Hello, so I wasn't going to post this today. I actually was going to wait until Monday or after I got settled at my new house. Yet, it is Friday and well, everyone deserves a break on Friday's. Plus, I have the next two chapters completed anyhow, although they will not be posted until next week. I do hope you all enjoy this. I usually shoot for a 5K word count each chapter, but with this it's going to be 3-5K each chapter. So, please enjoy. The next chapter...bah.

Now if any of you are Edge of Night fans, I am still working on the sequel. I don'y have an official Beta, but a good friend does look over my chapters for me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this work in progress of mine. This is going to be fun for me. I am quite excited on where this is going to go. I will also warn, after the big scene, the story isn't going to be just like the books or movies. My story is already going to be slight AU.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

She took it back. She missed the forest. At least in the forest she was protected by the trees. It was cold out here, being in the open air. Taylor spent more time gawking at her surroundings then actually staying on the course she was meant to. Several times she had stop and turn back in the correct direction. There was nothing out here but grass and hilltops.

Sure, a few trees were or there and, in some parts, there were a cluster of them. Boulders and other rocks were littered all over the landscape as well. Wildflowers that she had never seen before grew in droves everywhere she looked. For a moment, it was like she was Yellowstone again. Where the Buffalo roamed freely over the plains.

When it grew dark, she tried to find the best place for her to rest. She could see at night, when the clouds weren't obscuring the light of the moon; but she was too afraid to walk in the dark. Some 6th sense whispering to her that it wasn't safe.

So, she would curl up near rocks, sliding between them if they were big enough, or near any trees that were around. If she thought the Forest was creepy at night with the wildlife, then this was down right petrifying. The sounds she could hear, coming from around her was enough to keep her awake.

At one point she thought she heard voices, but they were garbled and warped and by the time she had made it out of her hiding spot, the voices were gone. She heard horrifying screams of animals as they died, and other frightful things. Needless to say, she had gotten little to no sleep the past few nights.

One night she had fallen asleep curled under a bush, not realizing that it was the home of some kind of bugs and she woke up in the middle of the night with them crawling all over her and biting into her flesh. They weren't ants, but their bites left her itching and she had red dots over her legs and arms now, more not seen under her dress.

She was also getting dehydrated again. There weren't any water sources out here, that she could tell. Well, none that she had found yet. Food was on short supply. She found a berry bush and tried eating some, but she ended up making herself violently sick. She stayed clear of those kinds if berries for now on. She was lucky to come across some clovers and she ate a few of the grass tasting plants. Unlike cattails, these tasted awful without being boiled, but with how hungry she was, she didn't care.

Her biggest obstacle was the cold. She didn't know why, but it was so much colder out here. The nights were the worst. She would lay awake hugging herself as her teeth chattered loudly from the cold.

It wasn't like inside the forest, it kept itself warm and the denser the foliage the warmer the air that seemed to be in it's midst. It was able to retain the warmth and keep the cold from the outside world out.

From how cold it was getting, Taylor could only guess that it was approaching winter. Which threw her for a loop. Just the other day it was June, the summer had just started. So, how was it winter? Unless she was on the other side of the world and if that was the case. Taylor was seriously going to throw a tantrum when she found whoever dumped her here.

They had a lot to answer for and she was going to get her answers.

"Ow! Dang it!"

She started to hop on foot when she stepped on something sharp. She ended up falling on her rear end to inspect her now bleeding foot. What the hell? She turned her angry eyes back to the ground, her brows pulling down as she noticed something shiny reflect the suns light.

Reaching out with a shaky hand, she picked up whatever the object was and studied it. An arrow tip? It was dark in color and was just the tip and maybe a few inches of the black shaft. Why would there be an arrow out here?

Growling in annoyance she looked back at her foot. It wasn't bleeding to severely, only a small cut that ran along the arch of her foot. Great, that was just great. She wasn't ripping anymore of her dress, so instead she took her hair down and wrapped the piece she was using as a hair tie around her foot.

Her hair. She was disgusted by its state. It was so tangled and oily. She would kill for some shampoo and soap. Heck, just some warm water to soak in.

Thoughts of all the luxury items she used to have access to was making her depressive mood all the more depressing. She was never taking running water or hygiene products for granted again! If she was ever able to find civilization and was able to bathe and BRUSH, HER TEETH!

She didn't even want to know how badly her breath smelt. From the taste in her mouth, she knew it wasn't pleasant. Plus, she was filthy all over. Her legs and feet had turned black from the dirt and her poor dress; dirt and mud stained. Her arms and face weren't any better. All streaked with dirt and other filth.

Finally done feeling sorry for herself, she stood backup and looked down at the arrow tip in her hands. Deciding to keep it, just in case, she tucked it into a small hole on the side of her dress and started walking yet again. She missed cars, and transportation.

The sun was hidden today. Dark clouds rolled over the sky and she prayed to whatever gods were out there that it did not rain. They obviously didn't hear her or care because a crack of thunder was heard a few moments later.

