Midnight Moon

A high-pitched screech only made her run faster, until her heart was thumping to the beat of her quick-moving feet. The long grass danced around her feet in the wind, slowing her down only slightly. Another scream erupted in the silence of the night, urging her to run faster.

Just when her legs seemed as if they would fall off completely, she came into view of the house. Small flames crawled up the wooden walls, while smoke billowed in the air. She stood silently, mesmerized by the colors, the colors of death.

A shuffling in the bushes broke her out of her trance, causing her whole body to tense up immediately. Blood red eyes peeked through the leaves, staring at her intently. She backed up a step, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Fear raced up her spine, threatening to drown her in its unknown depths.

A black-haired girl walked out, smiling innocently. She was almost relieved, until she noticed some dark red liquid dripping from the girl’s lips. Two blood-stained canines protruded from her lips, and her smile turned malevolent.

She was shocked, but came back to her senses and turned to run, only to be pushed against a nearby tree by the girl. The girl lowered her head to her neck, and…

I awoke with a start, sweat dripping from my brow. My heart was racing almost as fast as the person’s in my dream. It was odd, I usually forgot the dreams that kept me twisting and turning all night. The best thing I could think to do was put the dream in the back of my mind and get on with my day, and that’s just what I did.

I got dressed in a pair of black jeans and a tank top, putting my darkly-colored jacket on over it and leaving the hood to cover my head. I stuck my hands in my jacket pockets and walked out of the orphanage, heading toward the forest. I heard the orphanage owner yell at me to go back to bed, but I just ignored her and continued walking.

A couple days ago, I overheard some kids talking about a commotion in the woods near the town. My curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I decided to check it out.

Upon entering the forest, I heard the chirps of nearby birds, their songs carrying on the wind. A few lizards scurried around on the trees, looking for food or a place to hide. I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary in the forest, but my instincts told me to continue on.

Deeper and deeper into the forest I traveled, the trees casting long shadows over me. With every step I took it seemed to get darker, making me feel oddly comforted. I seemed to see better in the dark atmosphere, the details became steadily sharper as I continued walking.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a twig snapping. I looked around, there were no twigs near my feet, so I knew it couldn’t have been me. I stayed still, listening intently, and searching the forest with my eyes. A flash of black moved in the bushes, but other than that all was still.

My eyes stayed on the bushes where I spotted the movement, waiting for the leaves to rustle or something to show that I wasn’t imagining things. I crouched down slowly until I was in a frog-like position with one hand on the ground.

Before I could move another inch, something tackled me to the ground, pinning my shoulders in place. Looking up, I saw that the creature that had pinned me down was a leopard.

Yellow eyes stared back at me, not moving, just staring. The two of us looked at each other wordlessly, as if trying to figure one another out. I was amazed; such a beautiful and wild animal was in such close contact with me.

Then, somewhat randomly, the leopard extended its claws. I noted a sort of shine on the tip of the claws, but couldn’t tell what it was. I knew that I should have been scared, but for some reason, I wasn’t.

I felt a slight stinging sensation on my upper arm as the leopard’s claws came in contact with my skin, leaving four jagged scars. I wasn’t in pain, as I had expected, it actually felt…relaxing. A few seconds later, darkness began crowding my vision. Then, everything went black.