No. No no no no no no no no no. This can''t be real. This can''t be happening!


    I- I have to get out of here! It''s going to kill me! She managed to collect her thoughts enough to scream this in her mind.


    I need to move!


    Stay back! Stay back! She wanted to scream, but the words got stuck in her throat.


    No! I need to get out of here. I don''t want to die I don''t want to die!


    I''m not going to let it eat me!


    After putting some distance between them, the young woman turned her back on the monster and broke out into a run, willing her legs to carry her faster than the wind and farther away than the captial from the creature behind her.


    If I can get home I''ll be safe. If I can get home I''ll be safe. If I can get home- the young woman repeated the assertion in her mind like a holy mantra as the woods grew darker, and the sun''s light became tinged with crimson. A crow''s cackling could be heard in the treetops above.


    If I can get home I''ll be safe. If-


    It''s over... I''m going to die. This monster is going to eat me. The resignation was almost a twisted sense of relief. The creature''s next words washed away this ghost of relief.


    What big teeth you have.