• Consumed
    Looking up at the evening sky, I cringe. My chest heaving from my long sprint. It seems I’ve been funning for days. Every time I try to catch my breath, I choke on the cold night air. My feet are cut, bruised and bloody. The trim of my night skirt is torn from being caught on the outreaching branches of the thousand year old Oaks. I don’t know how long it’s been since I first started running, but frankly, I don’t really care. I had to get away. It wouldn’t take long for them to find me. And thinking up a punishment suitable for my sudden betrayal would only come naturally for people like them.
    I could hear my heart as it exploded inside my chest. Glancing up I took in my surroundings. As fate would have it, I ended up lost in the dark void of the never-ending forest. It was too silent. Closing my eyes, I argued against the voice in my mind as it whispered frightening predictions of what was to become of my future. Bringing my hands up, I covered my ears and crouched down against the trunk of a wilting Oak. I couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of my anxious heart. It was too dark to see anything, making it impossible to determine my location.
    I could feel the winds icy breath as it brushed against the wounds covering my bare legs. It was getting colder and darker by the second. It wouldn’t be long before the wolves come out to begin their nightly scavenge. They were known for their brutal hunting skills. The thought of what would happen if I was to encounter a wolf out here was no mystery.
    It was then that I could hear them: The shouting of angry men, the whimpering of the beaten hounds, and the pounding of hooves upon the dry and lifeless earth. They were coming for me. Wrapping my arms tightly around my convulsing body, I could feel the walls of the forest as they closed in on me. I could hear them as they drew closer to me, and I could see the flickering of fire from their torches. I trembled at the sudden thought of what they would do if I was ever caught.
    My eyes shot back and forth between the interval of my current position, and the time it would take to escape the furious clutches of my pursuers. Once again, I closed my eyes as I debated over whether or not I should try to evade the flock of stampeding horsemen. I violently shook my head in an attempt to shake away any of the cluttered doubts that flooded my mind. I needed to be able to think clearly in order to devise a way for me to escape. Feeling the sudden sensation of pain coursing through my legs brought me back to reality. My eyes shot open to reveal the dusty earth as it rushed under my feet at a frightening pace. Upon quickly observing the situation, I came to realize that while I was lost in my own subconscious I had already made a dash for freedom.
    Tears flew freely down my cold cheeks as my heart leaped in my chest. The soles of my feet were numb with the icy tingle of the cold night air. I could see blood seeping out of freshly-made wounds in my feet. However, the pain of my tender wounds was absent thanks to the numbing in my entire lower half. The woods became silent as I drew farther and farther away from the haunting presence of the pursuing huntsmen. My surroundings were growing colder, darker, and less familiar as every chilling second passed.
    I slowly came to a stop as a small clearing came into view. I trembled as my feet finally halted their independent march. I could feel the pain in my feet now that the blood had a chance to circulate through my legs again. Brushing a strand of loose autumn hair out of my eyes I looked up into the night sky. The stars seemed to be absent tonight; like they were swallowed up by the endless abyss of the black void that was the night sky. The moon however, was very large and bright. An easily locatable target. The only thing unusual was the color that tinted its luminous surface…crimson red.
    It was then that I felt it, that feeling you get when you know you’re being watched. My head darted around as the sound of footsteps made contact with my ears. I could feel my trembling legs give way as my frail body collapsed to the dry forest floor below. I was paralyzed. I clenched the hem of my night skirt as I felt the icy glare of eyes on my back. I tightened the grip on the skirt’s fabric as my body convulsed.

    That’s when it happened—the sound of razor-like claws against ripping flesh, a deafening shriek of terror, and then total silence. Within minutes, her pursuers had arrived to find her lying limply in a pool of blood…well, parts of her anyway. They stared in horror at the grisly scene in front of them. Some had removed themselves from the smell of the rank carcass. Some just stared, motionless…That is, until a brutal attack fell upon them from all directions. For miles away you could hear the bloodcurdling screams as they echoed over the sleeping innocents of the land. It was only then could one realize: …They were everywhere…


    Well, that's it. Mind you, I wrote this in 2003. So of course it's going to sound a bit amateur. But I'd still like to know what you think of it so please comment!!
    Thanks a bunch!!