The Last Mile



Her lungs burned as she sprinted through the cursed forest, ponytail whipping behind her, legs pumping harder than they ever had in training.
She could feel its hot, sulfurous breath on her back. The ground shook with every thunderous step of the nightmare chasing her — a towering, blood-red demon with burning eyes and claws like scythes. No matter how fast she ran, it kept gaining.
Tonight, the final mile wasn’t about finishing the run… it was about staying alive.