{Editing Status: Unedited}

The next morning, I decided to go for a run in the woods, as I needed to clear my head before I went to work. I checked my watch before I left the house; it was six o'clock. Nobody was awake. The house was eerily silent, like it always was. Not even Aurelia was awake, and she usually awoke early. As I sat on the front porch, I slipped my sneakers on. I used to be on the track team at school, and I hadn't gone running in a long time, meaning I was probably horrifyingly unfit. I stretched my calves before hopping off the porch, and I started off jogging at a slow and steady pace. The air was thin this morning, and cold. I saw my breaths as I ran. I turned out of the garden, and onto the road, which was desolate.

I pushed my legs out in front of me, gaining pace, and my breathing became harder and more shallow. I really was unfit. I climbed over the gate that lead into the wood. It was the same wood that Liana and I were racing each other in the other day. The same one that Aurelia had warned me to not go in. The sun was slowly rising over the black trees. It filled the sky with mighty colors of red and splashed the clouds with endless rays of pink. The red light softly caressed the land. It was beautiful.

I entered a break in the trees and willed my legs to go even faster, so that the trees around me were a dark, blurry haze. My heart pumped fast in my chest. The icy wind bit my cheeks, and my eyes streamed as I sprinted. When I was deep into the wood, I slowed down to a jog, and then a walk. I rested my hands on my knees and breathed deeply and quickly, my chest tight from the frigid air. When my heart beat had slowed down considerably, I sat on the soft soil underneath my feet, and leaned against a tree, closing my eyes so I could listen to the faint sounds of birds singing in the distance.

I could smell the vague scent of rain from last night that still lingered in the air; it was tangible on my tongue. I sighed deeply.

Then I heard the loud, distinctive sound of a twig cracking. I sat up, my eyes wide. My ears pricked, trying to figure out which direction the sound came from. It sounded quite close. I laughed at myself. It was probably just an animal. I had seen deer in this wood before. But it was such a loud crack.

Another twig cracked.

I stood up, and looked around me, trying to see if anything was through any gaps in the trees. But I couldn't see anything. I turned around, and ran the same way I came, keeping my eyes and ears pealed for any sight or sound. Then, I slowed down to a walk, and looked behind me. There was nothing there, of course. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes; I was clearly just being paranoid because of what Aurelia had told me.

It's not safe, she had said. What did that even mean? I heard the muffled, but definite, sound of a laugh in the distance. A laugh, or a cackle? The sound sent shivers up and down my spine, and goosebumps appeared on my skin.

Run, Ivana. Run, I thought.

With a burst of adrenaline, I started to sprint. My legs were aching in protest, but I ignored them stubbornly. Breathless, I carried on pushing myself faster and faster. There was a faint light in the distance, and I felt relieved. I was getting closer. I looked back, to see if anything was possibly following me. There wasn't. As I turned my head to look behind me, I slammed into a tree. I fell backwards, my sight suddenly blurry and stars danced across my vision.

Pain shot through my head, and I grabbed it in agony.

"Shit," I muttered. My head was throbbing painfully, but my vision was slowly coming back. I stayed on the floor, breathing heavily, until my vision was fully back, and sat up. I gripped my head and squeezed my eyes shut in pain. My head was sticky; I looked at my hand that I had gripped my head with, and it was covered with blood. My head span again. I stood up slowly, careful not to faint, and started walking slowly. My ankle was also throbbing from when I fell. I limped slightly, cringing when I put weight on it, as pain shot up my leg.

"Aurelia is going to kill me," I sighed to myself. I walked out of the wood, and looked behind me again. What the hell was that laughing? I shivered, but not from the cold. I needed to get home quickly, so I could get stitches on my head. Blood was dripping onto my hoodie. I walked quicker, ignoring the pain in my ankle, and tried to keep my head steady so I didn't faint. I was so stupid. Who looks behind them while sprinting at full speed in a wood? Clearly, only me.

