Fear

The only thought that penetrated my adrenaline saturated haze was that I had to get away. If they caught me, then God only knew what they would do to me. The trees clawed at me, icy cold fingernails fresh from the grave, as I pushed my way through the unrelenting forest. The shouts of my pursuers echoed among the pines as I ran. A gnarled root reached up out of the sodden earth to trip me, and I rolled down the embankment of a ravine. Gaining my feet, I raced down the creek bed, ducking low as flashlight beams crossed the midnight air above my head. Seeing an opportunity in the clear path before me, I increased my pace. The creek bed led me at a downhill grade which gained me a slight advantage over my pursuers.
My advantage ended when I reached a small culvert leading under a set of railroad tracks. I scrambled up the stone embankment, scraping my knees and the palms of my hands in the process. Seeing a clear path ahead of me, I began to garner some hope that I might escape my seemingly inevitable fate, but then I heard a sound that chilled me to the bone. The cacophonous sound of a pack of hunting dogs split the night like the veil on the Holy of Holies, pushing my anxiety to new heights. I ducked my head and pushed my body to the limits of its endurance.
In the distance behind me shouts reverberated along the edge of my consciousness, but hope loomed brightly before me. My labored breaths came in short gasps, and I began to slow to a more sustainable pace when I heard the whistle of the train behind me. Looking to the left and right I saw beams of light cutting swaths through the night and knew that if I left the tracks, I wouldn’t stand a chance. I had to move faster, trying to reach a point where I could leave the tracks safely. Again the whistle sounded behind me.
Ahead I saw a light, drawing ever closer as my feet pounded the uneven trestles. As I drew closer I saw a single street light illuminating a lonely crossroads. On the far side of the intersection a barricade stretched across the railroad tracks, fronted by three huge, foot thick wooden pylons. I looked back over my shoulder and saw the inexplicable light of the train, which seemed to be pursuing me as well. I reached the intersection and slammed against a pylon, looking around desperately for some avenue of escape. The light of the oncoming train continued its oncoming approach, its rumble accompanied by the braying of the hounds. I looked left and right down the dirt path of the intersecting road and saw the headlights of pickup trucks speeding in my direction. My terror crested as the wielders of the searching flashlights came stalking out of the woods in my direction and I knew they had me.