“Run.”
She obeyed, kicking up dust in her midst. A thick breeze blew, the scent of pine filling the air of the forest clearing. The meadow was once green, but now was brown with dull reddish dirt and brittle yellow patches of dead grass. The girl was alone with him.
“Is that the best you can do?” He laughed as he sneered at her attempt at escape.
Panic, ice-cold adrenaline coursing her veins, threatened to stop her in her tracks. But she was strangely detached from what was happening. She could almost watch herself fleeing as if it was not her who was running.
He was there in front of her in a flash of movement, a hazy blur to her weak eyes. The girl whimpered and threw herself back in the other direction. He was creeping up slowly, in a step on the edge of shifting into a crouch. He was mocking her.
A warm hand brushed her cheek. She flinched.
“What are you afraid of? It’s just me,” he said in a whiny imitation of her own voice.
Silent tears ran down, leaving pale streaks in her dirty face that was smudged with ash.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked quietly.
He only laughed.