Awareness

Tracey didn’t know she was crying.
Tears rolled down her cheeks like a river, but she wasn’t aware of them.
She didn’t know she was shaking either.
Although she saw the knife blade become an undefined blur in her trembling hand, she wasn’t aware that her whole body quaked in fear.
But she was aware that Timmy had reared up onto his hind legs like a beast about to attack. She was aware of the sneer that revealed elongated canine teeth.
And she was aware that the next few seconds would determine whether he would kill her. Or she, him.