The wind whipped mercilessly around her, chilling her to the bone as she maneuvered expertly through the thick foliage.

I-I have to get… gotta get… away, she thought, her mind whirring on over-drive, the branches and underbrush snapping her in the face, but she didn’t care; her main focus was trying to run without completely face planting into the wet, muddy terrain. The girl ran and ran, ignoring the burning sensation in her lungs with each gasping breath. She could hear the thundering sound of several pairs of boots against the slick forest floor as her assailants gave chase. The contrast of her own feet, bare and exposed, drumming against the squishy, slippery, waterlogged ground. She grew up in these woods, knew every twist and turn, every ravine and crevice. But the heavy rain was making it hard for her to navigate, to see. Her animal-like instincts kept her moving, screaming at her; ”Don’t stop, don’t get caught. They’ll kill you if they catch you,”. And she didn’t stop. But one misstep, one misplacement of her footing, sent her sprawling to the ground, hard.