Diving through the underbrush, twigs and branches scratched and clawed at Aries's hair, flesh, and clothes. He quickened his pace, sprinting as fast as his legs could let him.
His lungs screamed for the cold fall air that tickled his nose. His breath turned to mist before him, clouding his vision as he weaved in between trees and bushes.
Angry voices followed behind, closing in on him. He wasn't fast enough. No one was.
Something hard slammed into Aries's shin, causing him to gasp in pain. He rocketed towards the ground, putting out his hands to brace himself. A sickening crunch haunted him as his wrist folded underneath him.
He began screaming as he tumbled down a hill he hadn't even noticed, one that had been feared by many due to the many casualties occured because of it.
His screams were cut short as he slammed into a massive boulder, driving out any remaining oxygen from his chest. He laid there, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.
Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as pain flooded through his wrist. His lower leg throbbed as his eyes fixated on the top of the steep hill that he had just fallen down.
Something warm, other than tears, dripped from his newly injured nose, due to the collision with the rock. A copper taste filled his mouth, causing him to retch as he struggled to his feet. The fact that he was still alive amazed him, though the pain made him wish he wasn't.
His head ached greatly as he stumbled further into the forest, forcing himself to keep moving forward, to keep running from whatever was chasing him.
They're coming, he thought.
Oh God, they're coming.
