Young Writers discussion
Dystopia
>
Patchwork
date
newest »
newest »
moves, I can't get away.I step down into a dip were the roots of some trees tangle, and wait. I stay there for a long while, listening to his heart, and I begin comparing it to my own. His is lighter and beats fast, like a moths wings. I start to get lost in the sound, the rhythm. His beats, mine beats, his, mine, I breathe out and he breathes in, out, in, out, in. I feel my body start to relax, and hear his heart start to slow.
After a few more minutes he starts to move in my direction again. I can't stay here, I need to move. "No Amaral,” he says, softly. His voice is low and smooth. "I need you to stay calm. Come here! I won't hurt you, I promise." I look over the roots to see how close he is. He's not far, about ten feet. I don't think I should trust him, but I feel drawn to him, like somehow he is controlling me. "It's okay!" He whispers, waving me over. I push myself up to get a better look at him.
He is young, maybe in his twenties. He is tall, and has a thin face. He has the most amazing eyes; they are deep brown with long, dark eyelashes.
"That's it! Come here." His voice is almost hypnotizing. His smile is warm, welcoming. I slowly climb out of the dip, never once moving my eyes from him. I stand on the edge; still not sure I should trust him.
The wind has started to pick up; it tosses my long, wavy hair in front of my face, cutting my vision into brown strips. He moves toward me and pushes it back behind my ears. I swat his hands away, scowling at him.
"Alright, fine! I'm sorry!" He says, he looks like I just hit him. He takes a step back, looking behind him.
"I'm sorry," he repeats. He looks nervously through the dark trees like he expects to see someone there.
"I promise I'll explain everything. We can't stay here though, its not safe. Come on we'll walk back..." He grabs my hand and starts to turn in the other direction. A flare of panic runs through me and I pull back.
"No!" I say firmly. "I'm not going back there." He turns back towards me and sighs.
"Come on. Its fine." He says. I don't trust him, I don't. I pull my hand away from his and start to run. He caches my elbow and I stumble to the left. I clasp both hands around his forearm, taking advantage of the fact that all my weight is being thrown to the one side. He falls to his knees and groans in frustration. I kick dirt and leaves up into his face and he starts blindly grabbing at my ankles as I try to run again. He gets a tight hold and I fall back on my bottom, letting out a shocked cry. He scrambles to his feet and grabs my right wrist with both hands. he is stronger then me and I am so small next to him, how can I make he let go long enough for me to escape? Then it hits me; he said he didn't want to hurt me, he has said it over and over since I woke up. I start to cry, forcing tears to pore out of my eyes, and lean back on my ankles.
"Okay! I'm done! You win! You win." I cry pulling my arm down towards my body, pretending to cringe. The result is just as I expected, he drops my hand and reaches for my shoulder.
"Are you all right? I'm sorry. I..." I don't let him finish. I kick my left leg out in front of me and swing it as hard as I can at his knees. I catch the backs of his legs and pull my leg in toward my body. He falls and lands on his back, rolls quickly to his knees and grabs me by my hair. I let out a frustrated scream and grab his arm pulling it towards me as hard as I can. I'm not sure what I plan to do when it is close enough but I keep pulling with all my might. I have to think but I'm to caught up in the fight and the I realize that I want to bite him. As I pull I think about how my moth will fit around his wrist and how much pressure it will tack to draw blood. What will it taste like? I think back to when I was small and still had baby teeth to lose. I think of how I hated the rusty taste of my blood mixed with saliva. For a moment I don't want to do it any more, turned off by the memory of the taste, but his arm is now close enough and I haven't spent all this effort for nothing. I push up a little on my heals so I can get a better reach and open my mouth. He instantly pulls back but I keep a strong hold, driven by my anger towards him. I finally get my jaws around him and bite down. It feels awkward and the skin is tougher than I thought it would be, so I bite gradually harder as he struggles to free himself. He cries out and I feel my hair slip through his fingers. I only let go when I taste blood. I roll onto my back and try to get up, but he jumps at me and pins my shoulders up against a tree, both of his hands locked around my upper arms. I try to wiggle my way out of his grasp but he is to strong and I am starting to get tired.
"We have wasted enough time! Now, calm down!" He yells. he breaths heavily and I can hear his heart pounding. I put my hands around his wast and pinch him. "Amaral!" He says, shaking my arms a little. He looks into my eyes and slowly slackens his grip on my shoulders. Stupid eyes, I don't understand why they can calm me and frighten me at the same time.
