crunching leaves falling out of sync with my rapid breathing as i pelt through the woods
the trees are seemingly closing in around me as i run as prey through the darkened nature
i don't know what's chasing me, i don't know know who or what this thing even is
i know two things
it's hot on my heels
and it knows me.
claws digging the earth up from which i was bore onto as it quickens its pace
i can feel myself running out of haste, running out of will
i can almost hear it's thoughts as it gains on me, my legs feeling like they're about to fall off from the years of running
my muscles tense before releasing, giving me one last sprint
one last effort to get away
one last try.
my feet slip on the leaves, dampened and moist from nightly dew
i regain my balance mid stride but everything is wrong now.
i frantically look around, trying to see a new angle for all of this
what did i do
what is after me
where am i
what can i even do here-
and then it hits me.
i'm in the forest.
i rapidly glance around me while trying to keep up this new stride, knowing if i fall off balance its all over.
what a sick game.
i spot a large tree up ahead, the branches look tailored to carry me to safety
i verge off path for the first time in the years of this vicious cycle and attempt to scale the bark
my claws grasp at the wood as i tiredly throw myself at the tree's limbs
try try try try
you have to try
you must make it
my hands grip the branch shakily before i fall
the wind leaves my chest in one final puff as i lay on the ground,
staring up at the cloud of tall timbered webs that weave above me
i've never noticed how beautiful they are
how the moon's rays are curtained through them to create a symphony of light
similar to the stars in nature but holy indifferent in creation
then a snap back to reality as i remember what's been after me for so long
but
there's nothing now.
the thing is gone, the nightmare is over.
but the woods are just obscured enough it could always be back,
right?
i stand up and brush myself off, shaking as i try and regain my composure to whatever cracked baseline i've established for myself
for once i feel almost free?
i guess i've always been free
the woods are infinite and the beast is just in my head
but yet it feels like an act of divine intervention
prayers to a false god finally realized
the sun is rising
the beast has forgotten about me
now it's my turn.
