The light of the stars betray her as she runs through the ever thinning trees; wishing for some kind of cover of darkness even for only a second.
But she knows her only hope now is to keep running. The wind whistles fiercely in her ears and her lungs sting with every breath. But she can’t stop now. Not now that she’s close.
There’s a short break in the trees and she sprints ever faster toward it. The moon is full and shines brightly on the splatters of mud that leap merrily like dogs to claim her legs. She stumbles through the thick puddle but makes it out on both feet.
But she’s lost precious seconds. Behind her, lunging through the clearing, the lithe shadowy beast snaps its jaws in frustration. But upon spotting her, it quickly renews its hunt and pushes onward.
She frees herself from the mud puddle and races towards the tree line in the hopes of losing it in the cover of the forest. The beast’s snarls fill her ears until she hears nothing else; her heart pounding out a fearsome tempo as she stretches her limbs to gain more ground.
But it is all for naught. The shadowy beast has caught up and catches her back with a black velvet paw adorned with claws that glitter like diamonds in the starry night. Her screams rip through the night as the beast clatters its limbs over her fallen form.
Its growl rumbled all the way down her blood soaked spine, marred by the beast’s claws. Her throat grows raw as her screams are non stop. She rolls to the side in one last effort to escape her attacker and finds that nothing is there. The beast is gone.
Not even its imprints are left behind; there is only blood. Her blood. She looks up at the sky as the life in her veins oozes from her steadily. Slowly, her eyes close shut and she gives one last shuddering breath before her body stills.
And with the night’s sigh of a breeze, her body too dissolves into shadow. Her body too refigures itself onto her haunches. And like the one before, she too, growls into the night’s sky; ready to begin the hunt. Eyes as dark as onyx survey her surroundings and her velvety ears pick up the tell-tale sounds of another victim.
