"Just one more step... just one more."

With ragged breaths and a dry throat, she kept dragging herself through the forest. Dense trees and their non-forgiving ruthless branches made it difficult to avoid the scratches but with broken ribs and a fractured leg, they seemed nothing.

Her heart was beating fast and all the memories of the past faded from her mind like a cold breeze passing by. She was scared, lost, and suffering and worst of all, there was no one on that island who could save her from the consequences of her actions.

But she had to go on, for the sake of the people who sacrificed themselves to save her. It was yet another pain that she was carrying on her shoulders because 24 hours ago, she wanted nothing but to die and be free from the feeling of being unworthy to stay alive.

She was the last person on the earth to deserve to be alive. All she wanted was to curl up and cry. She would have accepted her death happily, seeking escape in the reaper's embrace but she had made a promise and she couldn't die before she played her part.

The darkness swallowed her as she fixed her eyes ahead and kept moving forward. Dried leaves crunched beneath her bare feet and her bloody hand stained the trunks she touched. Her knee was scraped, her arms bleeding and every cell in her non-athletic body cried for help.

Even her tears, mixed with the blood was all dried up by then.

Her fingerprint was imprinted everywhere as she moved leaving behind bloody marks and took sharp breaths in the dense atmosphere. Somehow even the gravity was betraying her but even with scratches all over her body, she navigated the forest while chanting the directions, "Right, right, left."

It was all she knew then, the directions felt like the mantra that was the last hope that could save her.  The heavy fog and the spine-chilling breeze did everything to paralyze her vision but she didn't even have the will to wipe away the fresh set of blood flowing from the side of her forehead when a rogue branch hit her.

Pain shot through her body with every movement but she knew she had to move. She ignored the pain but fresh tears prickled her eyes, blurring her vision even more. Darkness mocked her and the silence pierced her ears. The dense canopy blocked even the slightest hint of moonlight and all she had was her heartbeat as the proof of reality. The rhythmic sound stole her the comfort of fooling herself that it was all just an elaborated nightmare she would eventually wake up from.

And as the blood dripped down her arms and dust rubbed like salt on her exposed wounds, her fractured leg cried in agony and her throat dried like coarse sand.

The nightmare was not getting over so easily.

Is my life even worth this pain?

The thought crossed her mind for the millionth time that night and she halted to register the events of that day. But before she could even remember her name, the rustling of leaves behind her said that she only had an instant to muster her courage.

She gulped the saliva and with wide eyes, refused to look behind her.

For whoever who looked behind, never lived to tell the tale.

And it would only take an instant for her to turn, and for them to kill.

It would all just be, instantaneous.

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Author's Note -

Hey everyone!

Thank you for reading the Prologue. It really means a lot to me. Whethever you stumbled upon this by chance or came via Instagram, I am really grateful and would love to hear your views in the comment section.

Also, please point out if you find any mistake in my writing such as grammatical errors or typos.

Thanks,

Pranjali

08th Nov, 2024