Nightfall- Chapter 1

Melinda pulled herself up off the damp ground. As she dusted the dirt off her slender body, she heard the noise of breaking branches off in the distance. She quickly stopped out of fear to listen. She held her breath as the sound of someone walking towards her blew through the trees. The sounds only lasted for a few minutes, but then faded away. Melinda convinced herself she must be going crazy as she tried once again to get the dirt off her beige cargo pants and matching brown t-shirt.

Once the conclusion that the dirt wasn’t coming off set in, Melinda picked up the branch she tripped over. After taking a quick look at the object that slowed her down, she tossed it aside and continued walking through the dark forest.

Melinda left her house, her father and any amount of life she may have had earlier in the day. With a small bag packed with clothes, money and enough belongings to live off of, she thought she had it all planned out. She figured she would take the bus to a motel, so she would have enough time to get out of the city, get a job, and her own place to live.

Melinda’s mom died when she was young. No one liked to talk about it, thinking they would just cause more of a burden. Little did they realize, Melinda’s mind could have been put to rest by accepting what happened to her mother, but if only she knew what had really happened. Melinda guessed it was a car accident, but then again she knew so little about her mother, it may have even been a tobacco related cancer or some of the many other causes of death.

Everything had gone fine earlier in the afternoon. Leaving the house was a synch for her. She left her drunken father on the couch in front of the television, and just walked out. It only took her a fifteen minute bus ride to get to the motel, but that’s where her good luck ran out; she had run into a problem. They wouldn’t let a sixteen year old girl rent a room by herself, weather she had the money or not.

Now she was lost, deep in the woods. The sun had set quiet a while ago, and she just wishes she could get back home to her warm, cozy bed. Obviously she needed more planning to start a new life, than what she done.

Melinda quickly stopped again. She had gotten used to the sound of the leaves crushing under her feet, and was startled when the sound doubled. This time when the sound didn’t stop she was sure someone was getting closer. She was positive someone had followed her into the woods.



Melinda broke into a sprint, without even turning around. She didn’t want to know what was behind her. She was far too afraid for that now. She heard the footsteps behind her pickup to the same speed she was running at. Soon she didn’t think she could hear any footsteps at all because of how in sync they were with hers.

***

She was out of breath and had been running for quite some time when she broke out of the forest. She turned around to look into the dark group of trees. She saw nothing and heard nothing. Melinda whispered to herself “I must have lost him... or whatever was chasing me”. She took a deep breath and turned away from what seemed to be the beginning of a nightmare. She started walking in the other direction, being glad that it was over.

Suddenly she heard something behind her. The noise was close, about a step away. Before she even had a chance to run, a dark blue leather glove came around her from behind and covered her mouth. Melinda grabbed the man’s arm to try and pry it away. The person lifted her up slightly; just enough so Melinda couldn’t find the ground with her feet. She started to scream, but that was when she became aware of the powered cloth the hand was holding to her face. It was too late to try to not breathe in the powered drug, because all she saw was black as she collapsed into the attackers arms.