Running till I can't breathe

The woman's breathe was hot against my neck as I carried her away from where she lay injured. Luckily, the woman had managed to bandage her wound before I arrived.

A howl cut through the silence of the night, urging me to run faster. My heart was beating out of my chest. I was barely managing to keep a hold of the woman with my sweaty hands. I had never thought that it would come to this.

I am being hunted by the enemy. The one I once hunted myself.

Just managing to avoid tripping over a tree root, I realised that I would have to lose the extra weight if I were to survive the night, let alone the next day.

I blew a strand of my stringy blonde hair out of the way and began to pay more attention to the trees around me. They seemed to be closing in on me; suffocating me.

Finally, in the distance, I locked my eyes onto a tree with a low-hanging branch that looked strong enough to hold the woman's weight.

Footsteps sounded through the undergrowth. I pushed myself a bit harder. This reminded me of cross-country at school. Only then I wasn't being hunted.

A few feet away from the tree and I stumbled, the deadweight sending me crashing down a ditch I did not see. Twigs cut my face and leaves stuck in my hair. The woman with the wounded leg cried out in pain.

"Sorry, sorry," I mumbled, shakily standing up. Hooking my arms underneath her legs and arms, I tried to pick her up bridal style.

"Leave me here," she ordered, "I was not likely to survive anyway. Let me hold them off for you, eh?"

I nodded my thanks, not having a moment to process before running. Only a bit later did I realise that the woman had a British accent.

My heart was pumping and adrenaline was rushing through me. Even though I was probably to die tonight, I was free.

A scream pierced the silence. Resonating around my brain. It struck fear to my heart. The woman. Oh gosh. What have they done? If they are there, they cannot be far behind.

The howls that ripped through the night were no longer far away, now seemingly coming from only a few trees behind.

Risking a glance back, I could see the ethereally glowing green eyes of the hounds, partially obscured by the thick trees. Slobber was dripping from the long, slobbery tongue that was dripping out of the mouth. Blood dropped from sharp canines. The stench almost made me gag. Once sleek fur was now matted with the liquid, as if the hounds took a bath in blood. I could see the lean muscles as they sped up, having locked onto their target; me.

That urged me to not look back and concentrate on running away. The moon was glowing down, gloating at me. Stars shone overhead, scattered across the sky.

I could practically hear the lullaby my mum used to sing...
Twinkle,twinkle,
Little Star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky,
Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little star,
How I wonder what you are!

I thought just how true that was while staring up at the stars overhead. It could just have been my imagination, but I could've sworn I saw a shooting star, flying across the star like some kind of symbol. To me, I could only hope that it meant that I would survive.

Not really looking where I was going, a tree branch hit me in the face and I cursed my bad luck.

A few metres in front of me, a little stream trundled along. Waterfalls that were made of small rocks in the water created a trickling sound and the silence in the forest was broken. On the other side of the stream, a clearing opened up and a small, homely cottage stood proud in the centre. Why anyone would want to live in the woods, I had no idea and I guessed neither did the person owning it because not looked completely abandoned.

I leapt over a stinging nettle and landed splash-bang in the middle of the stream.

A hound came roaring out of the forest and leapt at me. I could only watch as it flew towards me in slow motion. This is it, I thought, the end of my life. What a tragic ending.

The hound hit me full force, throwing me harshly back into the stream. It's eyes called for blood. My blood.

"Damn," I mutter, "Not again..."

That was the last thing I said. Darkness started to envelope me, a warm blanket in harsh winter. I greeted it with open arms and a smile on my face.

For years, the Maiden's (as they had come to call her) body just lay floating in the stream. Nobody dared to touch it. For there was a legend... A legend that she was cursed. Anybody she met would be running until they couldn't breathe. Just like her.

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