twisted head, a crying shame | {demitri/roxanne}

The world is dark.

Everything reminds me of some sort of nightmare, with tall, looming trees casting twisted shadows on the dark ground, and I am not alone. My chest rises and falls in heavy jerks, and my heart is pounding against my chest in protest, begging me to just. stop. r u n n i n g. I can't, though. I saw the man, clear as day. Slanted eyes, dark hair, extremely tall build, even the completely black uniform he wore. In a place like the one I am in, it makes for perfect camouflage, which is completely terrifying because I know he could be right behind me and I would never know.

I regret skipping all of the classes my parents have paid for here lately in favor of going to parties with my friends. I regret letting my body fall out of tune so that now, when it actually matters, I am gasping for breath in minutes with the knowledge that if I stop moving it'll mean my death dragging me forward like a leash around my neck.

I can feel the earth give slightly, and suddenly I am flying. No, not flying, falling. Tumbling, in fact, down the side of a hill. I land in a heap, my left hip burning with what can only be a cut from a rock or a root or whatever the hell I have landed on, because I sure as hell can't see in the few seconds it takes me to regain my composure and push onward.

I'll be okay, right?

I can live through this.

I can survive.

When I was a child, back before Holden moved away and Dustyn and Bette weren't practically the same person, we played games like these where one of us hid our eyes while the rest of us ran and hid. I thought it was the most terrifying thing ever then, in the moments I could see the seeker, and especially in the moments the seeker saw me. I would run for my life to escape, to find safety, and that is what I have to do now. I have to run, run, Roxanne, dammit!

But then I see him.

He stands leaned against one of the willow trees, his monstrous gaze trained on his feet. I come to a halt, pleading between haggard breaths. "Please... just... just leave me alone!