O Wanderer, Frozen Flame,

  We do not know you — nor your name.

  You seek no crown, you leave no track,

  But the moonlight follows you and won’t turn back.

  …

  He ran.

  That was all he could do.

  He had no destination, no plan—only the primal instinct to escape. The boy wasn't sure of many things, but he was certain of this one fact:

  If he stopped running, he would either die or wish for death.

  His breath was ragged and labored. Blood pounding in his head, each heartbeat making his temples throb with an unbearable intensity- as if they’d burst from sheer effort. His weary breath formed steam in the cold, frigid night air.

  The last remnants of rationality urged him to keep going, but he couldn’t resist throwing a glance behind him, seeing how close they were. Just one quick glance…

  His mistake.

  Terror seized him as he caught sight of them. a wave of dread washed over him, and he immediately cursed himself.

  That might be the last mistake he’ll ever get the chance to make.

  In the darkness of the night, the giant spiders moved forward with frenzied desperation. Their long, eight segmented legs stabbed the frozen earth with unnatural precision, each step driving icy shards into the air. They moved not like animals, but like grotesque clockwork, their limbs slicing through the ground in perfect synchrony.

  No creature should move like that

  The young boy didn’t know much, but he knew one thing for sure- they weren’t natural. No way.

  Their numerous purple eyes burned with intense hunger, as if catching the white-haired boy was their sole mission. As the chase continued, the frozen grass, mercilessly trampled upon by the horde of spiders, made a sort of strange rhythm that was both mesmerizing and eerie - an omen of dread. One would be surprised by their presence in the Last Forest, for they never left the Jebels.

  That, of course, the lost boy was unaware of. But ending up in their stomach wasn’t part of his plans either way.

  So, he ran.

  Of course, he couldn’t do that forever, and he would’ve been among the many casualties of these terrifying creatures if not for the soothing sound of a nearby river, reaching his ears like a much-needed melody, the most beautiful one, in this terrible night.

  Water.

  A river.

  Spiders hated water; he could remember that much, at least.

  He veered toward the sound, hope welling up his body with newfound energy.

  But of course, while the forest wasn’t very dense, the darkness and the haphazard terrain were bound to be his downfall, either tripping against something or colliding against a tree or bushes. It seemed the forest had switched sides on that one.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  And that’s exactly what happened.

  ‘Dammit!’

  His foot snagged on a root.

  Face first, he barely had time to register what was happening before he pitched forward, tumbling down a slope. His body hit the ground hard, scraping his hands and knees against the frozen earth.

  As if waiting for this moment, one of the giant monsters at the front of the pack spat out its web with frightening precision, landing on the now unmoving target and effectively ensnaring his leg.

  The river was barely twenty meters ahead.

  With surprising swiftness despite his erratic state, the youth ripped the fabric of his pants from the knee and pulled out his leg, leaving the boot inside the sticky substance.

  He got up, and with one last sprint, he dashed towards the now visible river, still unfrozen despite the cold temperature.

  He didn’t even bother to remove the second boot as his mind was focused on one thing:

  Reaching that godsent river.

  Unfortunately, that small blunder a moment ago allowed the horrifying horde to catch up, the distance between them, now only several meters, decreasing ever so rapidly.

  A few more attempts were made as several more jets of web were thrown, but by sheer luck, the closest one only managed to graze his hair.

  Fifteen meters.

  The river, now clear in view, unobstructed by the vegetation, appeared to be deep enough and quite large, the current moderately strong.

  Ten meters.

  Perhaps he wasn’t favored by the gods today. His leg, which was numb from the fall, started to swell up, pain slowly building up and crashing through his body. He gritted his teeth but kept moving, limping. His crimson eyes shone faintly as the pain subsided, now more bearable.

  Five meters.

  The disparate arachnes were now within reach as their legs fluidly pushed forward in an attempt to grab him.

  Four... Three…

  Another shot caught on his coat, making him trip, but he managed to keep his balance.

  Two...

  And as their claws were an inch away...

  He leaped forward in a last desperate attempt.

  Closing the remaining distance, he held his breath as he dived into the water, its coolness enveloping him in a chilling embrace.

  After resurfacing, he struggled to breathe, his exhausted body protesting against the harsh treatment. Every muscle ached from the effort, probably not used to such physical strain, and the sudden shift in temperature didn’t help his case. As he faced the direction he had come from, a shudder ran down his spine once more as he locked eyes with the motionless spider horde staring back at him, their unblinking eyes fixed on him as the river's current carried him away from them. Some of them tried to dip their legs in the water, but screeched in pain and stepped back, their bodies corroding where the water made contact. Soon, most of them went back the way they came, the more persistent ones glaring a bit longer before reluctantly following the pack.

  He made it. They didn't seem to follow him into the river for some reason. The frightened boy, once he had a moment of respite, almost started sobbing from the sheer panic and fear he had felt.

  Now out of relative danger, his mind allowed itself some clarity as it realized how traumatizing of an experience this was. His widely beating heart refused to calm down, and he forced himself to do so as he took deep breaths and controlled his movements to stay afloat, a surprising moment of coolness in this hopeless situation the lost soul has found itself in.

  After a while, his heartbeat steadied and his vision widened, the stress his mind was in slowly receding.

  The young man sighed in relief as he let the river's current widen the distance between him and the danger. After a few minutes of shivering in the water, he decided to swim to the opposite bank <- the amount of struggle I went through to find this word…, his clothes thoroughly soaked and heavy.

  walking a few steps before sitting down, he leaned against a tree's trunk, catching his breath. The pebbles were not the best place to rest his exhausted and bruised body, but he dared not go back inside the forest. He removed his coat and set it aside, hoping it might dry up a bit and lighten the burden on his shoulders.

  As the adrenaline rush faded even more, his mind began to gauge the situation, gears spinning as he recalled the recent events and how to…

  But then, his mind went blank. Where was he?