He slowly gets to his feet, pulling me up with him. After a few more minutes he lets go of my shoulders and leans back against a tree smoothing a hand through his dark hair. He looks back into the darkness again, sighing.
"I'm not going back." I say. "Okay,I get it. We’ll go back to my place for tonight, but in the morning we have to go back there. You instructors will be expecting you. Maybe once I explain, things will seem less frightening to you." He offers me his hand, his fingers are long and slender, ending in near perfect nails.
My instincts say not to trust him, but I am so stuffed with curiosity and excitement. I want to know whats going on, i have all along. he says he will explain if I go with him. but I'm still scared. I hesitate with my hand outstretched, just inches away from his. If I try to run away again he will get me as he has so many times already. What if I trust him? What waits for me back in the strange building? If I don't go I will never know. He smiles at me, his eyes glimmering in the light of the moon. I slide my hand into his and his smile widens.
Hey guys, I'm having trouble with my technology right now so I'm going to just repost the chapter, I hope you sent horribly annoyed! One...march 4th 2013
It has been four hours since I ran from the strange building and into the cover of the forest. Considering the time I've run for, I'm not the least bit tired, in fact I feel strong, possibly stronger than I've ever felt. I stop running and put my hand on my chest, feeling my pounding heart. I let myself sink to my knees, one hand still on my chest, while the other finds the crock of my arm. I slid it along feeling the place where they had cut into my broken skin replacing the bone with a smooth mettle hinge. There is no scar therefore no proof, besides my memories, that it ever happened.
I sit here for a while and think about all that has happened in the past day or so. I remember I was sleeping when I heard a small metallic clink next to my right ear and woke up. Sleep was peaceful after all the pain I'd been through. I remember it was a strange shifting sleep, waking ever few hours to the pain of Brocken bones and a burning headache. I only would have time to get small, quick flashes of the things going on around me, hands working quickly over my Brocken body, and sometimes the young man that now chases me would ask what my name was and if I could see him, then they would quickly inject a small needle into my arm and I would be asleep in seconds. Waking brought back the headache, but to my amazement, I'd been healed.
The sound came from him, the young man, removing wires and tubes from my body. He told me to stay calm but I panicked, ripping out the rest and trying to run. He caught me and tried to get me to lay down again, but I fought him and made it out in to the hall, only to be stopped yet again by waiting guards. I discovered that I was too small to fight them all, but I was faster. I was able to get around them by confusing them, making them run in all directions.
I lean my head up against one of the many closely growing trees and press my hands to my head, press the memory away. I want to cry but the tears won't come. I hear movement close by behind the dark trees. listening carefully I get to my feet. I don't want to move, I just want to lay down right here and fall to sleep. Carefully I start to move in the other direction, keeping behind trees but ready to run again if I need to. I try to keep my footsteps light and as soundless as possible, gently sliding my bare feet over fallen branches and dead leaves. I can hear his heart beating so fast, why is he scared? He is the chaser and I am the chased. I guess the better question would be how can I hear his heart? I stop again so I don't confuse my steps with his. He has stopped as well. It is as If he is somehow anticipating my next moves, I can't get away.
I step down into a dip were the roots of some trees tangle, and wait. I stay there for a long while, listening to his heart, and I begin comparing it to my own. His is lighter and beats fast, like a moths wings. I start to get lost in the sound, the rhythm. His beats, mine beats, his, mine, I breathe out and he breathes in, out, in, out, in. I feel my body start to relax, and hear his heart start to slow.
After a few more minutes he starts to move in my direction again. I can't stay here, I need to move. "No Amaral,” he says, softly. His voice is low and smooth. "I need you to stay calm. Come here! I won't hurt you, I promise." I look over the roots to see how close he is. He's not far, about ten feet. I don't think I should trust him, but I feel drawn to him, like somehow he is controlling me. "It's okay!" He whispers, waving me over. I push myself up to get a better look at him.
He is young, maybe in his twenties. He is tall, and has a thin face. He has the most amazing eyes; they are deep brown with long, dark eyelashes.
"That's it! Come here." His voice is almost hypnotizing. His smile is warm, welcoming. I slowly climb out of the dip, never once moving my eyes from him. I stand on the edge; still not sure I should trust him.
