Twenty minutes later into the forest, the cool night air stung the cheeks of Samantha and her brother as they charged through the forest, just like the Vampire Lord had commanded them.
Their breaths were heavy and the sole of their feet felt sore to the ground, but it wasn't enough to break their will of making it out of this alive.
Although they had no idea what was chasing them, they both knew they had to keep running until they felt safe.
The lights from the moon reflected off their eyes, giving them a ghostly appearance in the midst of the barren trees.
The sounds of their frantic footsteps crunched on the lifeless ground, echoing through the empty woods.
The branches of the trees were devoid of any leaves, their shapes looking like gnarled fingers trying to grasp at anything that passed by.
The trees themselves looked dead, their bark dry and brittle with deep grooves in their trunks
Running through the lifeless forest where nothing grew, both siblings shuddered as they imagined the animals that once resided in these woods, now likely nowhere to be found.
Samantha was only starting to take notice of her surroundings as she kept running, her brother's hand was safely trapped in hers to avoid being separated from one another.
The lifeless forest was nothing new to the people of EmptyHollow. During the day, the area was still creepy, but now in the darkness, it felt downright terrifying.
The lifeless forest was a representative to the disappearance of the sacred orb.
As they ran deeper into the forest, they could hear twigs snapping under their bare feet.
"Ah..! Ouch!"
Maurice stumbled over a rock, and Samantha quickly helped him up to his feet, but they didn't stop running despite being exhausted to the bone. Before they could give up, they immediately sighted a clearing ahead, and they knew they would be exposed there, but they had no other option.
It was either that, or they would have to stay here where their safety could not be clarified.
Bursting into the clearing, the moonlight revealed a sea of lifeless trees with not a single leaf on them. Presently, both siblings could no longer continue on the painful journey as their legs gave in, and Maurice was the first to sink to the ground, breathless and sweaty.
They both gasped for air as they glanced at each other, their faces pale with fear.
Samantha quickly reached for her brother's cheeks, cupping them in her palms as her concerned eyes raked him from head to toe.
"Are you… are you alright? Are you hurt?" She whispered worriedly, fighting back every drop of her tears as this wasn't the perfect time to start lamenting on how she had left her Father behind.
"Father.."
"Shhh…" she silenced her brother when he sounded too audible for their situation right now, but she never scolded him.
With their eyes filled to the brim with tears, they could only embrace each other in the middle of the woods. Swallowing their pain was the only possible way to make it out of here alive, or else, they would die along with their Father.
Looking around quickly, Samantha realized there was no place they could possibly go to. It was eerily quiet in the woods - no birds, no squirrels, nothing, just the sound of their pounding heartbeat accelerating against their chests.
For a moment, it seemed like they were safe, or maybe it was their minds still playing games with them, but Samantha could feel they were eyes resting on her.
Looking at her exhausted brother, she pulled back and gestured with her hands. 'Stay here while I take a look around for a place we can stay for the night.'
Getting the message, her brother's face contoured in disapproval, and he shook his head in disagreement. Holding his sister's wrist, he stopped her from wandering into the woods alone.
It would be life threatening for the two of them to be apart.
"Just stay here!" Samantha whispered harshly, releasing her wrist from her brother's grip. "I promise I'll be back, just wait here for me!"
She assured her brother, wanting him to trust her on this one, and it took a few minutes before he finally approved with a slight nod of his head. She reminded him to stay quiet before releasing herself from his reluctant grip.
Gathering her courage whilst it was for their own safety, Samantha stepped carefully into the barren ground. She had no idea what could be lurking in the woods at this time of the night, the air around it felt unhealthy and unsafe. It was much better to proceed in silence than draw any sort of attention towards their location.
What if the Vampire Lord is out on a hunt for them?
Keeping her worries at bay, Samantha tried to stay focused, and she kept moving.
Her emerald green-eyes that gleamed in the darkness of the night, tried to sauce out any form of reasonable hideout that could contain her brother and her till dawn, but as she kept moving, she suddenly heard her brother scream out her name.
His panicked voice pierced through the darkness.
"SAMANTHA!!!"
Alarmed, she immediately swirled to look in the direction of her brother, but before she could take any steps in his direction, something hard hit her behind the head, wiping her out instantly.