Track & Shadows

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐎𝐆 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬!

𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐃𝐰𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞, 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐚

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 ♡

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Meg Thomas was up before dawn, her excitement crackling in the air like the morning chill. Today was her first day back at school, and she was *thrilled* to hit the track. Running had always been her thing. She lived for the wind in her hair, the pounding rhythm of her feet on the ground, and the way the world seemed to blur around her as she picked up speed. Track class was the one place she felt truly alive, like nothing could stop her.

As she entered the school grounds, her eyes scanned the familiar scene. Students wandered around, chatting or making their way to classes. But Meg’s eyes locked onto one person: Dwight Fairfield. Her best friend, though they were an unlikely pair. While Meg had the speed and strength for the track, Dwight had the brains for academics. She smirked as she approached him, his nose already buried in a thick textbook.

“Morning, brainiac," she said, her voice light and teasing.

Dwight glanced up from his book, adjusting his glasses nervously as he smiled at her. "Hey, Meg. Ready for the first day?"

“More than ready," Meg grinned, giving him a playful nudge. "You got my math homework, right?"

Dwight sighed, but there was no real annoyance in it. "Yeah, yeah. Just because you’re focused on running doesn’t mean you can slack off on everything else, you know."

Meg shrugged. "That’s why I have you. You’re the genius, I’m the athlete. It’s a perfect partnership."

They walked together toward the building, a sense of comfort between them that made the day feel lighter. As they ed the track field, Meg's eyes lit up. She could already feel the adrenaline surging through her veins. She couldn't wait to get out there.

“How was your summer?" Dwight asked, clearly not as enthusiastic about their surroundings.

“It was good," Meg said, kicking a stray pebble as they walked. "Spent most of it running, obviously. But, y'know, it's not the same without competition."

“You and your track," Dwight muttered, but his tone was warm. He ired Meg's dedication, even if he couldn't quite understand it.

Just as they reached the entrance, a strange feeling swept over Meg. It was fleeting, like a cold gust of wind that ed too quickly. She paused, glancing back toward the track. For a moment, she thought she saw something—a shadow—lurking near the bleachers. But when she blinked, it was gone.

“You okay?" Dwight asked, noticing her hesitation.

“Yeah, just thought I saw something," Meg replied, shaking it off. "Let’s get to class. I need to crush some laps later."

But the eerie feeling lingered. Little did Meg know, her high school days were about to become a nightmare she couldn’t outrun.

The bell rang, and they hurried inside, unaware of the lurking terror that would soon twist their world. Meg had always been fast, but was she fast enough to escape what was coming?

****

Classes that day ed in a blur, mostly because Meg wasn’t paying attention. Her mind was on the track, where she knew she'd blow past everyone else when the time came. Still, Dwight, as usual, was furiously scribbling notes—both for himself and for her. Meg appreciated it, even if she could barely keep her eyes open during History.

During lunch, Meg and Dwight sat at their usual table when they were ed by their other classmates: Claudette Morel and Jake Park.

Claudette, always fidgeting with her hair, pushed her glasses up and smiled shyly as she sat down. "Hey, guys. How's your first day back?"

“Same old, same old," Dwight replied, his voice tinged with exhaustion from trying to keep up with Meg’s academic needs. "You?"

Claudette smiled wider. "I spent the summer in the lab doing research, so I'm excited for Biology class. I actually brought some samples today—"

Jake, who’d just taken a seat and pulled out a giant burrito, interrupted her with a grin. "You brought samples? You mean, like bugs or something? We’re trying to eat here, Claudette."

Claudette’s face reddened, and she fumbled for her notebook. "No! I mean, well, sort of. But it’s really cool, I promise."

Meg laughed, leaning back in her chair. "Leave her alone, Jake. At least she’s ionate. Anyway, the real fun's coming up—track class after lunch. Gonna crush it this year."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Track? You mean that place where people willingly run for no reason? Can’t relate."

Yeah, you’re more of the ‘sit in the woods and talk to birds’ type," Meg teased. "Is that all you did this summer?"

Pretty much," Jake shrugged, completely unbothered. "But I did build a new treehouse. Could live there if things got too real, y’know?"

”That sounds… fun?" Dwight said uncertainly, though Meg could tell he was already imagining the horrors of living without Wi-Fi.

As the conversation continued, Meg kept glancing out the window toward the track. The shadow she had seen earlier still nagged at her, but she shrugged it off. It was probably just her mind playing tricks on her.

When the bell rang for track class, Meg shot up from her seat. "Alright, catch you guys later. Time to show these amateurs how it’s done."

Dwight gave her a weak thumbs-up, clearly dreading his math class, and Claudette waved shyly before heading to the science lab. Jake, of course, just rolled his eyes. "Have fun *running*."

Meg jogged to the track, already feeling the adrenaline kicking in. The sun was bright, casting long shadows on the field. Her classmates were already gathering, stretching or chatting, but something felt… off. As she walked toward the bleachers to drop her bag, she caught a glimpse of a figure standing on the far side of the track, half-hidden behind the trees. The figure was tall and ominous, just a dark silhouette against the sunlight.

Meg squinted, but before she could get a better look, the coach blew his whistle, jolting her back to reality.

“Thomas! Stop daydreaming and get your butt on the field!" the coach barked.

“Yeah, yeah," Meg muttered, shaking off the strange feeling as she ed the others.

The whistle blew, and she was off. Running was second nature to her. Her feet pounded against the track, and everything else faded away. She ed her classmates with ease, the wind in her hair, her breath steady. Nothing could catch her now.

But as she rounded the final curve, that eerie feeling crept back in. She glanced toward the treeline, and her heart skipped a beat. The shadowy figure was still there, watching.

Her pace faltered for a split second. Who the hell was that?

Meg finished the lap, skidding to a stop near the bleachers, her heart racing more from unease than exertion. She grabbed her water bottle, trying to calm down. The figure had vanished again. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe it was just some creep from the football team messing with her.

"Hey, you good?" a familiar voice said.

Meg turned to see Nea Karlsson, the punk-rocker of the school, leaning against the bleachers with a smirk. Her pink hair was spiked up, and she had that rebellious air about her that screamed trouble.

“You looked like you saw a ghost out there."

Meg shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. "Just thought I saw someone in the woods."

Nea grinned. "Probably some weirdo from the school next door. They do all kinds of shady stuff over there."

"Right," Meg said, though she didn’t quite believe it. She turned back to the field, but the figure was still gone.

"Anyway, if you’re planning to keep up those times, better watch your back." Nea’s smirk widened. "Wouldn’t want something to slow you down."

Meg rolled her eyes, but there was something unsettling about Nea’s words. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something *was* coming—something she wouldn’t be able to outrun.

As the day ended and Meg walked home, the sun dipping low behind the trees, that same dark figure appeared in the corner of her vision, just for a second.

She quickened her pace….

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𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐎 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 :coffee:

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟏,𝟑𝟒𝟔