As the daylight meets my face, my eyes slowly flutter open. I sit up and look around. What happened? Where am i? I think my plane crashed. I look around, taking in the scenery. A large jungle on a small island surrounded by the sea. i look over at the scattered plane scraps surrounding me. I look sown at myself. My clothes are shredded, leaving me nearly bare. The island is quiet, save for the rustling of reptiles and the ocean waves crashing against the shore. I stand up and nearly stumble back down. My legs are cut, blood trickling down my calve. I stumble towards the water, sitting down in the sand and letting the waves tickle my feet. I watch the birds that fly by, waiting for something -Anything- to come help me. I hear a loud rustling coming from the forest, then a loud crash, like metal being slammed into a tree. I turn around, looking for the cause of the noise. My eyes widened in fear. My body shakes violently. I take a slow step back and look right into its eyes...(to be continued)

I could feel my heart racing in my chest as I locked eyes with the mysterious creature standing before me. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Its long, slender body was covered in sleek fur, and it had piercing red eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light of the jungle.

I stumbled back, my hands shaking as I tried to process what I was seeing. Without warning, the creature let out a spine-chilling screech and lunged towards me.

I didn't waste a second. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I turned on my heels and sprinted into the dense jungle, my bare feet pounding against the damp earth. The creature was right on my heels, its menacing growls echoing through the trees.

I knew I had to keep running, to keep ahead of the creature chasing me. I dodged branches and leaped over fallen logs, my breath coming in ragged gasps. But no matter how fast I ran, the creature seemed to be gaining on me.

I could hear its heavy footsteps and ragged breathing getting closer and closer. Panic gripped me as I realized I was lost in the jungle, with nowhere to hide and no idea how to escape.

I pushed myself to run faster, my heart pounding in my chest. The creature let out another ear-splitting screech, sending shivers down my spine. I knew I had to find a way out, to somehow survive this terrifying ordeal.

But as the creature closed in on me, I could feel the fear consuming me. I was running for my life, with no end in sight. And as I felt the creature's hot breath on my neck, I knew that this was far from over.

I burst through a curtain of vines and promptly tripped over my own feet because fear apparently turns coordination into a rumor. Behind me the creature kept pace, sounding offended, like I had skipped a very important introduction. I shouted without turning around, This is a terrible first meeting, and the jungle answered by throwing another root at my toes.

"Do you always run from strangers?", the creature called, its voice unsettlingly articulate for something with glowing eyes. I gasped back, "Only the ones who scream and try to eat me." It huffed, deeply wounded, I have not decided that yet.

We crashed through ferns together, an unwilling jogging club of two. I asked, between breaths, "Are you gaining on me or am I just slowing down emotionally?"

"You are slowing down philosophically", it replied, which felt unnecessary and rude.

The trees thinned ahead and the ground dipped into shadow, promising either escape or a much worse chapter. I kept running anyway because stopping felt like feedback. Behind me the creature laughed softly and said, "Relax, this is just the beginning."