Stranded

By the time she had reached the road,  her feet were no longer wet. Her lungs were scorching, her limbs shaking, and her mind racing. She hadn't even realized where she was going or what she was doing.

The last thought that had crossed her mind was "run."

Bending over, hands on her knees, she gasped for air. She didn't know how long she had been running for, but it was clear she was no longer near the beach, but she knew she had to keep going - she wasn't safe yet. She was still in the lingering mist and she couldn't tell if it was getting thicker or if her mind was playing tricks on her.

The trees had stopped rustling behind her on the beach and she could feel them approaching. She couldn't hear them or smell them, but she could feel them as they skimmed across the sand. They got close enough to her that should could hear their breathing - almost feel it on the nape of her neck. All she knew to do was run and that's exactly what she did.

She ran as hard as she could. As fast as she could. For as long as she could - ending up here. Touching her face, her fingers became red dried, caked on blood. She didn't have time to brush the tree limbs out of her face, it was fight or flight. The primal instinct.

She wasn't sure if she had lost them in the forest, amongst the trees. All she knew was that they hadn't expected her to run.

The temperature was dropping fast - the grass was frosting over and the tree limbs were becoming brittle.

This proved they were angry.