You scrambled across the forest floor, the palms of your hands and soles of your feet torn to shreds after at least an hour of evading him.

Your lungs burned and your body screamed for air. Your mouth was bone dry and each breath felt like sand paper down your throat.

You didn’t have a chance to grab socks or shoes or even a jacket before you took off into the forest. You’d known your window of opportunity was narrow, and knew you couldn’t waste any of it- not unless you wanted to be dragged back to the cabin for certain.

You’d spent the first 15 minutes of your escape alternating between a jog and zig-zagging speed walk too tried to simultaneously put as much distance between you and John as possible and obscure your true path while you did so.

Then, you’d been startled by the sound of a twig snapping somewhere to your right. In hindsight, it could’ve been anything, and the chances that it had been John were slim to none. But it had been enough to spook you, sending you off in a full on sprint in the opposite direction.

You didn’t stop until you’d found your self dry heaving uncontrollably into the nearby foliage. It was only after coughing and heaving your guts out that you’d had enough sense to realize it was probably just an animal you’d spooked.

You’d made your break when John had gotten in the shower, knowing it would buy you time before he noticed you were gone. There was no way he was already caught up to you.

But even if so, you were exhausted- and on top of that, now you were lost too. It was a struggle to even keep walking after such a long sustained sprint. You’d been left with no choice but to pray your head start would be enough to keep you ahead of John- at least until you reached the main road.

But unfortunately, it was not enough. Only 15 minutes later, and you’d heard the John’s voice ring out loud and clear.

“Darling. I know you’re out there.” He hollered- and by god, your heart dropped. He was close, no more than a couple hundred feet away, and he was mad.