Bummer Summer

Just keep running.

My feet hit the ground, one after another, pounding into the rough soil beneath me. A searing pain shot through my leg as I slammed my foot down onto a rock. My legs momentarily gave way, but the fear that possessed me corrected my sense of balance.

Just keep running. Please.

I could still see her. In my mind. At the beginning of the summer, we'd been paired up as the head counselors of Cabin Dung Beetle. I fell fast. Faster than normal. The way her golden hair bounced as she ran, the way that her eyes crinkled when she laughed, the way we talked for hours and bonded over everything... the way that she pleaded for me to run, not to get eaten by whatever the fuck was chasing us. I regret being the one to make it. It shouldn't have been me.

I scanned the surrounding area for any semblance of safety. Maybe a house, or a cave I could hide in. But it was just trees. Redwood Forest was huge, and the nearest civilization was maybe 20 miles away. I was trapped. Behind me, I could hear the familiar sound of bones breaking, and wet breathing.

I turned to see how close it was. I shouldn't have.

Behind me, racing as fast as it could to get me, stood a creature probably 8 feet tall. It's huge, deer like skull was decorated in patches of skin, some sinewy flaps flowing in the wind. It's legs were broken in all sorts of directions, and it looked pained when it moved towards me. Every step was a snap, and its bone thin, infected human hands reached towards me. I could still see Arda's shirt hanging out of it's mouth, stuck on one of the teeth.

Before I could stop it, a shriek came out of my mouth, alerting it, and any other creature wanting to eat me. I jumped, scrambling up the forest to any sort of safety. Maybe I could climb a tree? I doubt a thing that busted up wouldn't be able to climb. But also, a thing that busted up shouldn't be able to run either. But here we are.

Maybe hiding was an option. Or fighting. I don't know. My legs ached, and my chest got tighter every moment, panic and adrenaline fighting each other in a twister of chaos. But I wasn't fast enough: the creature's long legs gave it an advantage, and it extended its long, thin limbs towards me, just barely grabbing my arm. Its claws pierced my skin, and I screeched louder than ever before. I launched myself forward, hoping to free myself. With the cost of my skin being ripped from my body, I was able just make it out of its grasp, and I ran. My arm oozed blood, the pain unlike any I'd felt. I needed to get out of here, or else Arda's final plea of telling me to save myself would be for nothing. She sacrificed herself for me, and I can't let it go to waste.

I held my arm to slow the bleeding, but it didn't do much. I pressed forward, weaving in and out of trees to hopefully lose the creature. Then, I saw a light. In the distance, flashing wildly at me, and I swear I heard a voice. Time slowed as I realized safety might be within reach. I bolted, letting go of my arm, letting the blood run free. As I neared the light, I saw a small structure: a house. Old, and worn, but apparently functional.

"Hey!!!" A voice screamed. "I see you! Keep running! You can hide in here!" It was an older voice. At the top of the house was a structure on the roof, and an old woman with a floodlight stood atop. As I reached for the front door, I saw my vision lift. I looked down, and my body began to glow a deep blue, and I slowly lifted into the air.

"What the fuck?!" I screamed. I turned to see the monster run at me, about to swipe. But, something stopped him. A small circle of white powder encircled the cabin. The blue glow continued to lift me higher, until I reached the roof with the old woman. Immediately, the relief of being safe washed over me, and I crumpled to my knees the second I was on solid ground. Sobs wracked my body, both from pain and distress. The old woman kneeled before me.

"You're hurt. Badly. Let me help you. We'll get you some tea and food, and we'll get through this." Her old voice was soothing, and kind, like this was just a trip to grandma's house.

"What the hell are those things?!"

"Those are called Vinglets. They're nasty little buggers. That was once a human being, but as it got infected, it grew into that. Its sole purpose is to infect and turn other humans. And to eat."

"It ate my girlfriend. My cabin. My whole camp of friends, why did it do that?! Why did it- how- I can't deal with this!" I screamed, breathing heavily, panic now fully taking over.

"Oh my dear, we'll get through this. You aren't the first victim of these creatures, and you won't be the last. But we can at least mitigate it. Breathe in and out. You're safe now." He placed her hand on my arm, and I watched it glow green, as the skin slowly reformed, and the bleeding stopped.

"Wait, what? Hold on. How did you do that? What are you?"

"A witch. An old one. I've seen this all before. Come inside." She stood up, shockingly mobile for her apparent age, and extended a hand to help me up. "How do you feel about chamomile tea? I have some fairy honey you can try with it. Plus, the cake should be right about done. We'll go get some food, and you can tell me all about what happened."