The wind has started to pick up; it tosses my long, wavy hair in front of my face, cutting my vision into brown strips. He moves toward me and pushes it back behind my ears. I swat his hands away, scowling at him.
"Alright, fine! I'm sorry!" He says, he looks like I just hit him. He takes a step back, looking behind him.
"I'm sorry," he repeats. He looks nervously through the dark trees like he expects to see someone there.
"I promise I'll explain everything. We can't stay here though, its not safe. Come on we'll walk back..." He grabs my hand and starts to turn in the other direction. A flare of panic runs through me and I pull back.
"No!" I say firmly. "I'm not going back there." He turns back towards me and sighs.
"Come on. Its fine." He says. I don't trust him, I don't. I pull my hand away from his and start to run. He caches my elbow and I stumble to the left. I clasp both hands around his forearm, taking advantage of the fact that all my weight is being thrown to the one side. He falls to his knees and groans in frustration. I kick dirt and leaves up into his face and he starts blindly grabbing at my ankles as I try to run again. He gets a tight hold and I fall back on my bottom, letting out a shocked cry. He scrambles to his feet and grabs my right wrist with both hands. he is stronger then me and I am so small next to him, how can I make he let go long enough for me to escape? Then it hits me; he said he didn't want to hurt me, he has said it over and over since I woke up. I start to cry, forcing tears to pore out of my eyes, and lean back on my ankles.
"Okay! I'm done! You win! You win." I cry pulling my arm down towards my body, pretending to cringe. The result is just as I expected, he drops my hand and reaches for my shoulder.
"Are you all right? I'm sorry. I..." I don't let him finish. I kick my left leg out in front of me and swing it as hard as I can at his knees. I catch the backs of his legs and pull my leg in toward my body. He falls and lands on his back, rolls quickly to his knees and grabs me by my hair. I let out a frustrated scream and grab his arm pulling it towards me as hard as I can. I'm not sure what I plan to do when it is close enough but I keep pulling with all my might. I have to think but I'm to caught up in the fight and the I realize that I want to bite him. As I pull I think about how my moth will fit around his wrist and how much pressure it will tack to draw blood. What will it taste like? I think back to when I was small and still had baby teeth to lose. I think of how I hated the rusty taste of my blood mixed with saliva. For a moment I don't want to do it any more, turned off by the memory of the taste, but his arm is now close enough and I haven't spent all this effort for nothing. I push up a little on my heals so I can get a better reach and open my mouth. He instantly pulls back but I keep a strong hold, driven by my anger towards him. I finally get my jaws around him and bite down. It feels awkward and the skin is tougher than I thought it would be, so I bite gradually harder as he struggles to free himself. He cries out and I feel my hair slip through his fingers. I only let go when I taste blood. I roll onto my back and try to get up, but he jumps at me and pins my shoulders up against a tree, both of his hands locked around my upper arms. I try to wiggle my way out of his grasp but he is to strong and I am starting to get tired.
"We have wasted enough time! Now, calm down!" He yells. he breaths heavily and I can hear his heart pounding. I put my hands around his wast and pinch him. "Amaral!" He says, shaking my arms a little. He looks into my eyes and slowly slackens his grip on my shoulders. Stupid eyes, I don't understand why they can calm me and frighten me at the same time.
He slowly gets to his feet, pulling me up with him. After a few more minutes he lets go of my shoulders and leans back against a tree smoothing a hand through his dark hair. He looks back into the darkness again, sighing.
"I'm not going back." I say. "Okay,I get it. We’ll go back to my place for tonight, but in the morning we have to go back there. You instructors will be expecting you. Maybe once I explain, things will seem less frightening to you." He offers me his hand, his fingers are long and slender, ending in near perfect nails.
My instincts say not to trust him, but I am so stuffed with curiosity and excitement. I want to know whats going on, i have all along. he says he will explain if I go with him. but I'm still scared. I hesitate with my hand outstretched, just inches away from his. If I try to run away again he will get me as he has so many times already. What if I trust him? What waits for me back in the strange building? If I don't go I will never know. He smiles at me, his eyes glimmering in the light of the moon. I slide my hand into his and his smile widens.
