, though to be honest I have no clue of what freedom entails… I had been enslaved for most of my life, and if I do not stop the cycle now, I fear that the rest of my years remaining on this world will be just that… nothing but extreme suffering, relentless torture, and excruciating pain. Thus I shall run, I shall run towards my false sense of freedom, and never give up. I will never give up no matter how hard it gets, no matter how scary it is, and keep chugging through the pain no matter how much there is.

  Even with all my determination, I can’t stop myself from glancing back every now and again, I know I have not lost her, but I will always hope I have. And so, repeatedly, I would glance back and see the same smiling face that haunts me even in my most peaceful of dreams. She will be there watching no matter where I go, Time to time I will see her poking her head out from behind a tree, or standing proudly on a boulder striking a Hero-like pose whilst smiling devilishly, destroying my false sense of freedom and instilling the only true feelings of fear and dismay. Alas, I will never not know fear when she still lives, for me to know peace she must die, for me to know what it's like to feel free, I must be there when she dies so that I can ensure I am never followed again. I’m not sure whether or not my plan will work, but there is a high chance I may die even if it does, for I have no idea what she is afraid of, and it could very well be one that is hostile to human kin as well, but I must keep going, as I can see the end to the mountainside from my current location.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Don’t Stop Now… You Are So Close… You Can’t Stop Now… Just Keep Running

  As soon as the mountainside came to an end I was in the forests. I had navigated these forests for quite some time so moving through them is not too much of a hassle. The trees were stark and abnormally huge, everywhere you glanced the forest was covered by these large oaks and their large green leaves that only raindrops of sunlight seem to pierce through. In these small patches of sunlight you can see many beautiful patches of flowers that take up residence in the environment, I can see red, blue, purple, and pink, and some white. Each and every flower that dots the landscape hidden between rows of trees is unique, thus I try my best to avoid stepping on them, even whilst running at high speeds trying to escape from that sadist.

  Now that I have entered the forest it should be much easier to evade her... or so I thought… Every now and again I can feel breathing on my bare neck, and I will occasionally feel something similar to a finger steadily traverse the path that is my spine. My heartbeat is in a frenzy, and I am in a state where these hallucinations are making me cough up blood as I run, as well as giving me the urge to puke, but I just ignore the horrors, and chug through the pain, for if I do not make it then I will never escape, I must be free of her, or at least die trying…

  After five more minutes of that hellish horror I feel like I have lost that satanic Arachne, but I am not so foolish as to believe my luck on that matter, the reason she hasn’t swiftly decided to take action against me is because I am running in more of a zig-zag-ish matter, if I had planned to run straight there I would have been swiftly detained and escorted back to the cave in which I am forced to reside; thus, the only way to make sure she remains playful, is to run in such an irregular pattern… Escape will only be possible if I can keep her toying with me, and keep her from taking me more seriously than she is right now…

  “Fufufu~ Your sweat carries such a delicate fragrance~~”

  I could hear a short and soft whiff taking place right behind me. 

  “Wha-!!”

  Before I even had time to react I was forcefully propelled into the ground. Looking up from my pitiful position, I could see her smiling grimly. I had never once seen her make such a face. In her hand she carried her whip, which has been stained by my crimson blood.

  “Ara Ara~~ To think you would cause me so much trouble~ Despite what you may have thought before, I had never wanted to kill you. However, it seems that you have only caused me trouble time and time again~~ Thus, to appease the angered dryad, which you have so kindly enraged… It seems you will have to be sacrificed~~”

  “Wh-What do (gulp) What do you mean!”

  “Hmm~ Did you not know~~? In the center of every forest a dryad will make its’ home~ They do not like it when their territory is impeded upon you know~~”

  Ba dum, Ba dum, Ba dum… Ba dum, Ba dum, Ba dum…

  As she slowly approached she playfully smacked the whip on her left hand. Without a doubt she was aiming to instill me with anguish, and it had worked like a charm. 

  Ba dum, Ba dum, Ba dum… Ba dum, Ba dum, Ba dum…

  My heartbeat had hastened to the point where I thought I might explode, and with each and every step she took it had quickened its pace.

  “Fufufu~ What a lovely expression~ I hope you enjoy this next bit as much as I will~~”

  And with that final sentence, she had lashed downward at me with her braided whip using enough force to cause the ground to shake… Shortly after, A large eruption of crimson liquid erupted, dyeing the surroundings red. The boy who had shut his eyes just moments before the impact, only had one thought on his mind.

  Did she miss?