Haunted Wood We make our own future.

It was imperative for Towhee to keep her eyes on the fleeing prey, so she couldn't afford even a quick glance behind her to see if Raven was bringing up the rear. She thought she sensed her sister's presence behind her—even felt a hot blast of breath on her heels—but most of Towhee's attention was trained upon the fleeing pig.

At first, she kept up with it and even gained some ground. For a solid minute or two, her blood thrilled with the success so close at hand. But then one of her paws snagged on a tree root and Towhee didn't just stumble, he smashed into the ground with enough force to break a couple of teeth. She was lucky she didn't bite off her own tongue.

She laid there, dazed, smarting where parts of her body—her chin and her chest, mostly—had impacted with the solid earth. She tasted blood in her mouth and spat at least two small, white fangs into the dirt, along with some pink foam. But Towhee barely glanced at them, instead peering around for any sign of Raven or the beast.