Morningside Cuesta [m] vieja

breath drawn; foliage slashed across her starsilvered face. she leapt a fallen tree and went on, heart beating fast, blood pumping. ears slanted to hear, to hear the steps behind her. and her mind held the cries of a frightened bird. the cuesta curved harshly, the eastern edge of the great drop catching the woman, spilling her over the edge. then she did shout, clinging feebly to one side, clawing her way back from the boulders and the stone teeth below, caught between a bruising fall and the monster glimpsed when she looked frantically upward.