Running

Leaves rustle and trees groan

While bleak voices shout from afar

Birds sing, crickets chirp

In a rising, uncoordinated symphony

Twigs snap beneath my feet

And the wind whistles past my ears

Labored gasps echo around me

As my chest constricts with every movement

Faster, faster, my mind seems to scream

My thoughts thumping like the beat of a drum

Faster, faster, the chant continues

As the voices begin to fade to a dim whisper

But I run faster still

Until even the song of the forest gives way to darkness