Running Bear

"Chasing Shadows: A Boy's Escape from Fate"

• Fiction
• Fable

								
My name is Kai Runningbear, I grew up on a reservation in Chinle Arizona and this was the time I almost didn't make it home. I was 15 and I had just come from a basketball game. The gymnasium was about 9 miles from my house. I think I asked just about everyone and anyone for a ride home because we all know you don't walk home alone on any rez. Maybe because of drunk drivers or coyotes, or… maybe because of other bad Omens we don't speak of out loud. How little I knew. 
I take a deep breath and decide to turn the other cheek as I  prepare myself for my 9-mile trek through Chinle’s only forest. I kick rocks as I walk, part of me is mad because no one would give me a ride, the other part of me is scared of what one might come across out here alone. Not even a mile in, I think I'm hearing things but I pay no mind I know something… or someone is watching me, I feel it's eyes follow me but my brain won't allow my body to check.
 5 miles deep, only three left, no turning back now. The path which was once lit by the starry night was suddenly darkened by untamed trees. I grabbed my backpack straps and let my eyes adjust to the new found darkness. As I turn still following the path I see bright red eyes in my peripheral vision. I stop dead in my tracks, a single shiver trickling down my back. I look around only to find nothing. Maybe my mind has gotten the best of me. I shudder then continue walking. “Kai…Kai” a fragile voice whispers. I look up, frantically searching only to find no one. Now facing forward once more my slow pitiful walk turns into a speed walk. With each call of my name my pace quickens, eventually becoming a dead sprint. I know I have a full mile left and I don't know if I can make it. My legs feel like jelly and my arms feel like they're about to fall off, but my mind forces any and all thoughts out of my head. 
Turning for the final stretch I see my home. A warm welcoming light from the window and black cloudy smoke from the chimney eases my mind only a little. I'm running as hard as my legs can take but something inside is telling me I won't make it. I can practically taste my heartbeat and I know I can't go on much longer.
A sudden pain from my ankle sends me stumbling onto the ground, holding my now throbbing ankle, tears begin to blur my vision. I know whatever was calling to me was not far behind. I crawl away from the path I've been following and into the forest. Dead silence for what felt like hours. The silence is broken by the sound of leaves crunching and coming towards me. My heart is beating out of my chest and I can hardly breathe. I let out a small shaky breath and try to move backwards. As fate would have it, a cluster of leaves lay dead behind me. The world fell silent once more. I knew whatever was out there had heard me. 
“Son…son, where are you?” I feel my heartbeat begin to accelerate. The elders of the tribe always told stories about a tall skeleton woman with long strands of black hair in patches scattered around her scalp, with glowing red eyes that could stop a heart. They’d say she's looking for her son who wandered into this very forest, only to never come back out. If she caught you and you weren't her son, she’d kill you out of spite so that Chinles parents would feel what she felt all those years ago. 
I hold my breath and hope for the best but deep down I know I only have one chance to make it out of this forest alive. After some internal arguing I decided to take the risk. Quietly I take a deep breath and slowly stand up wiggling my ankle around making sure it’s stable enough to run on. 
Taking deep breaths, I stabilize my heart rate before dropping my backpack knowing it would alert her. I waste no time and take off running faster than I ever had before. I hear her pounding footsteps behind me, each one a thunderous boom. “SON GET BACK HERE” she screeches. My heart ached with panic, I feel my knees starting to betray me but my feet kept moving. My mind urging me to run faster. 20 more feet I can do it.
 Last 10 feet and I'm basically flying. Her ear-shattering footsteps trail a few feet behind mine, but I'm already in the driveway. I swing the door open with such force, I’m surprised it didn't fall off its hinges. I make it inside and instantly I'm flooded with relief. After maybe a 30 second pause hunched over clutching my chest and trying to catch my breath I slowly walk up to the tiny window and peek outside. Her grotesque lanky figure and glowing red eyes stare straight into mine with a look I'm not sure how to describe. Slowly, she turns around and walks back into Chinles only Forest. 
So if you take anything for my story, just remember don't walk home alone on any rez ever.
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