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Beca grumbled softly as she reached her hand towards her head, feeling it throb sharply. What the hell was happening, she’d been driving to work and then… where was she?
Beca looked around her, frowning deeply at the dark forest she found herself in. What the hell was going on? She rubbed at her forehead, sluggishly dragging herself to her feet as she tried to find her balance again. Beca could’ve sworn that she’d been driving a few minutes ago, she’d woken up that morning, she and Chloe had breakfast, and then she’d gotten into her car… but what happened next?
“Hello?” Beca croaked, frowning as her voice sounded like it hadn’t been used in weeks, “Anyone there?”
Beca instinctively reached into her jeans pocket for her phone, her heart pounding faster as she realised it wasn’t there. Dammit. Alright Mitchell, no need to panic, there had to be a reasonable explanation for this… sure, she was in a dark forest with no idea how she had gotten there, she had no phone, and absolutely no idea where here was, but there was no reason to panic… right?
There was a sound of snapping branches to her left, Beca’s head whipping around in the direction of the noise, eyes searching the dark foliage for a sign of what had caused it. Okay, she was officially creeped out… she had to get out of here. But how? Which way was out? There was no sense in wandering around aimlessly, she’d never get out of here like that, but…
“Becky…”
Beca’s head whipped around as something hissed out her name. Well, not her name, not even a nickname that she liked, there were only two people in her life that had ever called her Becky, Luke (who just didn’t care enough to learn her actual name) and-
Beca shook her head. No. If she dwelled on that then she wouldn’t get anywhere. Immediate problems now, past trauma later.
“Beckyyyy…”
Beca’s mouth went dry, biting her lip as she felt her feet starting to carry her in the opposite direction of the hissing as she looked in the direction of it again. Alright, this was officially starting to freak her out, what the hell was going on? She could’ve sworn the shadows were moving as her speed picked up into a run, no longer caring that she was moving blindly, just wanting to get away from whatever the fuck it was that was hiding in all these trees.
“Where you goin’ Becky?”
Her heart was thudding in her chest as Beca pushed through the dense foliage around her, trying to find somewhere to hide. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this forest, but if she could hide then she’d be able to figure out her next move away from whatever it was that was chasing her. Because there was definitely something chasing her, Beca could hear it moving behind, still hissing and taunting her.
Beca yelped as she felt something snake around her ankle, pulling tight and sending her hurtling onto the ground. She clawed at the damp and mossy ground underneath her as it started to drag her across the forest floor, dirt embedding deeply under her nails as she desperately tried to shake whatever it was that had hold of her. What the fuck was happening?
She rolled onto her back, kicking out with her free foot at the shadowy mass behind her that the tendril belonged, barely containing her terror as the thing grinned at her, Beca able to see sharp teeth glinting as eye after eye opened within the mass that had hold of her. What in the ever living fuck was that thing? What did it want with her?
Beca managed to kick the monster square in the face (was it even a face?!), scrambling to her feet and setting off running again as it screeched and let of her ankle. She was hyperventilating as she ran as fast as she could physically manage, tears running down her cheeks. What the hell was going on, where was she? How the hell had she gotten here? Beca wanted to go home, she wanted Chloe, where was Chloe in all of this? Was she lost in this forest too, was the monster after her as well?
Beca cried out as something sliced her cheek, stumbling away from the shadow as it forced her to turn sharply rather than going straight ahead. She pressed a trembling hand to her check, fingers coated in blood as she pulled them away again, her lungs starting to burn from the exertion of running so hard and so fast. But she couldn’t stop, if she stopped then that thing would get her, and god only knew what it would do if it did…
“C’mon Becky… it’s a grown up game, don’t you wanna be a grown up?”
Beca’s foot caught on the root of a tree, and audible snap coming from her ankle as she fell to the ground again. Beca screamed in pain, bottom lip shewed to tatters between her teeth as she tried to drag herself to her feet again, but found she couldn’t put any weight on her left. Shit, shit, now what?!
“Found you Becky!”
Beca’s head snapped in the direction of the hissing, choking back a sob as the shadow monster leered over her. She was fucked, she was monumentally fucked, this thing was going to kill her wasn’t it? Beca felt as if her heart was going to explode it was beating so fast, whimpering as she watched the tendrils snake towards her again, trying to crawl backwards away from it, but her foot was so painful that it slowed down any attempt to successfully get away.
The shadow monster grabbed her wrist, tightening painfully around it as Beca tried to snatch herself away as it yanked her into the air.
“Get off me!” Beca snarled, twisting and writhing as she tried to free herself, another tendril wrapping around her waist and slowly starting to slither its way up her body towards her throat, her chest constricting in fear as it started to squeeze, “Get- off-”
It was going to kill her, Beca couldn’t get herself free, it was going to kill her and she didn’t even know why. Why this was happening to her, why it was hurting her, why it looked like him all of a sudden… Beca could smell stale cigarettes and bourbon, feel every hair on her body stand on end, the tendrils around her starting to subsume her whole body, Beca’s head turning and twisting as she felt a tendril pull at the corner of her now tightly clamped mouth, another wrapping her head and covering her eyes. What was happening? What the hell was this thing? Why couldn’t she get away from him, it had been years…
The tendril prising open her mouth slide inside it, swelling in size as she began to choke on it, Beca not sure what was going to kill her first; the tendril choking her or the one crushing her. Why was this happening?
