Run Run Run

There's a girl. And she's running, running. She can't remember why, doesn't know what she's running from, only what stopping means.

Death.

Her body is weary but she knows she can't stop. An eerie murmuring of voices is behind her, their tone not menacing but coaxing. She wants to give in. Her limbs are ready to give out. But she knows she can't. Not now, when she's so close to salvation. She's almost there, right? Isn't she? Though her memory is scarce, she's sure she must be. Some magical paradise must lay just around the corner.

As she rounds a dark corner, though, she's met only by some strange and horrifying creature; half bovine, half man, all monster. Its voice comes out in haunting bellows.

"Come here, little girl," it says, reaching for her with hoofed hands. "I only want to eat you."

She cries out and pushes her straining muscles even harder. She can't let that monster catch her. No, she can't!

But why? her tired mind cries, racking itself for an answer. Why must I run?!

She cannot think of an answer and instead pushes herself harder. Everything melts away for awhile. The murmuring, now being underlined by a low sound that is close to a moo, is still there. But the girl ignores it. All that is important is putting one foot in front of the other...and not...ever....stopping.

Her mind wanders, though, and how can it not? She needs to know why she is running, even if it ends up killing her. Curiosity tugs at her too harshly.

She remembers a woman. The woman was... caring for her, perhaps? Yes, she as. The girl is sure of that. But then she'd set out to do something horrible... the girl can't remember what the woman wanted to do. The woman's husband chased the girl, too, she knows that. But why did they? the girl wonders.

She can't be sure. She is sure she'd do nothing now, but what was she like before her memory loss? She does not know.

More time passes, though the girl isn't sure how much. Her muscle continue to ache, though she manages to find a way to ignore it. The darkness that has surrounded her form the beginning refuses to let up, and she begins to feel scared. As if she predicted it, another terrible creature appears before her. This one bears the head of a boar and has sharp white tusks that protrude fiercely from its face. Its cloven hands reach for her as she dashes by, its voice a greedy squeal.

"Come back, little one!" it squeals. "I only want to eat you!"

Like the minotaur, this creature is also left in the gloom. It does not take long for piggy shrieks to join the murmuring behind her.

Tears dribble down her face. She isn't sure why, but she can't believe that they are. Isn't it normal for scared people to cry? Perhaps she was braver before. Perhaps that is why she feels that it is unspeakable that she cry now.

More time passes. It feels longer than before, but how can she be sure? She can't, and it bothers her. All she knows is she must keep running, that she must keep herself going at all costs. But the burning her legs is nearly unbearable. The girl knows she must find salvation soon.

There is a small burst of light and she thinks her prayers have been answered. A shrill whinny tells her she hasn't, though, and a scream escapes her own lips.

Before here now is a being more grotesque than the previous, if that is even possible. Half human and half horse, you might picture a centaur. But no. This creature is almost that, a human torso glued upon a horse body, but its legs are still human and its head still equine. Human hands reach for her as the whinny repeats the same line, "Come here, child, I only want to eat you."

Only want to eat me?! she wants to scream, but she has no spare energy. Somehow she outruns the four legs and its shrillness joins the haunting murmurs.

She's crying freely now and she feels no shame. There is no need for it, is there? She's all alone anyhow. Those things behind her care not for how she appears--they jsut want to eat her. That's all. It's not that unreasonable, is it? Of course not. She could just stop running now and she could be done. It would be nice, wouldn't it? No more running...

She snaps out of her imaginings when she hears running water. And a lot of it. Slowly, she can see the rushing, gushing water. No! If she can't go on, she's certain to be eaten! She has to find a way around it... but she sees no bridge, no boat, no means of crossing it.

She hears a motor, though, and her heart leaps for joy. The boat appears, and she sees a normal-looking boy on baord with a mop of red hair.

"Help!" she cries out to him. "I'm being chased!"

The boat nears shore and the boy looks genuinely concerned. For some reason, he seems trustworthy and not at the same time. The girl chokes her doubts up to the adrenaline rushing through her veins and does not hesitate to hump onto the boat when the boy offers it.

Just as they pull away from the shore, the mob reaches it. The woman, her husband, and all three animal-human hybrids reach for her, cooing that if she comes back, they'll make it quick. The husband yells at the boy for stealing their sweets. The girl is disturbed that the man and woman want to eat her, too.

"Thank you," she tells the boy, "I don't know what I would've done without you."

"Been eaten, probably," he replies, keeping his eyes on the controls. "What's up with them?"

"Not a clue," the girl says. They don't talk for a moment, the girl probably wouldn't have, but the boy doesn't approach the opposite shore like she thought he would. "You can drop me off on the otherside." She says this even though the boat has been a wonderful rest for her. "I'll be okay."

But the boy shakes his head. "Too dangerous."

The girl is perplexed, but says so no more.

The putter along the river awhile longer before the girl notices any change in him. Has he always had those pointed ears? Was that white-tipped tail there when she boarded his boat? Of course, they weren't, but it's too late when the girl realizes it.

She backs up to the side of the baot as the vulpine creature advances on her.

"Oh, please, don't," she pleads.

"Oh, but why, little girl?" its sly voice asks, black paws reaching for her. "I only want to eat you..."

She barely has time to scream before the fox has swallowed her whole.