White powder collecting on her fur.
Snow flakes piling on her coat. They should have felt light. But it was like extra weight slowing her down. The freezing air cut at her heaving lungs. It burned to the depths of her. It both drained and threw more energy into her pumping muscles.
Paws kept sinking. She begged for some sort of shallow relief for the pads of her toes.
But she knew better.
She knew these forests too well. Inches of snow were going to keep engulfing her entire legs. It was continuous leaps that made her feel like she was going backwards. Endless crunching of frozen carpet beneath her. Only the faint crackling of the rippling northern lights shining through the space tree tops filled the quiet void every time she jumped.
With each landing, a book bag wildly swung around her neck. It smacked her face. Her chest. Her shoulders.
It kept her distracted from the fear that was tracking close behind. Insidiously creeping. Fingers of darkening thoughts sinking into her frantic brain. Clutching around her vibrating and desperate heart.
They'd promised her exile.
At a price.
Make it past the border of the territory.
Before they caught her.
Death.
It would be death if she didn't cross that line.
Snow getting deeper. Flakes falling in rapid clumps now. She kept blinking, but they were clinging to her eyelashes. Her body was begging to stop. Numb pain was thrashing her muscles. But her brain was screaming at it. Screaming to ignore the weakness of her flesh.
A deep, eerie howl off in the distance. Another joining it in off key harmony.
Fright roared across her body.
Her muscles forgot their complaints. Fire flared to her bones. Lightening charged her into a machine.
Leaps became gliding bounds. Claws burring into any ground under the snow she could find. She was launching herself.
They were close.
Border was most likely just as far ahead of her as they were behind.
She could make it. She had to. There was no other option.
She wasn't going to die here.
It still felt like time was sucking her backwards.
A quiet crunching caught the attention of her left ear. Howl cracking through the trees. She dared look over her shoulder.
Flashing eyes.
Blood began pounding in her brain. She couldn't feel her heart beat anymore. More reflective pairs of eyes joining the first. There was no time to keep stealing glances. It would only slow her down. She snapped her attention ahead of her. There was only room to focus on her goal. Deep low growls began flooding her ears. The surrounding sound left no room to hear her own wheezing chest. The fur on the back of her neck bristled.
A snap.
She jerked away from it. Heart was fighting to crawl through her ribs.
Jaws clicking shut.
Another jerk.
Heart choking up her throat. Crying out in frightened horror.
They were toying with her. Savoring her distress. Turning her into prey.
It was just a game for them. Her life was just a game.
Onward she beat her body to it's limits. Ignoring the ever growing presence around her was becoming more and more difficult. Their teasing was growing more aggressive.
A yank at the fur of her tail. She yelped in pain as fur ripped from it. Repeated snatches of fur being torn from her body. Wildly she jumped and kicked behind her to keep them at bay. Pain slicing through her frightened brain.
Her reaction was only feeding into their taunts. She could feel it.
Pure and crushing exhaustion was beginning set in. She was suddenly aware of the horrible reality.
There may be no salvation for her.
Just as suddenly she started recognizing landmarks.
Hope raged against the despair. It battled inside her as the pack began their final act. Their circle was closing in. Getting tighter and tighter as they continued to tear pieces of her coat.
If they were going to keep running with her, she would keep pushing onward. Get as close as possible before she had to fight her way through.
A wall of wolves materialized.
Flattened ears, dripping teeth, and flicking tongues. Eyes as wild and devilish as a starving bear.
All hope drained from her. Flood of anxiety turning into hysteria took it's place.
What would she do now? She couldn't fight them. She wasn't strong enough. Brain started racing. Pulling at any thought. Anything to overcome this last hurdle.
The border was right behind them. Just out of reach.
She made up her mind. There was just one ridiculous, stupid, one in a million chance she could take.
But it was the only chance she had.
She forced her lungs to expand past capacity. Compound the air into one last tap of energy. She willed her body into submission. Picked up speed. Focus pin pointed at the shortest of wolves. Every bit of her was barreling at that wall.
Time began to slowly morph into a sluggish motion. Every clouded breath escaping from their jaws lazily rolled across the air. Eyes just barely moving as they watched her. Fur adjusting as the muscles underneath them shifted.
It was now or never.
With excruciating power of desperation, she launched herself into the air. She was just barely able to see their eyes follow as they all flinched in shock and surprise.
It felt like she was gliding through space. Legs and paws pulling her body with invisible momentum. She was quickly clearing their tails.
Time jerked forward.
She crashed into the earth. Gravity jarred pain up through her bones and joints. The connection to the ground was so violent, she forgot how to breath.But her brain was still drowning in determination. She had to keep moving. Split second and she was off again. Running with a void in her lungs. Body incinerating from the inside out.
When a volatile gasp saturated her lungs she finally heard the glorious sound. Or lack of it.
Just snow crunching.
No snarls. No snapping jaws.
Daring to look behind her, the wall of bodies were quickly fading. The dark of the endless Alaska night was swallowing them.
She tried to laugh, but it never came to be. Instead her body collapsed into a rolling heap in the snow. The white dust shot up into the air. When it at last settled around her, all she could feel was exhilarating joy. Happiness. Elation.
Even as her body erratically shook, she turned her head to the sky.
The lights. She swore they were dancing. Dancing in celebration of her freedom.
Of her new life.