Excerpt from Mirror Image

*This is another excerpt from a book I just wrote. It's the introduction. Hope you like it! :)*

Stumbling and tripping, Kara ran through the dense forest, distancing herself as much as possible from her pursuer. Branches slapped her face, delivering stinging blows and leaving bloody scratches. Bramble and thorns caught at her jeans and tore the soft fabric of her shirt, delaying her progress. Tears streamed down her face as she blindly tore through the trees, thinking only that she had to get away. Her stomach involuntarily rumbled with hunger, and she blandly recalled that she had not eaten in an entire day. She pushed the thought from her mind and continued on her way, trying to ignore the steady noise of foliage being crushed as her hunter relentlessly pursued her. She cast a quick glance behind her, trying to see how close her hunter was and rendered a broken scream upon seeing him barely an inch from her face. Tripping over a root, she fell with a grunt into the dirt, her hands skimming rocks and breaking skin.

There he stood, staring down at her with a merciless, pitiless, gaze, ready to kill her at a moment's notice. Kara's breath came in short sobs, fear over taking her mind, her heart beating a thousand miles a minute right out of her chest. She felt a curdling sensation in the pit of her stomach and felt like she was going to vomit. Everything about her situation was nauseating. This man, or thing, just stood there without emotion preparing to kill her. Her life was about to end. How could this have happened? What had she done wrong in life? This was beyond unfairness- this was the epitome of cruelty, the bitter, harsh reality of what she never should have had to go through. She should be home, sitting on the couch with her cats watching the Notebook and crying about the misery of other people's lives. This should not be happening!

She closed her eyes, hoping that the terrifying vision before her would disappear when she opened them again. But he was still there, like some haunting ghost that would never fade away. And he was just staring at her. Or so she assumed. A thin, black cloth covered his entire face, hiding all of his features. But somehow, Kara knew that behind the mask were cold, black eyes, and a hard, cruel face. And still he did nothing. Kara took advantage of his silence to beg for her life.

"P-please....Let me l-live. Please!" she pleaded softly, her voice breaking and hoarse. There was silence again. Kara felt a throbbing pulse in her leg, and looked down in shock to find her leg bleeding profusely. She let out a silent gasp and tasted the salty tears on her chapped lips. She winced in pain as she felt a broken bone prod the skin of her arm. But it didn't hurt as much as she expected. She was blessedly immune to the blinding pain that she was expecting. Maybe her death wouldn't be painful either. She silently prayed that would be the case. And then her hunter spoke.