Alone: The Beginning of the End

The fact was, she knew she was going to die. Brianna tried in vain to slow her breathing as her chest felt like exploding from the pounding of her heart. She needed to be still, every movement and sound made was a step closer to her demise. Brianna could hear the footsteps in the distance, the crunch of the snow beneath their boots giving them away. She had to use this to her advantage, get away before they eventually found her hiding spot. The cloudy night worked to her advantage; the forest acting like a darkened maze of trees. She looked down and took a quick inventory of what she had. Not much. A dried piece of beef and a small knife, not much to defend herself; especially if they were bigger than her. Not even enough food to last if she climbed a tree and tried to wait them out. They would catch her. She had to think fast, where could she retreat? Eyes squeezed shut, her mind a swirling maze of images from the past week, she struggled to think clearly. The howling wind and the swish of the trees only added to her misery. The cave. That was it, she smiled and had to catch herself from shouting with glee. No-one knew about the spot she had found when she was a child, she only hoped it had survived the past ten winters.

A decision made, Brianna clutched the knife to her chest, readying it in case of attack. She squinted her eyes to try and see through the darkness. The tall trees and blistering wind made it almost impossible for her to see far. Listening carefully she could still hear the faint footsteps, thud thud thud; they seemed to be getting further away. She allowed herself to smile and took a deep breath, readying herself for movement. She'd take it slowly at first, at least until she couldn't hear the deadly footsteps. She counted in her head to three before she slowly drew herself up and leaned against the tree. The first step made a crunching sound in the deep snow, but years of trying to get close to animals had made her a quiet mover.

It was the twig that got her. A small, useless twig that was hidden underneath a pile of mushy, brown leaves camouflaged in snow. Even though the sound must have been minuscule, to her it sounded like a tree falling. She knew in her heart the attacker had heard it as well. Standing in the snow, frozen to the ground, she trembled in anticipation. Her ears strained, trying to hear those footsteps. They were gone, but she stayed stock still. For moments the wind, trees and her own breathing were all she heard. Until finally, the quick crunch of hard footsteps came screaming from somewhere close in the forest. They were running and each second the crunch became louder.

"Run Bree, run." She whispered to herself. The sheer terror that had frozen her in place was overtaken when she heard the yell. A high pitched scream for her blood that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Without another thought she pushed off her feet as hard as she could in the opposite direction to the ever closer footsteps. She ignored the stitch in her side, concentrating on not running into a tree. The sweat pouring from her forehead stung her eyes, but she didn't dare stall her pace. The yelling continued behind her, forcing her to continue. Forcing her to run for her life. All the while the stitch continued in her side, her feet ached from the chase and with every step she took, she couldn't help but wonder which member of her family was hounding for her blood.