I started jogging now, whilst flinching and gritting my teeth. When my house came into view, I got a sudden burst of adrenaline, and started jogging faster, until I reached the porch. I sat down on it, and slowly pulled my shoes off. I clenched my teeth together when I took the shoe off from my swollen ankle. I peeled my sock off. My ankle was a huge, red and swollen ball.

"Ah, crap," I groaned. I used the porch railing to lift myself up, and walked into the house. I checked my watch. It was 7am. Aurelia would be awake.

"Aurelia?" I called.

"Yes?" I heard her voice coming from the kitchen.

I limped into the room, and she gasped when she saw me.

"What the hell?" she yelled.

"Shut up," I hissed, "And help me."

She reached up to one of the top cabinets and pulled out a first aid kit. She looked at me, and then looked at her hands.

"What are you waiting for? Get something to stop the bleeding!" I grimaced, pulling a chair out from the kitchen table and sitting on it. She was hesitating, and she looked like she was having a fight with her thoughts.

"Aurelia!" I said. My vision was going again. I gripped onto the side of the table for support. She looked at her hands again, and then shook her head.

"Sorry," she muttered, and turned around, opening the first aid kit. She brought out a bandage and some disinfectant cream. She wet a cloth, and wiped the blood off my head.

"This is going to sting," she warned, as she squeezed some disinfectant cream out of the tube. She wiped it on my head wound, and I kicked the ground in pain. My nails scraped the table. I bit down on my lip, trying not to scream out loud. She then wrapped the bandage around my head. She looked down at my ankle and sighed, shaking her head.

"What did you do, Ivana?" she asked, cutting another piece of bandage off the roll, and tying it around my swollen ankle.

I grimaced in pain. "I was just..."

"And tell me the truth," she sighed, packing away the first aid kit.

"I was running in the forest," I confessed, looking down at the floor.

She grabbed my arm. "What have I told you about not going in there, Ivana? Please. Please do not go in there ever again," she whispered. "Promise me. Swear to me." She gripped my arm tighter, and her nails dug into my skin. I was going to get another wound in a minute.

"Okay, okay, I promise!" I hissed, and she let go. I rubbed my arm and glared at her.

"You're welcome, by the way," she said, with a small smile.

"Thank you," I muttered.

"I think we have a crutch somewhere, from when Liana broke her ankle when she was younger. Wait here, and I'll go find it for you," she said.

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks," I said.

She left the room. I shifted the chair over to the kitchen counter, where there was a bowl of apples. I reached for one, and bit into it. My stomach rumbled with satisfaction. I hadn't had anything to eat before I left for my run.

When Aurelia came back, she was carrying a crutch. She handed it to me.

"Thanks, Aurelia," I said.

She nodded. "Well, you've learnt your lesson now," she said, raising an eyebrow at me. "What did you actually do?"

I stood up, gritting my teeth, and hopped on one foot as I adjusted the crutch to a comfortable position. I leaned against it. "I ran into a tree."

She laughed loudly. "Oh, Ivana. Only you," she smiled.

I laughed. She sat down at the table.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

Her face suddenly turned serious. "It depends on what you want to ask."

"Why do I need to stay out of the wood? Why isn't it safe?" I wondered.

She sighed, and shook her head. "It doesn't concern you, Ivana. Not yet, anyway."

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Just...you'll see why soon, okay?" she said, looking at me, her eyes frustrated.

I rolled my eyes. "Can you make some sense, please?"

She shook her head. "You don't understand, Ivana. But you will." She stood up, and pushed the chair into the table, which made a loud creaking sound. I flinched. She looked at my ankle.

"You should get some rest, so you can heal properly. It doesn't look too bad, so it should heal in a couple of days."

"It's doesn't look too bad?" I gaped at her. "It looks like a tennis ball, Aurelia. It's going to take weeks to heal."

She shook her head, again, and laughed. "It won't. I've worked at a hospital before, remember? I know my injuries." She smiled, and I sighed with frustration.

