I run until my lungs are seething, and every muscle in my body feels as if it is being ripped apart.  Shuddering, hitched breaths grasp at my throat.

I launch myself down a flight of stairs without hesitation. A spurt of air strikes me before I collide against the hard floor.

The crash startles me back into reality and into my body, which is consumed by pain. I try to take a breath, unexpectedly aware of the stillness surrounding me.

I think it's over, but I can still hear it scuttling around, it's greed now eternally etched in my mind.