She ignored the flashing pain of the nettles brushing against her bare legs as she ran, her heart thumping in her chest so hard that she felt it could burst through her skin at any moment. Her shirt, damp with sweat, clung to the small of her back and breaths were fast and ragged.

A cracking sound caused her to freeze. The sound of a dry branch breaking underfoot. An animal? Or was it him? Forcing her breathing to slow so that the sound would not betray her, she knew with absolute certainty that she was being watched. She couldn’t see them but she knew they were there. Like a hunter and its prey, she knew that she could continue running until her legs buckled underneath her, but the ending was inevitable. There would be no escape. Not this time.

Another cracking sound, this time closer. Her filthy hands flew to her mouth to stifle her cry.

She wasn’t just being watched. She was being observed. Assessed. She pictured him between the trees, grinning, pondering what her next move might be as if this was all just a game.