If she knew one thing, it wasn't safe to be out in the open if it rained. Then again, they also said not to be near a tree in a lighting storm. As if on cue, lightning struck the ground somewhere in front of her. Not close enough that it was near her, but close that the flash of it momentarily blinded her.

As she blinked the spots from her eyes, the rain started to fall. In a matter of minutes, she was soaked to the bone. Not wanting to be an overly whiny person, she used the downpour to try and clean the dirt off herself. A quick glance around and she found a small pile of boulders nearby. She pulled the arrow from her dress and laid it down and after a few moments, pulled her dress off over her head. She felt awkward standing there in nothing but her underwear, but she didn't have a choice. She laid her dress out on one of the boulders and sat down on smaller one.

Her back was against the larger and she tilted her face up to let the rain run down it. Rubbing her hand over her body, she tried getting as much dirt off as she could. All to soon though, she was shivering as the cold set in.

Standing up, she picked her dress up and pulled it back over her head. It didn't help fight off the cold, being wet, but at least her body had some kind of protection. She curled back up on the smaller rock and burrowed back between the two others. She tilted her head back once more and opened her mouth.

She must have looked like a fool, her mouth open like that. However, as the cool rain washed over her sore throat she did not care. She did this for several minutes, hoping whatever went in her mouth would keep the dehydration at bay and give her body some kind of relief. She gripped her arrow shaft in her hand tightly as she tried to huddle as close as possible to rocks. Her shaking never ceasing, she was so cold.

Somehow, she was able to fall asleep. It didn't last long though, as she woken up by her violent shivers. As her eyes blinked open, she was aware of the moonlight now bathing her face. The storm clouds had moved on but left behind an unbearable coldness. She knew the longer she sat still, her body not getting any warmth. The higher her risk of catching pneumonia or hypothermia.

Daylight was still several hours away, but she needed to move. Her legs protested the movement as she forced herself to stand. Every step sent painful tremors up her legs. Like a thousand pinpricks, only it was worse than the feeling of when your foot fell asleep. She whimpered with every step. She kept her arms tucked closely to her chest as she walked.

By the time the sun rose and offered any sibilance of warmth, she was already showing signs of sickness. Her nose was running, and her shivering was worse. Her pulse had gotten weak and her breathing was shallower, and she knew certain parts of her skin were blue.

This was not good, not good at all. If she could cry, she knew she would be. Yet, no tears formed. Walking wasn't doing anything to warm her body and if she didn't find someway to get warm fast. Taylor wasn't going to make it past another day. As she walked, she felt more and more miserable. All to soon it was becoming night once more and the little warmth the sun offered was snuffing itself out.

She slipped as she was walking up a rather tall hill and ended up face planting the ground. Pushing herself up, she spit the mud that made it into her mouth out. So much good her little rain bath did. She was once more covered in mud, down the front of her body. She contemplated just laying there till death took her.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans for her because at that moment. She heard something, up ahead on the other side of the hill. Voices. People were talking.

A sense of hope flared within her chest and she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could up the hill and came to a stop at the top. Down below a small fire was going and there people around it. They looked big and from their skin color, they were darker than normal.

She didn't care though, there was someone ALIVE! She hurriedly made her way down the hill and came to a stop about ten feet away from their small camp. The smile on her face was wiped off when she was able to catch a glimpse of the people as they turned towards her.

Never in her life had Taylor ever seen something so horrifyingly ugly! There were 8 of them and they were all staring at her with their big, red and yellow eyes. Their skin colors were a range of green, grey and black.

They were short in stature and humanoid in shape. A few were flat-nosed and sallow-skinned. All of them were bow-legged, with wide mouths and slanted eyes, with long arms and fangs. They had fangs! Sharp teeth stuck out from their mouth, their skin looked rotted and decayed.

"What this? A mortal girl." One of them spoke and Taylor blinked at the creature.

What the hell?! Terror froze her heart in her chest and she forgot about her body possibly succumbing to hypothermia. What the heck were these things! She took a few steps back when they advanced on her and it was at that moment she noticed the weapons in their hands.

"She looks tasty. Barely any meat on her though. Does it squeal?" Another said, although it sounded like it was having a tough time talking, its mouth snapping oddly, and its tongue came out to lick at the air.

Oh god, oh god. She was going to die. As they crept closer she took more steps back. One stepped on a twig and snapped it, making her jump. One of them took that opportunity to jump at her and she screamed as she moved away, but it's dirty weapon still grazed over her thigh.

A hand found its way around her throat and she was lifted off her feet and into the air. Her eyes stared down in horror at the thing, its rancid breath making her gag as her legs kicked the air helplessly.

"Can you scream, mortal girl?" The creature asked as it pulled her face closer. "I say we have some fun with her first."

