259
~Lisa's POV
I could barely breathe. My lungs burned, my feet ached, and every step felt like fire shooting up my legs. But I didn't stop running. I couldn't. The forest stretched endlessly before me, dark and wild, branches scratching at my arms as if trying to hold me back.
My chest felt tight. My whole body was hot. Too hot. I slowed down, panting heavily, my hands trembling as I grabbed a nearby tree for balance. "What's wrong with me?" I whispered to myself, gasping. "Why do I feel like I'm burning?"
I looked down at the pendant still tied around my wrist. The place where the cord touched my skin glowed faintly red, and my hand felt like it was on fire. I hissed and tried to untie it, but the knot wouldn't come loose. My pulse throbbed painfully under it.
I stumbled forward again, dizzy, the forest spinning around me. The wind shifted, carrying a strange, sweet scent, like old herbs and smoke. Then, through the fog and trees, I saw her.
A figure.
An old woman.
