Hunted
A rhythmic thudding echoed through the tree trunks, bouncing
off the leafy canopy. Crouched at the base of a tree, the woman froze, her hand
almost touching a mushroom hiding in the thick leaf mulch. Terror held her
rigid for a long moment before she leaped to her feet and ran, bare feet
noiseless on the hard-packed dirt. She zigged through the green-laced shadows, harried
by the sound.
She had only one chance for escape. She ran faster, breath
rasping in her throat. A sharp branch tore at her scalp. The stinging told her
she’d left hair behind.
Gasping, she slowed down. Think! Think this through! Just because it’s close by doesn’t mean
you’re caught. Be quiet and it’ll lose you.
She needed to calm her breathing, calm her heart-rate. The
metronome of a quiet heart never caught its attention but galloping heart beats
could. No-one knew how it heard a single heartbeat but it did.
One, two, three, in. One, two, three, out. Her heart slowed
and thumped away quietly now, hopefully invisible to the hunter searching for
prey.
A flicker of motion to her left. She remained still, only
her eyes betrayed her, leaping from shadow to shadow.
THUMP. THUMP.
She closed her eyes. If it got her, she didn’t want to see.
A melodic whistling sounded nearby. A catchy tune.
Ba-da-da-dum. Ba-da-da-dum.
She pressed her lips tighter together, resisting the urge to
hum along. It would hear that for sure, it was so close.
Thump, ba-da-da-bum. Thump, ba-da-da-dum. Thump.
It was right in front of her. She could feel its rancids breath
on her flushed face. It was too late. A high-pitched singing joined the drumming
and the whistles. Then a single, plucked note vibrated, adding to the song.
Her foot began to tap. She fought to regain control—it was
her foot, dammit!— but it jerked up and down, keeping rhythm with the drum beat
pounding through her body.
She was caught. A tear trickled down her cheek. She’d never
see her family again. Their faces flickered behind her closed eyelids, Mother,
Father, her sister, her friends. She would be lost to them forever.
But she could face it bravely. If she were done for, there
was only one thing left to do. Curiousity compelled her to it. She’d heard such
terrible tales of them over the years; horrid stories of the desiccated bodies
they left behind, all the life sucked out, only a husk left. She had to see
what these terrible monsters looked like.
She opened her eyes, just a crack. Smooth pink skin. Round
and glistening slightly. It loomed in front of her, an eyeless tube. Its gaping
mouth was lined with rows of tiny white teeth.
Aghast, she realized she was humming along with its contagious
song. Caught in its trap, she felt the life leaving her body, felt her skin
crinkling, her very brain being devoured by the monster’s deadly song.
Held by
its eyeless stare, she swayed back and forth to the beat, mesmerized by the dreaded
Ear Worm’s melody.
