The Chase

   

It's Day 3 of the Blogging from A to Z  April 2015 Challenge

He is scared, terrified. Running, faster, faster. Dark, too dark to see. Run. His life depends on it. Run, run. Don’t look back.

Hurtling  between trees, tripping, stumbling, bouncing from one trunk to another. His shoulder throbbing, one arm limp and useless.

A glance behind, the ground falls away. A thump, a splash, he lands in water. A rushing icy stream.

He scrambles up the bank. His eyes stinging, streaming. Unseeing.

Clambering through foliage, brushing wet leaves from his face.

A hollow echoing laugh, a bloodcurdling laugh. Firstly in front, then behind.

Panic. Where to go, where to run. Don’t think, just run. Run. Through long grass then thorny bushes, his scratched and torn face smarting.

An unseen hand clasps his neck and strangles his cry for help. He kicks out and struggles free. 

Climbing on all fours up a jagged boulder, an avalanche of stones and rocks tumbles downward, pummeling his aching body.

Then again that laugh. That mocking terrifying chuckle. In front, then behind.

A sudden searing agonising pain. Warm blood trickling down his back. Unable to move. 

Silence, total silence.

Something unseen sweeps him skyward. He is staring down at the dark forest below. Is this a dream? Is this the end?

A feeling of euphoria washes over him. A warm glow. Elation.

"You are safe now" says a silken voice. "No need to run any more".

He gently descends and finds himself in a nest of warm soft bracken. He sleeps the sleep of an angel never to wake again.

The chase is over.

Tomorrows story will be The Dancer, a tale of a girl who dreamed of joining the ballet.