*Yolen's POV*

My breath is sharp, I look back and don't see Olivia anywhere. I started to get worried, did I make a mistake? Is my nightmare coming true? I stop running, and I turn back toward the path.

"Oli? Where are you?" I shout as I put a hand up to my mouth as I do, I start to walk back into the forest cautiously. I hear a scream ... It sounded like Olivia ... I start to panic, and I begin to run.

"OLIVIA? COME OUT! THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!" I shout again. I run through the mass array of trees, and I hear the twigs and leaves crunch under my feet as I run. Suddenly, a tree root caught my foot, I fell on my face, and I let out a small, muffled scream. I lift myself, and I feel my nose start to bleed, I rub my nose and whine.

"Great ... just what I needed .... I must go back for Olivia ... but I can't risk my own life being taken for my carelessness ..." I mumble to myself, I look down at my pants, and they're stained with dirt. I dust away the gravel and dirt, and the fabric by my knees is stained brown. I shift my ankle, and it hurts to move around, I let out a grunt as I wince in pain. I looked back at the exit of the trees. I felt my eyes start to water, and I sprinted the best I could toward the exit, knowing I lost both of my best friends in two days. I heard whispers and screams in the distance, almost like they were coming toward me. I hurry out of the trees, and I dive onto the ground. I feel my breath leave my chest for a moment as I slam into the ground, my body is screaming in pain. I forced myself to sit up, and I rubbed my ankle, trying to ease the pain. After a few minutes or so, it felt like I slowly attempted to stand up, and my ankle buckled in pain. I start to walk down the sidewalk, making it toward my street. I continue to shuffle my way down the sidewalk, my ankle dragging my foot a little. My left eye winced in pain, and my leg tensed up a bit. I see the familiar houses from afar, and a smile of hope spreads across my face. I started to sprint down the street, not caring about my twisted ankle.

I can feel my ankle screaming in pain, begging me to stop sprinting, it wants a break. I arrive at my house, panting and gasping for air. I fumble with the keys in my pocket and open the door, exhausted. I walk in, limping, and flop onto the couch, ready to fall asleep. I heard shuffling from the dining room, and my mom was there, still in her work uniform. She still had on her nametag, which was weird since she never kept it on longer than a few hours. I look down at the nametag and read her name repeatedly: Cassandra Olene. I shoved my face into a pillow that was on the couch.

"Hi Mom... How is your day ...?" I asked, my voice raspy and tired sounding, I didn't sound the most pleasant. But my mom still did her normal smile and sat beside me.

"My day was amazing, honey, now that you'rehome, how about you take a nap? You sound ... you look tired. What happened toyou? You're all dirty and sweaty, almost like you ran all the way home?"Cassandra asked, she cupped my cheek and rubbed her thumb back and forth in acomforting way. I yawn, grab another pillow, and start to cuddle the pillow.I've always been touch-starved, and almost everyone knew that. My mom patted myhead and went back into the dining room. I can feel my body relax as I driftoff into a deep sleep.