A primal scream built in my throat, but all that escaped was a strangled gasp as panic detonated within me like a bomb. My legs burst into motion, propelling me forward as I ran. Branches lashed at my face, leaves and twigs tangling in my hair, the sting of scratches on my skin barely registering as I fled. The earth beneath my feet seemed to tilt and writhe, threatening to send me tumbling.
The bear's roar thundered through the forest, a deafening drumbeat that synchronized with the pounding of my heart. I could feel its hot breath on the back of my neck, the ground shaking beneath its paws as it gave chase. My breath came in ragged gasps, my lungs burning, as I desperately sought escape from the jaws of death closing in behind me.
I didn't dare look back. My lungs burned, and my legs f
