Run

Run

Your breath comes out in short, painful spurts. The burning sensation in your legs is so painful it brings tears to your eyes, but you can’t stop now. There are no memories in your head that reveal how you got here or why you are running, there is only the cold fear that shoots through you, causing sweat to bead on your forehead, forcing your legs to move. Every fiber in your body wants to turn around and face your pursuers, to challenge whatever it is that dares to chase you. But no matter how hard you try, you cannot will your legs to stop. 

The tears roll down your cheeks now as a blindingly painful cramp manifests in your lower abdomen, making your breathing even more erratic than before. The burning has disappeared, leaving a painful numbing feeling behind it. You can feel the burn travel up your body, resting in the back of your throat as it threatens to force you to vomit. You hear a faint pop in both your ears before it all goes silent, your eyes dilate in terror as you feel the warm liquid pouring down your neck. 

You find that you have no more strength within you, your arms flop limply at your sides while you try your best to stay upright. A million different sensations are running through your body at once, a million different voices whisper into ears that cannot hear anymore, but only one voice can be heard over the masses, over the pain. It says one word over and over, run. Each time the word floats past you you feel another stab of terror pierce your body, this time the terror hits your lungs. White hot pain floods from your ribs and everything becomes black. A crushing weight is pressed upon your brain and you give out a yelp of pain as your body collides with the hard earth beneath you. 

Your entire body burns with pain that you never though you would ever feel. An endless amount of water pours out of your eyes as you pathetically try to force your arms to crawl, only to be greeted with another stab of pain. The voice has stopped speaking now, all you can hear is the endless crying as your nerves are mercilessly slaughtered in front of you. In defeat you roll onto your back, instantly regretting it the moment you do. 

Your pursuer is now standing over you, a literal ear to ear grin plastered onto its face. It’s you, but not you. Almost as if you’d been dead for a long time. Dead black eyes and thin white skin, dangerously sharp claws for fingers, all things that strike horror into your very heart. You understand why you were running although the issue of you getting in this situation still escapes you, you suddenly realize it doesn’t matter anymore. You can’t run anymore, there’s no way out. 

The claws slowly wrap around your throat, lifting you in the air so your face to face with the monster. A small growling sound slips through the monsters lips, revealing rows of sharp teeth. With the last of your strength you lift your head to gaze over the monsters shoulder. There’s a boy standing not too far from where you are, his mouth agape as he debates whether or not to try and save you. You feel the stinging pain of the monsters claws drawing fresh crimson from you neck and find yourself looking straight into the boys eyes. As you let out the last breath you will ever take you manage to say one word to the now crying boy. 

“Run.”