Look
over your shoulder, again.
Hear
whispers slice through the darkness
Frantic footfall
A muffled scream
It's
Behind you.

Waning willows
lean into the wind
ominous warnings
echo, around...
the back of your head
A pair of
Eyes
fixed there, too
Behind you.

A howling tempest
buffets your body
raincoat billowing
behind you
as you run.
Hear

nothing.
Silence swept
across the ashes
You stand
at a crossroad
Limitless lines
to follow...

But you
retain your route
through the darkness
through the cold

Torrents of trees
tower over you
Ingrained into the bark
a skull
Rustling leaves
whispering willows
Each,
        step,
               you,
                     turn to look.
And tremble.
It's behind you

Sprinting through sickle
You stumble and fall
into a clearing
Pathways all around
like arteries

But you
don't see them
can't, or won't
Keep
       limping
                   forward

A dark silhouette
Blocks the path
Look
over your shoulder
for another way
Too late
Shrouded in night,
the shadows crawl
towards you
Hear...

footsteps
Behind you.