Running

I run through the darkness. The pavement passes soundlessly beneath my feet, blurring at the edge of my vision. My pulse beats erratically at my eardrums, filling my head. My chest burns as I drag breath after protesting breath into my screaming lungs. An unexpected sound comes from behind me, alien in the surrounding gloom. My sneaker drags at the concrete below me and I stumble, shock paralysing me momentarily as I suddenly remember why I’m running; what I’m running from. I catch myself before I fall, the unfamiliar sound ringing hollowly in my ears.

I push forward with a new found urgency to put as much distance between myself and the noise, but it rings out clearly, again and again. My muscles burn with each step that propels me forward, but I push myself harder. The air seems to pull at me, and each step comes up shorter than the last. The noise behind me continues, hammering a relentless beat, and I know that the thing behind me is drawing inexorably closer.

My head is full of the sound now, all others drowned out by the rhythmic pounding. I glance at the ground below me, and I realise in horror that it’s moving past in slow motion. Terror rips at my chest, threatening to overcome me entirely. A brick wall looms suddenly out of nothingness in front of me, blocking my escape.

I open my mouth to scream, but the only sound I can hear is the pounding from behind me, terrifyingly close. Suddenly it stops, and a hand snakes around in front of my face, clamping my mouth shut.