About 8 minutes longer of running before my breath started geting rough and shallow. Somehow Alice stayed ahead. I hear more rusling and turn my head for a moment. I didn't see anything and started to slow down. My chest hurt from how fast my heart was beating. My throght was dry as well as my mouth and I was trying to get air into my lungs but it was a struggle. I stop to notice that I've lost track of Alice. I knew that time was running short and that beast was near, so I just ran. I had little breath to spare but called out her name anyway. My foot caught on an uprooted tree stump that was moldy from years of decay. I tasted blood in my mouth as my jaw hit the wet, sticky dirt. A few moments later, I heard twigs snap near me. For some reason I couldn't pull my face out of the muk.