"Here," she said, going into the medical cabinet, and bringing out some paracetamol. "Take two of these, and go and get some rest. I'll come and check on you later."

I swallowed two of the tablets, followed by a gulp of water, and I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. Liana was sitting on my bed, and she ogled at me as I hobbled into the room.

"What happened to you?" she asked, hopping off the bed.

"Running in the wood," I sighed.

She rolled her eyes. "And you didn't wait for me? I would have come with you," she said.

"I wanted to go alone," I said, leaving my crutch by the side of my bed, and I fell back onto the bed. "I needed some time to clear my head."

"Don't you have work later, though? How are you going to go like that?"

"Oh, shit. I forgot about work," I groaned.

She laughed, and poked me in the stomach. "It's fine. I've got you covered, sis. I'll call in and tell them that you've injured yourself and you won't be coming in for a couple of weeks."

"A couple of days, more like."

"Ivana, you won't be healed in a couple of days. Don't be stupid."

"That's what Aurelia said."

"Well Aurelia is talking absolute bullshit. You can't even walk. And your head looks like a mess."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the support," I muttered, and she chuckled.

"I'll go and phone them now and let them know," she said.

"Thanks, Ana," I said, and she nodded.

"Sure. You want me to bring you anything?"

I shook my head. "I'm good, thanks. Aurelia just told me to get some rest." I crawled to my pillow, and rested my head against it. I closed my eyes. My head was still stinging from the cream. I heard my bedroom door close, and the stairs creaking. My brain was still filled with the sounds of the cackling from the wood; I could almost hear it in my bedroom. I reached for my phone and headphones on my bedside table, and stuffed my headphones into my ears, pushing my bandage behind my ears. I turned my music on full volume, to empty my head of any thoughts.

My ears throbbed from the pulsating music, but I didn't care. The pain was insignificant compared to the stinging on my head and the stabbing pain of my ankle. I willed for the painkillers to kick in, but they were taking a frustratingly long time. I tried to ignore the tedious and dull aching behind my eyes, and tried to focus on the music instead.

I couldn't move my ankle at all, without pain shooting up my leg, so I tried to keep it as stationery as possible.

I slowly drifted off to sleep, as the painkillers finally kicked into my system, and the pain was faintly subsiding slowly.

I was awoken by someone gently taking my headphones out of my ears. I flicked my eyes open. It was Aurelia.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.

I shook my head, and rubbed my tired eyes. "It's okay," I said, yawning. I switched my music off and handed my phone to Aurelia, which she put on my bedside cabinet.

"I brought you some more water," she said, putting the glass of water down. Beads of condensation rolled off it.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Slightly better. The pain's getting better, at least" I said.

She nodded. "That's good. If you need any more painkillers, just give me a shout," she said. "I've also let Mom know what happened. She came to check on you but she didn't want to wake you. Are you hungry?"

I shook my head. "Not really," I said. I felt kind of nauseous, actually.

She felt my forehead. "Hmm. You're burning up. Drink that water, and I'll be back in a second." I gulped the glass of water down in one swallow. Aurelia came back almost immediately, with a cloth. She lay it under the bandage. I jumped at it's cold temperature. She switched the fan on.

"Get some more rest. When you wake up, I'll reapply your bandage. You won't need stitches."

"I won't?"

She shook her head. "The cut wasn't severe enough for stitches. It will heal by itself."

"I won't have a scar will I?" I groaned.

She laughed and shook her head. "No."

I sighed with relief. She smiled, and then left the room, closing the door behind her gently. I fell back asleep almost immediately, the room scarily silent with no thudding music in my ears, and I closed my mind before I could think about anything remotely similar to what I heard in the wood.

---

A/N

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm really, really happy with this book so far :) I can't wait to write more regularly!

Olivia J. Clarke

(Picture: Aurelia Cain ~ Gemma Arterton)

(Song: Once Upon A Dream ~ Lana Del Rey)

© Olivia Clarke 2016

Salem