Violet crouched in the shadows of the forest, holding her breath. She tried to make herself as small as possible. They were hunting her, and she couldn't let them find her, not when she was alone and vulnerable out there. Her heartbeat sounded loud, it seemed like an alarm, broadcasting her position. It made it hard to hear anything else, but she strained to listen. All these new powers, new senses, made it difficult to focus on just one thing, but as one of the predators got closer, Violet narrowed in on it. Its breath, its footsteps, its scent. It drew closer and closer. Violet screwed her eyes tightly shut. Everything went still. She could no longer sense the beast at all. She cracked open an eye to see where it had gone. It was right in front of her, its face barely an inch away.
It w
