No one spoke

  Not because there was nothing to say, because everything seemed useless now. We have no magic, no power, no means to survive and to top it off we are trapped in a cage with a beast that's hunting us

  Elena was the first to move, ''We can't just stand here'' she said quietly

  Lukas let out a dry laugh that held no humour. "And do what? Run into the same tree again?"

  Elena's eyes narrowed. "At least we try! Sitting here, whining, hoping the forest does something different is useless!"

  "I'm not whining!" Lukas snapped, his voice rising. "I'm thinking! Unlike you, I don't just throw myself at problems blindly!"

  Adrian stepped forward, fists clenched, glaring at both of them. "Stop it! We're not going to survive if you two keep bickering!"

  Sofia crossed her arms, voice shaking but firm. "He's right. You're both acting like children. We need a plan, not arguments!"

  Vera whirled on Sofia. "And what's your brilliant plan, huh? Sitting there hugging trees and hoping the monster feels sorry for us?"

  Soren's jaw clenches, widely snaping back at all of them, ''All of you, every single one of you shut up! Isn't it simple what we have to do! We survive! We live! As long as there is a heartbeat in my body I will keep trying, I will not stop until I survive, otherwise what is the point of us living until now if we don't try until the very last moment!

  ''Listen to me and focus all of you! So there is no way out, okay we know that now so let's change our approach and survive until the very end, there are no animals here, but we can find a source of water but for food we are going to have to figure that out later. Figure our water problem first then all of you can bitch and complain later!''

  For a long moment, silence fell. The world itself stood still. The others looked at me, pale faces reflecting exhaustion and frustration, but no one dared to argue with me, because in the end we all just want the same thing

  To survive

  Adrian rubbed the back of his neck, voice tight. "Okay, okay fine, we survive. But how do we even start? There's nothing here. No food, no clear water source, hell even moving in one direction seems impossible."

  Vera finally spoke, tone sharp and practical. "We need priorities. Water first. You can survive three days without food, but only a day without water. Let's focus on that."

  Elena let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Priorities? Do you really think there's a pond or river in this cursed forest? We've been running in circles for hours. We've already passed the same tree at least three times."

  I respond, ''Maybe the closer we get towards the supposed exist of the forest the more it loops us so if we go in the opposite direction we should be able to establish a clear route and direction''

  Vera added, "And we watch each other. No one goes too far ahead. We can't afford to get separated, not with what's out there"

  Adrian muttered under his breath, "I hate this… hate this forest…" but he followed anyway, keeping pace

  Over the next couple of hours we all travelled as a unit no one daring to move separated. Even if the chances of survival are slim it's always better to remain as a group. The six of them searched frantically for a source of water, their lips dry from thirst and their stomachs aching from hunger only driving their need for sustenance further. Eventually they found a small stream and they all agreed to make camp there. For now anyway

  They all sat in a circle eyes darting around, everyone tense, no one daring to relax even for a second. Vera breaks the silence, ''Lets brainstorm what we know about that monster and all of us say something, anything you've noticed no matter how small''

  Soren is the first to respond, ''First it only attacked us at night, so we might be safe or at least safer during the day seeing as it stopped chasing us then. Another thing is that I promise you it's enjoying this! It's always laughing and that smile. That stupid smile! It thinks this is a game! It's going to pick us off one by one that's why it let us run so we all need to be careful''

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Adrian mutters his voice low, ''Why did it kill Oskar first then why didn't it let him run?''

  After a brief pause Lukas opens his mouth providing his insight, ''Maybe it's because his reaction was different from ours. I mean we all kinda reacted the same way, we all moved back startled but he just went right up to it''

  The conversation continued like this until sunset, the group glossing over any, detail, any pattern concerning the monster, conversing about anything that provided them with a slim chance of hope

  Sofia looks up her eyes widening hands grasping bundles of her hair, ''Shit, shit, shit it's night that thing is gonna come after us now''

  Elena annoyed turns her whole body towards Sofia, ''Do you ever just shut up! I know this whole thing is messed up but you mouthing off like that is only making it worse for everyone!''

