Part I

Run. Just keep running. This is futile. You can do it. You've already come so far, just don't stop running. Don't make me go any further. I have to stop. Whatever you do you can't do that. Just for a minute. You have got to run. No. Run. I'm tired, my legs will slow down by themselves soon enough. Don't slow down. But I can't breathe. I need to stop. There's no time to catch your breath. You've got to run. I could just give myself in. Don't be stupid. There's no going back now. I have time to stop! You know they're close. Stop shouting at me. I need to stop, my lungs are burning. If you stop now, you'll never make it out alive. What ar- Never. You wouldn't stand a chance. You're right. That's why you need to run. Not for me, but for you. You are me. Forget about that. Just don't stop. Promise me you won't stop. I promise, just leave me to it.

And so I ran. I ran through the cold, biting air as fast as my numb legs could. Constantly struggling to breathe and never quite being able to fill my lungs. I ran on through the night unable to even slow down in case I fell in the dark. It was just one of the many risks I've had to take. Powered only by my sheer will to live; the overbearing need for survival, I managed to make it until morning. At times it was more like hiking than running, the rough terrain never let up, not even for a second. The constant rise and fall of the earth was threatening to break my rhythmic stride and I simply could not afford for that to happen. And at other times, the hills were so steep and rocky that it was more like rock climbing than hiking. I didn't want to think it, but even so, a tiny part of me couldn't help but notice how much fun this would be if it wasn't so frightful. I'm laughing, actually laughing. Out loud. Despite the dire situation I had found myself in. It was either me going crazy or me taking a tiny moment to revel the irony of finding what could be some of the best climbs out there and not being able to appreciate them, which gave me a sudden burst of energy.

Just that one moment of bliss was all it took. I had lost my concentration. Countless hours of running and all it took was a second for me to break my promise. Sod's law said I had to fall just as the portal to my world became visible. I was so close, yet I felt miles away. As I tripped my legs kept on going, as if I could outrun the fall, but you never can, you just prolong it. Inevitably I tumbled as the fall caught up to me and it was worse than I had imagined it could be. I landed on my hands and jolted my wrists, my arms gave way and I just kept on rolling. Scraping parts of my skin off and whacking my head repeatedly as I went. I rolled until the ground beneath me flattened out and I tried to get up, I swear I did. But the pain coursing through my body and my trembling muscles made it impossible to muster enough strength. So I just stayed there, sprawled in the dirt. I had given up the fight. No! I will not let us go down like this.