Daily Flash Fiction Challenge

Hearing chants, he turns to stand with his back to the cliff, looking through the forest to see them
approaching. Some were carrying torches, which caused shadows to dance in the tree canopy above,
while shadows raced back and forth between them.

He had been running all day, almost reaching safety on the other side of the bridge; but they were there,
waiting…, pacing…, as if they knew he would come …

“Damn,” swearing under his breath so as not to be heard, turning he headed back the way he came, but
they must have sensed he was near, because soon he heard a scream/howl back up the path and knew
they were coming.

Sprinting to the stream he crossed earlier and jumping in, he headed off into the forest, hoping to lose them,
but that was short lived as the stream bed ended with the water flowing over the edge of the cliff.

The torch bearers stayed some distance away, keeping him in the light, but them far enough away to make
them indistinguishable under their hoods. The shadows slinked back and forth behind them, outside the light;
some on two feet, others on four, growling and snarling whenever they approached another.

Then the chanting died & the torchbearers parted like water on a rock as the tall one approached, stopping
a dozen paces away. Without a word being spoken, he knew that he was appraising him, trying to figure
out how he managed to avoid them as long as he did.

Soon, the tall one turned to walk towards the pack and that’s when he knew his time was drawing short.
When he turned back to watch the end, he found that I had other plans, as I stepped back into the darkness
of the abyss.