Tears welt up in her eyes. She was worried about her parents. Where could they have gone? Beatrix took a deep breath, collected herself, and stood up. The spider walked up to her. Beatrix held out her hand and the spider scurried into her palm. “What d-d-d-o I d-do?” she asked in a sorrowful, defeated voice. The spider looked up and replied. “The forest holds the answer that you seek.”
Beatrix packed some necessities, walked out onto the front porch, and glanced back at the half open door. She took a deep breath, turned, and pierced the air with her stair. She was at the beginning of a new journey, and her life was about to change forever.
Beatrix set out on her quest to find her parents. Swiftly, she walked down the sidewalk. The rain had cleared but the sky was getting dim as evening approached. The spider, nestled in her hand, acted as her compass. As she passed the houses on her street, she caught glimpses of families sitting down to home cooked meals, and for a moment - she wished her life was ordinary again.
They had reached the edge of the woods, but the night was catching up to them. Beatrix set down the little spider, opened her back pack, and combed through the various things in her bag for her flashlight. The night was mostly silent except for the occasional hoot of distant owls in the forest. She found her flashlight, flipped the switch, and aimed it around her; scouting out her surroundings. Everything was calm. The sky had cleared, revealing a luminous moon. She looked down for the spider, but he had vanished. She stood there, puzzled by his departure for a moment, but remembered her mission and used hope to fuel her on her journey.
She walked up to the edge of the tree line. The woods that had looked so bright and vibrant during the daytime, had been transformed into eerie shadows in the night. She stepped into the woods. “The forest holds the answer that you seek;” that’s what the spider had told her. Though, after she had maneuvered her way through the dark woods, she began to doubt him. There were no signs. Nothing to let her know if she was on the right path.
As her hope slowly began to fade, she heard something moving in the brush. She walked toward the noise. Branches rustled in the woods ahead. She shined her flashlight to try and get a look, but the trees were too thick. She worked her way through the dense woods to reveal a door. Perplexed, Beatrix looked at the door. It stood, all on its own, in the center of the forest. She looked on either side of the door for a structure for it to be attached to, but none was there. Branches rustled wildly on the other side of the door. “Mom! Dad! Is that you?!” Beatrix called out into the night air. The rustling stopped. Beatrix approached the door with her flashlight, eager to find her parents. She bustled around the corner of the door. The smile on her face faded when she saw the horror before her. There in the woods, like a grotesque statue, rested a monstrous creature.
The being's eyes glistened and flashed in the light of her flashlight. Its skin, wrinkled, gleamed in the moonlight. It rested there, on all fours, feeding on a wild animal it had captured. Its fangs pierced through its pray as it viciously devoured its meal. Beatrix, shaking with horror, quickly turned off her flashlight. The creature didn’t seem to notice. Beatrix slowly walked backwards; away from the creature. Suddenly, her shoe laces caught on a branch, and she came crashing down. Branches snapped and crashed as she plummeted to the cold earth. Bewildered, she looked up to see the creature standing on its hind legs, towering over the brush. Its fiery eyes shifted around until they locked on her. Beatrix fidgeted with her shoe laces to get them untangled, but it was no use. The monster started leaning in her direction. Beatrix took off her shoes and burst out running into the night.
Branches shattered and the winds swirled.
The ground raced under her bare feet as she dashed through the forest. The creature let out a terrifying, monstrous growl that echoed through the woods, as it crashed through the trees. It was after her and she knew it. She ran for her life. Moments with her parents flashed through her mind. Was this it? Would she escape? Fear filled her heart. The moon flashed through the branches above, casting eerie shadows in the woods. Breathing heavily, she kept running. She could hear it behind her, crashing through the woods. It was getting closer. Her heart raced. It felt like it was beating out of her chest. Clouds covered the moon and the woods went dark. She could barely see where she was going, but knew she could not stop. Sticks scratched at her like claws as she ran. Suddenly the ground gave way to air, and she was falling; weightless into the abyss of darkness. A sensation filled her, one she had never felt before. The sensation scared her. Fear overwhelmed her, and she let out a scream that pierced through the night like lightning. A blinding flash of light filled the night air. The swirling world around her went still, and everything went dark.
Beatrix’s head was still racing. It took her a moment to realize she had stopped. Her eyes were closed. She was afraid to open them. She felt around with her arms. Nothing but air was around her. She tried moving her feet, but could feel no ground beneath her. She decided she would open her eyes on the count of three, to see what was happening. Scared….nervous….she took a deep breath and counted, “One……Two……Three”
I am using the tag "beatrix-percival", so you can read the previous chapters, and see the new ones as soon as they are posted here!