"I'm glad you have decided to trust me." He says , beginning to walk slowly. "I don't," I say. "I just need answers." He helps me over a fallen tree. "Well, I hope we can fix that." He mutters. "Where is "your place" exactly?" I ask. "It's near the edge of the forest, just outside the town, Jay-wood. You know it?" He looks at me, tilting his head like a curious child. "Yes." I say. My grandparents had a cottage here. Every summer since I was little I'd come here. I loved being with my grandparents , they were cool. I could never see them getting old. About three years ago there was a fire, my papa was killed from the smoke but nana got out ok.
He lets go of my hand and looks straight ahead. I notice I small scar under his ear, half hidden by his hair line.
"What answers did you need?" He asks quietly. What kind of a question was that? "I don't know where to start." I sigh. " Well," he looks at me this time. "Start small and work your way through them, we have all night." All night? "Who are you?" I say, this sounds like a good place to start. "Ah, I was waiting for introductions. My name is Seth Pearson. And of course you are Amaral Monica." "How do you know my name?" I stop walking. " It was on your Bank card. We found it near the tracks and just assumed it was yours." He replies, reaching into his pocket. From it he pulls out the small plastic card, and hands it to me. I look at the name on the card for a while as we walk. It has a crack down the middle of it and the letters are no longer gold. I stuff it in my pocket.
I realize that my clothes have been changed. Yesterday (I think it was yesterday) I had been wearing a dress that went down to my knees and had no sleeves. Now I wear dark blue, almost black, jeans and a white shirt. I was also wearing a necklace that my grandparents gave me for my graduation.
"Where's my necklace!?" I gasp, moving my hand to the place where the charm would have touched my skin.
"This it?" He asks, pulling something shiny from his other pocket. I put out my hand to examine it. It's the same round, burgundy charm, but the clasp is different. " What happened!?" I ask angrily. "You were hit by a train! Did you actual expect it to have survived?" Hit by a train? I was hit by a train and I survived? "What the hell are you talking about!?" I shout, my voice gradually getting louder. "What is all this?" I am yelling at him now. I bit the inside of my lip out of frustration, and taste blood. " You said you would explain! When are you planning to explain!? When were you planning on telling me I got hit by a train!? That's not even possible! How d...!" "Shut up!" He cuts me off. He stands with his hands up, eyes opened wide. He looks away and sighs. "I'm sorry." He whispers. "I should have explained all of this already. How stupid could I get." He hits himself in the head at the word "stupid". "Hay," I say grabbing his hand away from his face. I feel warm were our skin meets."Just tell me whats going on."
I say letting his hand drop back to his side. He continues to look at me his eyes wide and watery."Take my hand" he says, holding one up and I take it. "I'll have to show you." Show me? He stretches one hand up towards my head and I try to swat it away. He puts it down and releases my hand, tacking a step back. He reaches out again and I kick him in the shin. He lifts his hand fast and brings it down over my head and I wince, squeezing my eyes shut. I wait but no impact comes. I open my eyes and see that we are no longer in a forest. Instead we are in my apartment, the clock on the kitchen counter reads 8:53.
"How are we here? I don..." I am cut off by the screen door to the balcony slamming shut. "Arrrrhhh! I can't believe this." I can't believe this either. In front of me stand my father and me, only she is a copy of me, not me. "I don't understand this." I say to Seth, he stands there, just smiling that stupid, amazing smile. "I remember when I went through this. It's a funny feeling, isn't it?" He replies. "How is this happening?" I look back to my father and double. They are yelling at each other about my mother. My double wears a dark blue dress that goes down to her knees. She looks pretty, pretty than I'd ever thought I could. I don't often look at my reflection because I am unhappy with my mismatched collection of features. I have a thin face with my mothers small, green eyes, and my fathers large hooked nose. tonight she looks fine though, with her long brown hair pulled back into a messy bun, away from her face. She paces the length of the kitchen and tugs at her necklace, tears sliding down her face.
"I don't want to go back!" My double cries fists clenched and back rigged. "She didn't love me! She doesn't want me! She never wanted me in the first place! Did she?! Did you?!"
"Come on Amy! Calm down," My father says, trying to sooth her. He reaches out to touch her shoulder but she slaps his hand away. "Come on Amy." He repeats, louder this time.
"Why don't I remember this? What is this?" I say, starting to shack. This all has a dream feeling to it. A strange hazy quality. I feel like I have see this before but can't recall it fully to mind,like it was years ago instead of days. Seth just looks at me for a moment, then to my double, then back and frowns.
