Perhaps because he no longer had anything behind him to shield him, or perhaps because he could feel the terrifying presence behind him,
Theo's back turned ice-cold in an instant, and sweat soaked through his roughspun clothes.
"Run!"
He struggled to move his trembling legs.
He stumbled and crawled as he fled toward the distance.
The towering monster behind him followed at an unhurried pace.
"Thud!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw the spot he had just passed. A massive spiked mace slammed into the dirt, sending soil and grass flying. A huge crater appeared in the ground.
Theo's heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
If that had hit him, it would have left a bloody hole in him.
"Is this monster playing with me?" he wondered, hearing its footsteps close behind.
Theo felt utterly wretched. Though he understood what was happening, he still had no choice but to play along with its "game," struggling to escape the woods.
But the wound beneath his ribs throbbed, and his running speed gradually slowed.
"Scritch!"
Suddenly,
he felt a sharp pain in his thigh.
Looking down, he saw that a small stone had somehow lodged itself in his leg.
A series of stabs of pain shot from the wound straight to his brain.
Every time he moved his thigh, the sharp stone ground against his flesh and nerves, sending agony through him.
He struggled to take a couple of steps. The pain nearly made him pass out. Tears streamed from his eyes, and his strength gave out. He dropped onto the ground.
He couldn't go on.
As he watched the towering, dark-green monster approach, a huge hammer in hand, its yellow-toothed mouth stretched open in a sly, taunting grin, bitterness welled up inside Theo.
He slowly closed his eyes.