I ran, and the beating of my heart in my chest pained me, but I had this hope inside me that if I kept going, I would reach safety. Everything around me seemed too fast, too noisy, and my head pulsed along with my heart, forcing a bizarre rhythm which made me feel as if I could not catch up. One foot, then the other, and the other again, and it was the repetition that kept me alive, perhaps. My throat was tight. I moved quickly. Was it quickly enough?
Faster, faster, my steps thumping. It was coming. It was too fast. I couldn't outrun it. I pushed harder. My heart quickened. There was something ahead of me. Solace? I couldn't be sure. I kept on. Faster. My hopes were high. Perhaps there was help. I needed it. Faster. I kept going.
I reached it. My feet slowed. It was a wall, stretching so high it grazed the clouds, and it was so far to the right and left that it moved out of sight. Something inside me died. I was lost. There was no way.