"Why won't you tell me?!" My double and I both yell at the same time. Seth laughs, his laugh is low and smooth, just like his voice. "I told you, I promise I'll explain everything. You just need to see this first. It’s the only way I know not to scare you." Doesn't he know that I'm already scared? He frowns again and I notice the wrinkles in his forehead. He almost looks tiered and for a second I feel sorry for causing him all this trouble. Then I think, what trouble? He's the one causing all the trouble, not me. Why can't he just tell me what's going on? Why did I even chose to trust him. 'Answers' I think, 'be patient for now and be angry later.'
My attention is drawn back to the fight taking place in front of me. "It is what it is Amy," my father says firmly. "She's never going to change, you know that as well as I do." My double just looks at him and frowns. "I can't believe you either." She says, shoving him out of the way and moving towards the door. "Amy, were do you think you’re going?!" She turns briefly, "I'm going to the forest." At the last second she yanks her purse of a hook in the wall, pulling it down with it. "Amy come o..." He is cut off by the slamming door. He stands there for a moment, then raises his hands and lets them fall with his frustration. He walks over to the fallen coat rack and picks it up, tossing it in the direction of the sofa and leaving the room.
Seth gestures for me to fallow my double. I try the door but I can't seem to get a firm grip on the knob. I realize that my hand wont even stay on it, instead it goes into it. I put my hands on the door itself and notice it feels like a sponge and gives way slightly when I press. I push hard and fall straight through it, looking back to see the door is still intact, even after two people just walked through it.
I look around the hall and my double is nowhere to be seen. As I walk towards the stairwell I can hear music coming from one of the other apartments and the clinking of glass.
Outside the sky has lit up a beautiful red-purple, and the cold air smells like cat piss and cigaret smoke. I look back up at the apartment, the sun reflects of the glass and metal and hurts my eyes. I walk toward the forest on autopilot as I have so many times before. This forest is my safe place, it's were I come when I need to be alone.
We come to the tree line and I pause. There are hundreds of different trails that go in every direction in here. I stop and listen hard, she cant have gone to far in this short time. For a couple of minutes all I can hear is Seth's heart starting to pick up speed then something else. It sounds like fluttering Bugs that stop every few seconds, The sound is familiar but I can't figure out were I know it from. I listen again and I realize its leaves and bits of bark falling from a tree as someone climbs. I know it from a tree I climb often, it is a thick maple tree with low beaches. It grows closely to another tree with spindly branches that start close to the ground and go all the way around the tree. I discovered the two trees with my best friend when I first moved into my Dads apartment. We would spend hours in them together and when he moved I continued to come on my own to read or just sit in them. I walk in the direction of the trees and stop when I see my double sitting in the tree still crying. She pulls a bunch of dead leaves from the branch beside her and begins tearing then into tiny crumbs, and throughs them every few minutes.
"I asked why I can't remember this!" I remind Seth. "Why won't you tell me!?" He is leaning up against a tree, picking at his nails, he looks bored. "Alright, alright! Give me a second to think..." He looks up the tree at my double. "This is a memory we took from you when we were... saving you. We needed to see the memory as it truly happened. We also didn't want you to be frightened when you woke up, guess it didn't work out this time, now did it?"
He laughs quietly and looks at my double again. Irritation runs through me and replaces my anger and I start to shack.
He promised me he'd explain everything and so far it all doesn't make any sense. It's like I'm supposed to be doing this big puzzle, but he's just feeding my theses useless bits that don't fit, making the image distorted and confusing as I try to mash the pieces into place.
" You know you’re not doing a good job keeping your promise." Is all I can think to say. I sounds like something a five year old would say. He seems to think so to because he just laughs softly and looks back to my double.
"You have to be patient! You'll get your answers. I just don't want to tell you to much at once, you might get confused." He can't tell I'm already confused? I give him a questioning look and he laughs again. I ignore him, looking back to my double who is now looking in our direction. for a moment i think she is looking at us but then I hear footsteps behind me and turn around. The steps come from a boy and his dog. The boy is looking down at his phone, reading trough text messages. His dog is a small golden retriever with a vest on it. A service dog. The boy walks toward the centre of the forest were there is a set of train tacks. I hear a slight Slipping noise when he lifts his left leg and realize his shoe lace has come lose. The dog has this wired expression, like its worried. It starts to look down the tracks and whimpers a little. My double looks at the dog carefully and so do I. She then looks down the tracks to were the dog is looking, but there's nothing there.
