A/N: Ok, so I got this up much faster than I expected. Enjoy! Thanks heaps to Erik for helping me flesh this out again.
"When you're lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realise that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you've just wandered off the path, that you'll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it's time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don't even know from which direction the sun rises anymore" – Elizabeth Gilbert
The frigid air bit at her flushed cheeks as she stumbled between the skinny leafless trees. With every step she took, the fallen canopy crunched beneath her boots, the only sound aside from her heavy gasps for air. She didn't know what she was running from, but whatever it was, she wanted to get as far from it as possible. She wanted to put as much distance between pure evil and herself as was physically possible.
Stopping for a moment, she held onto a leaning tree trunk for support, leaning over and clutching her ribs as she tried to get some air into her aching body. Her lungs were burning, screaming at her to stop, to stop and breathe. Looking over her shoulder in fear, she scanned the area behind her. No sign of life anywhere.
In, out. In, out. She forced her chest to rise and fall with those words, the intake of breath so painful, she actually felt nauseous.
The sun had almost dipped below the horizon as she looked around, desperate for an escape, a way home. Night was something she feared. Night was when the creatures of the dark came out to play.
And their new toy was her.
Glancing around, her eyes stung and watered as the cold air touched them. Wiping them on the sleeve of her jacket, she fiddled absently with her earpiece as she tried to decide which way to go. The sun was setting and the woods around her were taking on an eerie glow.
The snap of a fallen branch made her turn sharply. Her heartbeat quickened as her ears honed in on the sound. ok im back
Pushing away from the tree she'd been using as a support, she took off as fast as she could, the underbrush crunching beneath her boots as she willed her body to hold out just a little longer. Her legs felt like lead, yet she had to force herself to keep running. She had to put as much distance between herself and the awful things as she could.
As she crashed into a clearing through a cluster of trees, a piece of debris snagged on the toe of her boot, sending her sprawling across the dirt. The knees of her jeans ripped open, but she immediately tried to push herself back up. Her good arm shook violently as she tried to push herself off the ground. She'd barely lifted herself two inches when it gave out, causing her to collapse hopelessly back into the dirt as fear radiated through her body, removing the little control she momentarily had.
Turning over on her back, she whimpered as her predators approached. Yellowed teeth glinted in the remaining light, saliva dripping from torn lips, loping forwards as they slowly approached, snarling at their prey.
As they closed in around her, all she could do was scream.