Bamboo

          Your footsteps are the only thing that break the unnatural silence. They don't echo very far between the bamboo stalks that reach up into the sky, looking for that pale light. You know the path by heart, the twists and turns through the forest that would otherwise confuse and swallow up an unfamiliar traveler. The light green that stains the living walls around you saturates everything else around you. Even your hands you notice  when they flit into view.
          But as well as you know this forest, your pursuers do too. Your speed is the only thing that will save you. A fork in the path comes up but you don't hesitate. You hope that will buy you a moment or two.
          Again the eerie silence hits you as you hear only the fast beating of your heart and your harsh breathing. The usual bird songs have fallen silent. No wind blow through the branches that usually give you a soft background of rustling leaves. There is only ominous silence.
          You better hurry.