Then I hear the faint sound of a train whistle and the rails on the tracks start to faintly clink. Obviously my double heard nothing because she settles back onto her perch and looks at a bird hoping around above her. The boy looks down the tracks as he approaches and sees nothing. The rumbling has become louder now and the whistle it more obvious. The dog stops in front of him and puts its paw up on the boys knee.
"Hey! Get lost! You paws are filthy!" The boy yells at the dog, kicking it away. The boy’s voice is sloppy and expressionless. He looks back at his phone and smiles, moving his thumbs over the screen. The boy has dropped the dogs leash and walks slower now. His dog continues to bark and walk around him.
I look down the tracks again and see the train turning a corner, blasting its horn.
"Hey!" My double screams. She stands up on the branch. "Stop!" The boy can't hear her, it obvious he's deaf.
The train is picking up speed as it starts down the small slop, the weight of the thin, tube like body pushing it. The dog is going nuts now, jumping and barking, swatting at its masters knees. The boy and dog are now only a three steeps away from the tracks. The boy kicks the dog hard in the chest and tells it to bugger off. This guy is so stupid! His guide dog is trying to tell him something and he kicks it! The boy reaches the tracks, still looking at his phone, and steps Over one rail. I look to my double, who is now climbing down from her branch. The dog grabs the boy by his arm and growls. The boy looks to his right and realizes the train is coming much too late. The train blasts its horn and the breaks skid.
The boy try's to move but trips on his shoe laces, falling on his hands and knees. The train is about six feet away when I see my double out of the corner of my eye, sprinting towards the boy. She grabs him by the caller and yanks him as hard as she can to the right. He tumbles over the rail, rolling to his knees, safe. I can hear Seth's heart pounding next to me and I look at him out of the corner of my eye. He stands so close his shoulder is almost touching mine. His back is ridged and his hands are clenched into tight fists.
I look back to my double and I know what's about to happen. she looks to the right, squinting and puts her hands up in front of her face, a useless attempt to block the impact. She tries to turn and run at the last second but she is out of time. I squeeze my eyes shout and there is a short cry fallowed by a deadened thud.
Alright so that's the full chapter, feel free to give any constructive criticism!
It has been four hours since I ran from the strange building and into the cover of the forest. Considering the time I've run for, I'm not the least bit tired, in fact I feel strong, possibly stronger than I've ever felt. I stop running and put my hand on my chest, feeling my pounding heart. I let myself sink to my knees, one hand still on my chest, while the other finds the crock of my arm. I slid it along feeling the place where they had cut into my broken skin replacing the bone with a smooth mettle hinge. There is no scar therefore no proof, besides my memories, that it ever happened.
I sit here for a while and think about all that has happened in the past day or so. I remember I was sleeping when I heard a small metallic clink next to my right ear and woke up. Sleep was peaceful after all the pain I'd been through. I remember it was a strange shifting sleep, waking ever few hours to the pain of brocken bones and a burning headache. I only would have time to get small, quick flashes of the things going on around me, hands working quickly over my Brocken body, and sometimes the young man that now chases me would ask what my name was and if I could see him, then they would quickly inject a small needle into my arm and I would be asleep in seconds. Waking brought back the headache, but to my amazement, I had been healed.
The sound came from him, the young man, removing wires and tubes from my body. He told me to stay calm but I panicked, ripping out the rest and trying to run. He caught me and tried to get me to lay down again, but I fought him and made it out in to the hall, only to be stopped yet again by waiting guards. I discovered that I was too small to fight them all, but I was faster. I was able to get around them by confusing them, making them run in all directions.
I lean my head up against one of the many closely growing trees and press my hands to my forehead, press the memory away. I want to cry but the tears won't come. I hear movement close by behind the dark trees. listening carefully I get to my feet. I don't want to move, I just want to lay down right here and fall asleep. Carefully I start to move in the other direction, keeping behind trees but ready to run again if I need to. I try to keep my footsteps light and as soundless as possible, gently sliding my bare feet over fallen branches and dead leaves. I can hear his heart beating so fast, why is he scared? He is the chaser and I am the chased. I guess the better question would be how can I hear his heart? I stop again so I don't confuse his steps with mine. He has stopped as well. It is as If he is somehow anticipating my next moves, I can't get away.