Nothing

Her gasps cut the silence. She's too loud.
Clammy hands fumble in the dark.
Around her neck, her face, until they finally find her
Quivering lips. If only she could
See. If only she could find
A way out, a haven.
She can't see her hands
Holding back the tears and failing.
She can't reach for a light. They'll see.
Her light is their light.
A whimper pushes through her fingers.
She bites her lips, crawls
Her way forward. Dead pine needles
Stab at her fingers, her legs, and,
Worse, scream her presence.
Three feet, five, eight, maybe they
Won't hear. Maybe they --
A twig snaps.
She sobs and pushes to her
Bare feet. Through the night air,
A moan grows.
Another joins, then another, a nightmare chorus.
Far away, something giggles.
A shadow shifts.
She darts away, her arms raised
To block the reaching branches
And the grasping claws. A sharp edge
Slices her cheek. Blood drops.
They can smell her now. More join
The chorus. They surround her,
Deafen her. She can't scream.
She trips. She falls.
She has time to see them
Come from the blackness. Twenty, thirty,
Too many for her to run.
She screams. And then there is nothing.