Random Story From Writing Exercise

       Dailee’s legs were starting to go numb as he forced them to push past the pain. His breath completely out of sync as his lungs desperately pulled at the stinging, cold air. He was running against the wind now with erratic gusts threatening to knock him off the rocky path.

       The sky, a sea of gray with hints of amber as the light of day started to diminish. Dailee suppressed the rising panic. He needed to stay focused. He needed to stay logical and use the information to maneuver around the situations. He couldn’t afford to become swallowed up by emotions rising from what "could" happen, or what "might" have already happened. Regardless of what may have transpired, Dailee had to do what he could to keep the situation from reaching a point of no return.

        Sticks and fallen branches crunched underfoot as he entered the dead forest. The naked trees, pale gray, skeletons of what they once were, loomed around him. People who venture through this forest always felt as though the trees were watching them as they passed. Dailee felt no different. It was known to be dangerous to be near this place at nightfall, to be stuck in the middle of it would not help his situation. He just had to keep running. Keep his mind on not stopping.

        It was completely silent. The only sounds coming from Dailee’s breath and footsteps. "How much further?" he thought to himself, "I must at least make it out of this cursed place." It was becoming increasingly difficult to see the ground in front of him. Every step seemed to be coming down slower and slower.

        Dailee’s strength of will no longer reached his body as the cold and fatigue took its toll. He told himself to keep moving even if he had to crawl out of here. Then he heard a crunching sound between his footsteps. "No," he thought to himself, "It was probably from the irregular steps my numbing legs are causing." Dailee just kept running. But before he knew it, he could no longer see the forest floor or even the sky. The only things strangely still visible were the pale trees surrounding him.

       *SNAP* Dailee tripped over the dark, uneven terrain and tumbled to a stop. He coughed and slowly started to get up again then, *CRUNCH.* Dailee froze. Something has been following him. He tried his best to suppress his breathing but failed. *CREEEEK* another noise sounding like wood under pressure.