Free Dark and Twisted by Heidi Acosta

of not being alone grows in the pit of my stomach like a weed. I will my feet not to bolt as the sensation of being watched prickles at the back of my neck. Goose flesh spreads down my arms, and a cold shiver runs up my back.
    “I am alone there is no one else in here with me,” I whisper. The only sound is my heart racing and the alarms ringing in my head, telling me I am in danger. Run, run, run. Just a little farther and I will be out of these woods.
    I am about to take off when a dark figure dashes across my peripheral vision. I scream and my heart stops beating. I spin around, but I can’t see who it is. The silence of the woods is like a weight, and I drag in a sharp, icy breath that burns my lungs.
    I can’t stop shaking. “Hello?” My teeth chatter together, and my heart slams into my rib cage. I wipe the sweat off on my jeans and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I am no good if I panic. It is just probably someone else using the shortcut, and they are more than likely long gone. I’m letting my imagination get the best of me.
    I close my eyes and count to three before opening them again, and the dark hooded figure stands in front of me. This time, my scream cuts through the fog.

Chapter Eight
    Blood pounds in my ears and my stomach plummets to my feet as I squint to get a better look at who it is, but the fog turns him into a shadow. My mind reels, attempting to figure out who would be in the woods besides me.
    It could be Buck, he lives a few houses away and could have seen me go into the woods. It would be typical for him to get laugh out of trying to scare me, but this is not funny.
    “Buck, is that you? Very funny. You scared me. Now you can go and tell everyone.” I call out, but as I do, I realize that it can’t be him. The person in front of me has a tall, thin build, besides Buck couldn’t go this long without insulting me. Dread washes over me at the realization. “I’m sure that you would like to get around me and continue on with your evening stroll.”
    He remains as still as a statue, his eyes burning through me. My throat dries and my mind races on a way around him. Why did I fake being sick the weekend Liv signed us up for the self-defense class? I’m out here, alone and unarmed. How stupid of me. I do a mental inventory of the continents of my bag: wads of paper, my notebook, a chewed pen, a tattered copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, half a bag of sour gummy worms, and my emergency tampon. Crap. What am I going to do? Tampon him to death? Smart, Eden. “So, yeah, my boyfriend is waiting on the other side for me.” I point past him. “Perhaps you saw him? He’s big and extremely jealous, the captain of the football team. I hate to keep him waiting. He gets in these fits of jealous rage, and last time, he beat up some poor guy just for asking me for directions.” I let out a nervous giggle at my lie.
    “Okay, so I am going to go now.” My made-up story doesn’t send him scurrying in fear the way I hoped it would, and I have wasted too much time, the gray sky is starting to deepen to a charcoal black. The last thing I want to do is be in the dark woods with some kidnapper \ —or worse.
    I push the strap of my bag up on my shoulder and start to walk, each step becoming a little faster. Veering off the path slightly, I leave a wide berth between me and the stranger while keeping my eyes on him. His face is completely hidden by the hood of his sweat shirt. He has on black Doc Martins that strap up to his knees. I have nothing to give to the police if I need to.
    He turns his head, following my every movement. I continue to glance over my shoulder to make sure the stranger remains where he is. I’m pretty sure this is all a sick and twisted joke. Someone probably saw me entering the woods and thought it would be funny to scare me. It’s not.
    The trail ends in a few hundred feet, and I am so close to being out of these woods. As soon as I step out, I will be on the