The tall trees, sway majestically in the sharp, Autumn breeze. They rustle as their final leaves are stolen from their limbs, leaving them naked and vulnerable to the cold, dark, night. Squirrels motor along the smallest of branches, shaking the last hardy leaves down to their final resting place on the forest floor. Rabbits dart across the clearing, playing chicken with the foxes, camouflaged by the night, anticipating their attack. The foxes sneak, silently towards the point where they have the best chance of catching the dinner which they have so long awaited.
The rabbit’s ears twitch and he runs frantically into the bushes, an eerie silence sweeps over the whole forest leaving everything calm, not even the leaves chattered amongst themselves. The squirrels disappear into safe dens in the tall tree tops without making a sound. The silence is broken when a man appears out of the darkness, running across the clearing, panting heavily as his large footsteps pound the earth beneath. He is a tall, spindly man with scrawny legs that seem to make him glide across the landscape with great ease.
The prominent scar on his right cheek appears as he glances behind him to see if his pursuer is anywhere to be seen. He then continues his task, running. As he finishes his journey across the clearing he starts to dodge between the pillar like trees and hurdles the squat bushes. He reaches a wide river near the edge of the wood, it is wide and fast flowing but he has to get over if he wants to have any chance of escape. He can hear the savage dog of his hunter nearing him as he take s a few steps back.
Poised, ready to run, he psyches himself up. Calmly staring at the feat ahead. His tracker suddenly appears behind him and shouts violently at him. Startled the man starts to run towards the river, building up speed. His scrawny legs tired from the long trek though the forest are now aching with a great pain as he nears the edge of the river. He bends his knees slightly preparing for take off, swings his arms back and then lunges his narrow body towards the other side.
As his momentum starts to fade, he makes a final grasp at the shoot of a tree sticking out of the bank at the other side, but his long slender fingers fail to make contact with the tree and he starts sliding down into the dark menacing water beneath. He is swept into the penetrating flow of the river. Panic stricken, he desperatey attempts to snatch at some anchor on the river bank to help him to safety. After a few misguided shots, he finally reaches a stone wedged into the bank and manages to heave his drenched, tired body on to the river side.
He lay there not caring about where his pursuer was, just trying to catch his breath and keep warm. He heard the haunting noise of the dog and his master coming up the bank that he was on. They must have found a bridge over the river a little further along. He jumped to his feet and began running again. He came to a tall fence which must have been the boundary of the forest as he could hear cars on the other side. He started to scale the huge fence and once at the top, threw himself carelessly onto the other side.
He found himself on the side of a busy road. He could hear the sound of the dog and master clambering up the fence, still in hot pursuit of him and cars on the other side of him. He was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Not knowing what to do he stupidly ran into the speeding traffic. A massive lorry sounded its horn as it came hurtling towards him. He froze, terrified and panic-stricken, he just stood there like a rabbit dazzled in the headlights.
