Maddy heard the call from behind her, and she started running flat-out. Her lungs were burning, her legs were shaking, and her mouth felt drier than the Vegas sands. But her survival instinct was fully in control now. To stop meant death. To stumble meant death. Maddy couldn't die now, not now that she was reunited with her baby sisters. Who would look after them if she was gone?
That thought had just passed through her head, when she felt the impact on her legs and went sprawling to the earth. She hit the ground hard, groaning in pain even as she tried to scramble away. She flipped over and stared up into the monster's face, trying to find...she didn't know what.
It raised its arm, and Maddy felt her fear start to pale in comparison to the rage building in her belly. Just who did this asshole think he was? No one got to kill and eat her. Not today, Satan. She raised both of her own arms, gathered every scrap of power within her, and in her most commanding voice, she hollered, "STOP!" If she was going to die, at least she was going to go out fighting.