“You can’t run from me, Tiffany. Not until she comes back.”

The peaceful, quiet night was disturbed by the rustling of thick leaves and the snapping of twigs and branches as Tiffany scurried past them in the island’s forest.

The already exhausted girl was running for safety, enduring the fatigue that was slowing her down. Although she knew there was no way out of the island, she didn’t want to give up, thinking that Jessica would be back. Hoping. Wishing.

“There’s no point in running Tiffany!” The girl screamed out as she slowly followed the path that was left behind by Tiffany. “You’re just tiring yourself out! No one’s going to save you! Not even HER!”

With tears already in her weary eyes, Tiffany continued running, aimlessly, pointlessly, through the darkness that engulfed her in the forest. The scrapes and bruises that were already present on her once flawless skin was adding up. Her legs were starting to give in. Her eyes were starting to close. Her body was screaming in pain, but her heart was screaming the name of her other half, Jessica.

After seconds more of enduring, Tiffany’s body finally reached its limit.

As she ran past a tall, thick tree, she fell down on her knees. She took in long and deep breaths through her wide open mouth as her hands and arms prevented her from falling flat on her face. After doing so, she her dry lips with her even drier tongue and she wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. Then, she sat down on her and rested her back on a part of a tree. She closed her eyes, still breathing through , trying to replace the oxygen that she used up after running a few moments ago.

For minutes, Tiffany didn’t move. Her feet and legs, and her hands and arms were numb. She couldn’t feel a thing because of extreme exhaustion. She continued to breathe heavily, closing her eyes for a few moments.

“Jessica,” she uttered with a weak voice. “I… I need you. Where are you?”

The motionless girl remained as she was for nearly an hour, but something suddenly broke the silent and still atmosphere.

“Tiffany,” a voice called out. “Where are you?”

Leaves and twigs started cracking, breaking, rustling, as heavy feet walked on the forest floor.

“It’s better for you to come out and come with me, you know?” The girl continued to say. “Would you want me to force you to do so?”

The rustling continued to echo across the forest as it became louder, and as the girl started to get closer to where Tiffany was.

Still unable to move, Tiffany just closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Hoping that some miracle would happen. Hoping that the girl won’t find her. Hoping that Jessica will come and keep her safe. Hoping that everything will be okay again.

The girl continued to walk, following the trail that was left behind by Tiffany. She started to inch closer until the tracks ended beside a large, dark tree. She grinned as soon as she stopped walking. Soon enough, there was only the tree to separate Tiffany from the girl.

“Hmm. Now where could Tiffany be?” The girl yelled out mischievously, amused at the situation that was presented before her. “Surely, she wouldn’t be hiding behind the tree, would she?”

The girl stepped closer to the tree and slowly made her way around its base. After a few more tension-filled seconds, the girl jumped out in front of the tree, where Tiffany was supposedly hiding and resting.

“I found y–” the girl screamed out, expecting to see the terrified face and the worn out body of Tiffany.

Unfortunately for her, Tiffany wasn’t there, surprisingly.

“Huh?” The girl wondered to herself as she looked at the darkness around her. “Where’d she go?”

Apparently, the girl searched for Tiffany at the wrong tree. Tiffany was fortunately hiding on a different one, only a few steps away from where the other girl was.

It was a good thing that it was dark. The darkness was able to hide Tiffany well. If it were day instead of night, it would’ve only taken a few moments for Tiffany to be found.

Tiffany was still paralyzed in her spot, still unable to move due to exhaustion. But she knew her situation. She knew that although she was graced with time to spare, she needs to somehow escape soon.

And true enough, the time that was given to Tiffany would quickly be consumed. As an effect of not being able to find Tiffany as soon as she had wanted, the girl was filled with frustration.

In a matter of seconds, the girl that was previously confident with chasing Tiffany was now hastily searching every inch of the dark forest that engulfed both of the girls. She, angrily but diligently, searched every plant life, every tree, every shrub, ignoring the cuts and scrapes that came with it.

“Where are you?!” The girl screamed out. “Where are you Tiffany?! You better hope I don’t find you, ‘cause I’ll be doing bad things, very bad things to you when I do!”

The girl’s wild screaming and threats brought shivers down Tiffany’s spine. It frightened her. She has never encountered someone like this girl in her whole existence.

For a brief moment, Tiffany closed her eyes and tried to gather her strength. She slowly moved her legs, her right leg, then the left. Then, she lifted her back from the tree and she was soon standing on her two legs. Her hands were still on the tree as she tried to balance herself.

Tiffany looked at the other girl’s direction, and then turned her head to the opposite way. She took a deep breath, and then started running like hell, running for her life.

But after taking only three steps, something stopped her. A painful sting on her head sent her back down to the ground.

The demented girl was pulling on her hair.

Apparently, Tiffany caused too much noise, and the other girl was quick to notice it. Soon enough, Tiffany was back in the girl’s clutches once more.

“You think you can run? Huh? You think you can get away from me?” The girl asked repeatedly as she knelt down, grabbing Tiffany by the hair.

“Let go of me!” Tiffany screamed, putting up a fight, flailing her arms in desperation.

As Tiffany wildly flung her arms around, she was able to land a hit on the girl’s face. The girl yelped in pain and she let go of Tiffany’s hair.

Thinking quickly, tried to run away again, but the other girl quickly chased after her. And in a matter of seconds, the girl held Tiffany by the hair again.

She tried to drag Tiffany back to where they were hours before, but Tiffany was too wild for the girl to handle.

Finally, she had enough. She lifted Tiffany’s face up, clasped her fist, and attempted to punch Tiffany by the face.

Seeing what was about to happen to her, Tiffany just closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come. But it didn’t.

The other girl threw a punch, but it landed nowhere, and she ended up punching the air. She looked at her other hand, but instead of Tiffany’s whole head of hair, there were only a few strands of her hair that was left.

Tiffany was gone. She had disappeared.
 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Wh-where am I?” Tiffany asked herself as she opened her eyes.

She wasn’t at the dark forest anymore. She opened her eyes to an unfamiliar place. She was in a bright room, lying on a soft, warm bed.

The warmth of the sheets made her want to stay and get rest, but Tiffany knew that something was wrong and that she had to find out what it was.

Tiffany sat up on the bed, and took a good look around her. There was nothing in that room besides the bed… and a desk.

The desk was simple. It was oak-brown. It had a couple of drawers with golden knobs that were round and shiny. But the desk’s distinct feature was that there were numerous picture frames placed on top of it. It stirred Tiffany’s curiosity. It was her first time seeing such things.

Tiffany got up from the bed and walked towards the desk. She stopped for a moment and then picked up a picture frame. It was a family picture. In the picture, there was a very handsome man and an equally beautiful woman. Between them was a child. Tiffany looked closely at the child. It was a girl and she was a very familiar face. Tiffany stared for a few more moments until the bedroom door swung open.

Instinctively, Tiffany hid the photo frame inside her shirt, and waited for what was going to happen next.

A woman came in the room, and she saw Tiffany. The woman, obviously, screamed as a stranger was in her room.

Frightened, Tiffany ran outside the room, and then went down the staircase. And although unfamiliar with her surroundings, she was able to open the front door and she was able to run away.

But as she jumped over the house’s fence, the woman’s scream made her stop in her tracks. The woman screamed a familiar name, a name that she had been screaming for the past few hours, a name that belonged to a woman that she had been longing for.

“Jessica?”

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