Suddenly, the monster around her let go, screeching in anger and pain as Beca hurtled to the ground, oomphing as she found herself blinded by a brilliant white light. It drove the shadow back, away from her as Beca lay whimpering on the ground, the warmth of the light wrapping around her like a blanket as she trembled furiously. What was going on? Where had the light come from? Did it really matter? Because the monster couldn’t touch her as look as it was here, and in its presence, Beca actually felt oddly comforted. Somehow she knew the light wasn’t going to hurt her, that she could just lie here and it would protect her from anything that might try and hurt her.
Beca could feel exhaustion starting to weigh on her, the light around her still buzzing brightly, Beca no longer able to hear the shadow monster and its growling. She could sleep for a little while, the light would keep her safe… just a little nap…
Beca’s eyelids sluggishly fluttered open, a soft groan leaving her lips as the pain in her head, her ribs and her ankle flourished to life. The light was still around her, she was okay… the light that… looked like ceiling tiles? What?
“Becs?”
Beca slowly turned her head, frown deepening as her eyes found the person who had oh so gently called her name. She was in a room… what happened to the forest, how had she gotten from there to here? And how had Chloe gotten here?
“Hi baby…” Chloe smiled tearfully, hand gently brushing Beca’s hair from her face, “How are you?”
“C-Chlo?” Beca rasped, confusion and panic surging through her.
Her head still hurt, so did her ribs and her ankle, and as she raised a heavy and shaking hand she found the cut on her cheek. All her injuries matched the horrors she’d come across in the forest, but it didn’t make any sense. Because how had she gotten here? How had Chloe gotten here? Where was the shadow monster now?
“Shh…” Chloe frowned a little, brushing away the tears on Beca’s cheeks softly, “It’s okay Beca, I’m here.”
“Wh-what happened?” Beca whimpered as Chloe’s fingers slowly ran through her hair, still shushing her softly.
“You were in a car accident Becs.” Chloe pursed her lips a little, “It was really bad, you were in a coma for nearly two weeks…”
“C-coma?” Beca bit her lip, “So I… I’ve been here the whole the time?”
“Yeah.” Chloe’s frown deepened as she nodded, “Where else would you have been?”
“I don’t know…” Beca whimpered again, tears streaking down her face, starting to sob a little, “I was stuck and it was chasing me and I- I thought I was going to die Chloe, I tried, I couldn’t-”
“Oh baby…” Chloe pushed herself up from the chair she had been sat on and moved to get on the bed next to Beca, careful of all the wires and tubes connected to her still, and of her injuries, “It must have been a nightmare, the doctors said it looked you might be having one on the brain wave thingy, apparently the pain medication you’re on can make them really lucid… but it’s okay Becs, you’re safe now, I promise. No-one’s going to hurt you now, you’re okay.”
“It- it was him Chlo.” Beca was choking on her sobs as Chloe held her as tight as she dared, pressing soft kisses to the top of her head, “I don’t- I don’t know how- it- it was all shadows and teeth and eyes but-”
“He can’t hurt you Beca.” A lump of anger formed in Chloe’s throat as she kept pressing soft kisses into the crown of her head, “Never again, okay? Not as long as there’s breath in my body.”
“I think-” Beca sniffed, burying her face into Chloe’s neck as she winced, turning onto her side so she could get closer to her, “I think you were there…”
“What do you mean?” Chloe mumbled, running her fingers through Beca’s hair.
“When it was… when it was trying to kill me…” Beca was shaking against Chloe as she gripped her t-shirt as tight as she could manage in her hands, “It was suffocating me, I couldn’t breathe but… then there was this light thing, it scared it off and it kept me safe I- I think it was you. I think a part of me knew you were here and… you saved me.”
Chloe smiled softly into Beca’s hair as she wrapped her in her arms, “I was talking to you… the doctors said it might help, that you could still hear me, even in a coma Becs. So I’m really glad that the fact that I love you and that I will protect you from anything could break through your nightmares like that. Because I promise Beca, I promise that no matter what, I will always find you, and I will always save you, okay?”
Beca just nodded against her shoulder, still sniffling as Chloe stroked her back. It was okay, she was safe now. There really was nowhere safer than here in Chloe’s arms, Beca knew that. She was so tired, the idea of falling asleep again terrified her, what is she woke up in that place again? But Chloe was here and if there was anytime that it would be safe to be asleep, it would be here, now, like this…
“Get some rest Becs.” Chloe seemed to read her mind, lowering her head a little to press a kiss to Beca’s forehead, “I’ll be here to protect you, I love you baby.”
“I love you too…” Beca mumbled, “Hold me?”
“Always.”