❀ @gothicca
FRIGID AIR does little to extinguish the fire that sets her lungs ablaze as they heave their unproductive gulps . desperate gasps as her body demands more . cramping muscles scream their protests that she cannot heed. for once , she’s rebellious . her life stands upon the edge of a knife--- should she hesitate for but a moment , claws will sink into her supple flesh ; a mouthful of razors will lay claim to the tender meat of her neck . DEATH would swiftly find her.
she cannot spare even a glance cast over her shoulder . eyes trained stubbornly forward , she can feel HOT BREATH against her calves as their sprint kicks up the hem of her skirts dumping heaps of dirty snow into worn leather shoes . laces loose , holes abundant , soles wearing thin , they offer little protection from the elements . cotton socks are soaked through , her toes tingle dully--- a precursor to numbness .
indra’s throat aches , horribly dry , painfully strained . she can feel horrible pressure building beneath her ribs ; she fights the RESISTENCE of inflamed bronchioles . their chambers are shrinking , organic walls closing in , prohibiting passage of precious oxygen despite the growing demand . vision dips and begins its damning kaleidoscope of warping colors and shapes . dark blotches like swarms of flies scurry along her peripheral . unconsciousness is coming . soon , she will lose the strength to continue deadly game of tag .
but , by some miracle , she can distinguish a road ahead . a road that led to somewhere--- ANYWHERE--- a place she could hide , sheltered by whatever structure stands at the end . hope breathes a burst of new energy , a fresh slew of adrenaline like prey’s final , desperate fight for its life . feet pick up , arms pumping , chest forcing reluctant balloons inflate . fatigue is forgotten . SHE MAY JUST LIVE .
and then she trips .
a stray root on the roadside interrupts her stride , and momentum does the rest . an unsuspecting shoulder hits the slippery wet cobblestone ; her body tumbles across the lane and comes to an abrupt end as her back makes contact with the hard edge of a hill . what little resources retained in her lungs are forced out . blackness returns to the rims of brown eyes that watch as a beast barrels toward her , launching off it’s hind legs with a victorious screech as it pounces for the KILL .
