The Jogger

Everyone knows, jogging is healthy, but still everyone hates it.

Even the 14 years old, Vivien, never wanted to know something about it. When they had to jog in the sport lessons at school, she pretended that she feels sick or that her legs hurt. But weeks later, she found out if she doesn't join the jogging in the sport lessons, she might get a bad grade.

She talked with her good friend Kate, "Shit, If I bring a bad grade home from no matter what subjetc, my dad will kill me!"

Kate replied, "Well, that means you have to jog, but you better jog in your free time first. Cause if you did't jogged before, I know you." she giggles, "It could be that you give up at the first time and breath like a dog.''

Vivien left only a sarcasticly "Haha." and then left home. She was sitting on her table drawing a little. She heard the door which meant that her father camed home. He entered the room and asked how was her day, the usual things a parent asks.

She asked him if she was allowed to jog at night, her father asks,"Why at night? That's dangerous you know."

She replied, "But Dad, I don't want that anyone sees me! It's embarrassimg.. Please.. I swear I'll jog only around the house.."

Her father looked at her thinking and answered, "Alright.. but you promise only around house."

She nodded as he left the room. On the last day of school before the short holiday were everything as usual normal. After school, Vivien looked around and noticed the path near her house. This path was surrounded by big bushes. In daylight, appeared to be really nice for a walk but she got a little strange feeling as looking in the shadows of the bushes.

At evening, Vivien dressed for the following jog. Black a little thick leggins, a white top, and above it a black hooded jacket. She went to the hallway and looked in the shoe closet for a pair of shoes which can be jogged with. She saw many shoes of her but they were all just shoes for going out. She kept searching till she saw some old violet sneakers of her laying in the corner, she smiled and whispered, "I totally forgot about them." Taking them on, she went to the bathroom and took a hair rubber and tied her hair.

As she walked out the house through the backside of home, she noticed the path again. It were dark as shadows covered the way. She stared a while at that path, the strange feeling camed back to her, Vivien thought maybe that's only a feeling cause she jogs for the first time. After around 15 or 20 minutes, she stopped jogging infront her home breathing heavily, almost like a dog. She chuckled as she remembered what Kate said. Walking in house her father asked how it was, "it was hard, my legs already hurt." she said.

Her father smiled, "So, it's in the beginning, you'll get use to it."

So it was going on for days, till one night.

Vivien was in the same jogging clothing with tied hair, it was a quiet night outside as always. She were running around but then she stopped as she looked at the dark path once again. Vivien thought her father wouldn't notice that she doesn't jog around house as promised. She slowly started walking to the dark path as she sudenly thought she heard some whispers, she shook her head and started running through the path. While she ran straight, she looked around not seeing anything but dark shadows surrounding her, Vivien noticed there was light from a lantern in a small distance.

She then suddenly saw a small hedgehog under the lantern light searching for food.

She then had the stange feeling once againg and heard a whisper in her head saying "There...next to you is a sharp small tree branch. Why don't you take it and kill that little guy there?.."

Vivien picked up the stick and stared at it.

"What am I thinking? I don't want to hurt a helpless animal!", she said to herself.

The whispers got louder and hypnotic, "Come on Vivien, it'll be so much fun.."

Soon, Vivien started walking quietly holding the stick towards the hedgehog, she felt like she coudn't control herself as she stabbed the tree branch through the hedgehog.

As she got to herself she stood there with shocked wide opened eyes. She couldn't belive what she had done, killed a cute innocent animal. Vivien dropped the bloody stick and ran home, sobbing.

While at home, Vivien's father wrote on stuff for work, he shook up worried as seeing her daughter running inside crying. "Vivien, W-What happened? Are you ok!?"

Vivien looked at him, before she could say a word, the voices in head mumbled to her fast, "Hou should better not say anything what happened or this'll end bad..."

She then responded in a innocent voice "N-Nothing dad.. I just fell, that's all.."

"You have to take care of yourself more. I don't want that you hurt yourself.."

Days went by and Vivien couldn't stop thinking of what she had done.

The whispers in her head kept bothered her, her father noticed that she started talking to herself and acting weid, something happened that night, he thought to himself.

"Uh Vivien? are you talking to yourself?" , he questioned.

She replied in a cold voice still with those wide opened shocked eyes, ''No father.. I am talking with the shadows... They said everything's fine... You should also listen to the shadows."

The father freaked out as she said that.

 "Vivien! Did you take some drugs!?'' , he questioned her loudly. She simply shook her head. He calmed down and asked, "Honey...What did really happen that night?"

she said in the same cold tone,"I already told you father.. I only felt to the ground." Then Vivien closed her door from room looking at her father with those shocked, wide opened, brown, frightened eyes.

The father saw that Vivien was dressed the same and about to go, "Are you going to jog again?" She didn't answered and just went.

He then shaked his head slowly saying to himself, "Something's wrong with her."

After awhile, he looked at the time, "So late? Vivien didn't come yet.. I better go check why she's so long outside." He took his jacket and went outside, not seeing her anywhere around house.

He went a little mad, "She probably went jogging somewhere else, at this time!"

Hours went by and he didn't found her. Really worried, he ran home to call the police, but as he entered the house he saw his own daughter sitting on a chair staring at him with those eyes, her white top covered in blood, she were holdind a in bloody tree branch, she had a forced smile on her face. He were really frightened looking at her, "w-what have you done?.." her smile turn to a frown, "What have you done!?" he yelled at her, Vivien stands up and runs to him hitting him with the tree branch on the head and he falls passing out.

He wakes up tied up on a chair in the bathroom, he looks over to Vivien which she stitches her her mouth, crying looking in the mirror, her father were too scared to say something. Afterwards, Vivien turned and stared at her father with the bleeding stitched mouth,.

He heard the voice of his daughter coming out nowhere saying, "You're awake, father? Did you sleep well?"

He then yelled at her, "You are not my daughter! Who are you!? what did you do to Vivien!?"

He suddenly heard giggling.

"Oh father, you don't notice your own daughter? What a shame..."

After these words, she struck the tree branch through her father's chest, staring him cold in the eyes. He coughed blood out as he heard the last words from the thing called daughter, "Listen to the shadows..daddy.."

He watched her walking to the shadowy corner and disappearing, before he saw only darkness and died there.