  Sofia opens her mouth looking to start an argument but I step in before anything can start up again, ''Both of you be quiet we need to sleep, we have all been running around for a whole day straight, lets take regular turns keeping watch, every half an hour we switch''

  Following my suggestion and plenty of arguing we manage to make an order to whom is going to keep watch first. Everyone except Elena tries their best to sleep despite the horrors that they are all facing. All of their bodies are exhausted, drained from an entire day of constant struggle and escape, so all of them can't help but eventually pass out

  Elena sits up her eyes aching, her whole body sore cursing, ''Of course I'm the first one to stay awake aren't I. She constantly looks around scouting in every direction, her ears open to any abnormal sound that surrounds her, but oddly enough what she hears is nothing. Absolutely nothing

  She relaxes just for a moment, her posture turns into a slouch, just for a second, but as she does that she hears footsteps. Familiar footsteps. Not the huge, thunderous footsteps of that of a beast but much more quite, softer footsteps as if they are coming from another person.

  But to this her heart races as if pumping out of her chest, her hands become slick with sweat and her groggy mind once again becomes alert, her tired eyes now wide awake analysing everything within her field her view. Elena thinks, 'Did one of them wake up, no wait they are all still here asleep, wait maybe it's Alaric or someone else sent to save us'

  She continues to look in the direction of those repetitive footsteps only to see a vague silhouette obscured by the darkness, but she can make it out to be a person not a monster, but another person! She moves her body as fast as she can towards the supposed person, the closer she gets the more visible the dark figure becomes. As she draws closer she can see the figure crouched down it's body position hiding it's head but something startles her, makes her lost for words.

  The sight before her oddly familiar, her voice barely sounding out still trying to process if she is seeing things, ''O-Oskar. Is that you? How are you even alive? Oskar is that actually you? Why are you crouched down like that. We all saw you die'' she says tears in her eyes

  As she reaches closer and closer to the figure, she extends her hand tentatively, her fingers trembling. The figure doesn't move to meet her, doesn't move from it's position. She grasps it's shoulder, slightly moving it's body, turning it slightly to face her. Elena freezes, a cold shiver crawling up her spine, her eyes start darting around crazily, each breath of hers becomes forced as if something it's obstructing her airway. When she moves her eyes to meets Oskar's the only thing her eyes meet is nothing. Where his head should be it's just a mangled mess of flesh, blood seeping everywhere, the bony white of his spinal cord exposed poking out

  Elena stumbles back, a strangled scream caught in her throat. Her legs feel brittle, refusing to support her weight as the sickening sight of Oskar, or what had once been Oskar, burns into her mind. She turns around forcing her body into a sprint, but as she goes to plant her weight on her front foot her entire world crashes down. Her body sprawled across the ground, her voice stuck in her throat, slowly being dragged back. She looks behind her to see to her horror that thing's arm has grotesquely stretched forwards, inhumanly elongated pulling her towards it. A massive force pressing down on her as if she's being sucked into a black hole. She digs her fingernails into the ground, kicking her legs into the air, desperately struggling. But nothing works

  As she gets closer and closer, the creature's entire body splits apart, revealing a mass of writhing, shadowy limbs beneath the grotesque mockery of Oskar's flesh. Its movements are unnatural, jerking and twisting in ways that should be impossible, each limb ending in sharp, claw-like tips that scrape the ground and tear through branches as it lunges forward. The face she had thought she recognized stretches and contorts further, a sickening, permanent grin spreading across where eyes and mouth should have been, each movement accompanied by wet, rasping noises

  A chilling, guttural laugh escapes from the creature, echoing through the forest like a thousand voices layered on top of each other. The closer her body get's pulled in the quicker her heart races, the shorter her breathing becomes, a wet sensation shamefully filling her lower half dripping onto the forest floor

  She kicks, she claws, she fights, but it's useless. The world narrows down to the gaping maw in front of her, glistening, filled with shadows and jagged, irregular teeth. Her chest tightens as panic consumes her, each scream caught and distorted in her throat. Time slows. Every instinct in her body tells her to fight, to run, but she is utterly powerless

  And then, its mouth begins to close

  With her last breath she lets of a terrifying scream, a testament to her will to live

  It all ended with a scream