Clementine:
His thin, tall body leaned forward, his head stretched up like a long pole with empty lines where his face should have been.
His arms hung low, but I could tell, even without his face, that he was looking at me.
I was sprinting toward him, and he was moving toward me with long strides.
His steps began to grow quicker, and the vibrations struck me harder.
He lurched forward suddenly. One long arm swung down toward me.
I ducked fast, his fingers brushing the back of my head, barely scraping my hair, but I felt it.
If I had not been quick, even by a second, he would have knocked me down or grabbed me in his fist.
The force of the swing pushed me farther, almost knocking me off balance, but I stayed up.
I kept moving, running hard. He bent low as if he wanted to pick me off the road.
I slid between his long legs before he could reach me.
Soon, I was running between his legs and coming out behind him.
Taking a short pause would have meant getting struck by him.
So I kept running, pushing myself forward until I finally felt like I could turn around.
After five minutes of sprinting, I stopped and turned back.
I saw that the tall monster was still coming after me. However, he was far behind because he could not sprint.
At this point, I realized that if I wanted to leave him behind, I needed to step out of his path.
Once I disappeared, I did not think he would look for me. So I did just that.
I began to move ahead at a quick pace and planned to search for the woods.
I did not have to think long. I spotted the outline of the trees in the distance and relief washed over me.
I turned left and hurried toward them. When I reached them, I hid behind a tree.
I noticed that the tall monster stopped briefly before he turned around and wandered away.
Relief filled me and I stepped out from behind the tree. Now I had to find the exact place where a gate to the other side would open.
Before I could pull out my map, I heard a chittering echo around me.
Something large flew above the trees. I saw one of them through the leaves.
It looked like a huge bat with long arms. I crouched low under a fallen log.
The bat swooped over me and vanished into the darkness.
"What the fuck is that now?" I groaned, complaining.
It felt as if the dark side of the north was filled with these things.
I began to wonder if this was where they all lived and sometimes slipped through the opening and reached the other side of the north.
I could not believe I had been to the dark side of the north alone, completed a task, and come back alive.
"You did it!" I jolted at the familiar voice.
I looked to the side and saw Miss Rue step out from behind the trees with a bright smile.
Her hair was messy, but her eyes looked warm.
She hurried closer until she stood right behind the bars.
"You did it!" she repeated. "Thank goodness. I thought you would lose too," she remarked, tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes, I did it. How are you? You donβt look fine," I asked her worriedly.
"Yeah, they let me go. There is a lot of chaos happening. You need to get out of here and go to your friends, but make sure that the ringleaders donβt see you," she warned, and I nodded more.
"Is everyone okay?" I asked her.
"I donβt think so," she replied with a sad pout. "I saw Ian shirtless in the cold wind. He was surrounded by lurkers. You need to hurry up."
The information she gave me made my heart skip a beat.
I was so worried that I instantly started to search for the key I had put into my pocket along with the map after confirming that I was headed in the right direction.
When I pulled the map out, I realized the key was gone. I looked up at her, and she gave me a blank look.
"What?" she asked me. "Donβt tell me you lost it?" She questioned.
"I think I dropped it somewhere behind," I mumbled in a terrified tone.

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