Taylor's green eyes widened in both revulsion and panic. As the beast licked her face, she felt something brush her thigh and suddenly remembered her arrow tip. Her hand fell away from trying to pull the monsters hand from her throat as she grasped the arrow and pulled it out. Without hesitating, she plunged it into the beast's eye.

It howled and dropped her. As the others froze to watch the one she stabbed, she took that moment to stumble to her feet and took off running. The sound of their shrieking could be heard as they gave chase. She could feel her own blood running down her thigh from where it was cut before by one of them. That didn't stop her though.

She never looked back for fear of tripping and falling on her face. Instead she ran as fast as she could. Ignoring the pain in her legs, feet and throat. In the cover of darkness, she was at a disadvantage but that didn't stop her. Not once did she slow, even when her breathing become harsh and it hurt to even try and make her lungs work.

The warmth her body was getting from running was clashing horribly with the cold that had settled inside her bones. Her body temperature was rising, but not from the exertion, but from a fever. She was literally running herself to her death.

As she broke free on top another hill, she let out a cry when something whizzed past her ear and imbedded in the trunk of the tree next to her. It was a black arrow. She took one moment to glance over her shoulder and found them running up the hill she had just went up.

Her momentum didn't stop as she ran as fast as she could down the hill, and she ended up tripping over her own feet. Rocks cut into her hands and legs, but that still did not stop her. Tears were now flowing freely down her dirt stained cheeks, as she pushed herself up and started to run again. A limp was in her step, slowing her down more.

She needed to find a place to hide. The clouds moved away from the moon and in the darkness, she could see it up ahead. Trees, lots and lots of trees. A forest! If she could only make it there! It looked to be a good mile away and the stretch of land between her and there was nothing but grass.

No boulders, no trees. Nothing. There was nothing to protect her from the monsters chasing her.

Their shrieking was growing closer and Taylor decided she didn't care. She took off running once more and didn't slow down at all. Her body was being weighed down heavily from bone deep fatigue. She could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears, as it tried to pump blood into her frozen veins.

Another scream left her when a sharp pain hit her side and she risked the glance down as an arrow sailed in front of her. She had just stumbled, and that stumble had caused the arrow fired at her to miss its mark and graze her side.

Come on body. Don't give out on me!

She silently begged as the tree line grew closer and closer. Her side was burning, a slow fire making its way up her side and into her chest. Her body started to weaken. As soon as she cleared the trees and ran into the forest, it gave out.

She was maybe, 70 to 80 feet within the borders of the trees when the strength in her legs failed and she crumbled to the ground. She lay there, her face pressed into the soft grass as she struggled to breath. Short, shallow gasps of air was all she could manage.

The hollow pain that spread throughout her flesh, was mending its way inside her soul. She was numb, no feeling was in her legs anymore. The sweat on her body was cold and her shivering returned with a vengeance as she lay there.

It didn't take long for those beasts to come crashing into the forest after her. She blinked blurry eyes, their figures hard to make out from the fog that was hovering over her mind. She could hear them chuckling to each other. Commenting on how she had nothing left, she was defeated. Angry tears spilt over her cheeks. They were right, she was defeated. She had nothing left.

No strength to even stand, no strength to even move one tired, useless muscle. As one came forward, it kicked her in her stomach roughly. She cried out in pain as her body was knocked back a few feet. The power that beast had in its kick was like nothing she had ever felt before.

Another kick to her ribs and she screamed louder as white-hot agony erupted in her side. Her ribs were definitely just broken or cracked. Her hair was roughly grabbed, and she was yanked off the ground to stare into blurry yellow eyes, her arrow tip was still sticking out of its eye.

A fist landed on her face and she whimpered as her lip was split open. As the thing drew its arm back once more, she seen the knife in its hand. She was truly about to die. Die at the hands of a monster. She kept her eyes open as its smiled evilly at her, in joy at the pain she was in, the joy it was about to get from killing her.

As the thing moved to stab her, it froze, its eyes going wide and then she was dropped. The knife fell from its other hand and then it to fell forward next to her. She instantly spotted the arrow sticking out of its back.

She could hear the other beasts shrieking and could faintly make out the sound of the soft thunk their bodies made as they too fell to the forest floor dead. Still, she did not move. Her blurry eyes stayed fixed on the dead beast next to her.

Feeling slowly left her body and she was sinking into the blackness around her. She didn't feel the hands that gently took hold of her arms and rolled her over. Her eyes didn't see the one that was speaking to her. In a language that even if she were aware, she would not know. She did not feel herself being lifted into strong arms. She was to numb. Body, mind and soul. She had no feeling.

Her last thought was on that blonde haired little boy and why she kept seeing him before she let it all slip away into darkness.

OOHHHHHH! We are finally there! Where I wanted to be and now the really fun stuff begins. So! Let's go. Well, the next update is going to be in a week, so I hope to see you all there.

Review replies:

The Observer 2.0: It will be a long one yes, I have the first 40 or so chapters already fleshed out and mapped out. Thank you for your review!

Till we meet again. Next week.