Chapter 213

If someone had once told me that fear was alive; a living, breathing creature that had the power to consume you, I would have told them that they were insane. But I've seen fear. I've seen how wide its mouth is. Seen its needle sharp teeth that tear and bite. Seen its claws that rip and gouge. It's real and alive and it will devour you. The only question will be whether it will take years to chew on the gristle, taking its time to pick your bones clean, savouring each tasty morsel as it swallows you piece by piece, or whether it will digest you in seconds, destroying you whole in one soul-crushing crunch. Whichever way it chooses to annihilate you, there's no point in trying to run from it. And I was running. Running so hard that my chest felt like it was going to burst open. Running so hard that my shins felt like they might splinter into shards. And all the while, fear clung to me like the parasitic beast it was, burying its talons into the pit of my belly, entombing my