Shadows- Story

She ran through the forest, heart thumping, breathing laboured. The shadows were all around her. She could hear them hot on her trail, hear their cries of outrage as they struggled to catch up. She knew they soon would, for she could not keep this up much longer. The trees seemed to grab at her as she raced passed, skeletal hands intent on snaring her in their deathly grasps. She stumbled on a tree root, and a branch caught her jacket. She was lifted off the ground, and that was when she realised; the trees didn't seem to be reaching for her, they were. She struggled in the tree's wooden grasp, staring into its hollow eyes. There came a shriek of delight as the shadows got closer to her.
The tree’s eyes seemed to widen at the sound, and it dropped her. She felt dazed and dizzy as she hit the ground, but there was no time to waste. She stumbled to her feet and forced her legs to carry her once more as she sped away from her pursuers. There was a shout of anger. Her heart quickened when she registered how close the sound was. She had to keep running.
In the darkness, guided only by the moonlight, she didn’t see it until it was too late. She fell into a cold, icy river, full of stones and sharp rocks. She scraped her leg on the way down, but she ignored the pain, kicking furiously to get to the surface. Try as she might, her weakened legs were no longer strong enough to fight the frigid water surrounding her.
Suddenly, she was pulled out by a pair of cold hands, colder than the water even. She lay on the bank, sucking in air, her body weak with relief. Her relief quickly turned to despair, however, as she realised who her saviours were; the shadows. Soon, more joined them, and she lay back, closing her eyes, as she knew this was the end, and she accepted her fate, too exhausted to go on.
The shadows cried with delight upon seeing her, and they quickly fell upon her. Her screams echoed through the trees as the ancient plants watched the gruesome scene. They finally faded away as she fell into unconsciousness. When the shadows eventually dispersed, she was nothing more than a pile of bones and clothes, sparkling in the silvery moonlight.
Category:Beings
Category:Dismemberment