Chasing Midnight

In the quiet of the night
I awaken with a start  
There's a pounding on the door  
I feel the banging in my heart  
I step outside  
There is a small child in a red hood  
I try to speak  
She silently takes off for the woods  
I can barely keep up  
I only see flashes of red  
No matter how fast I run  
She stays a few steps ahead  
I am stumbling  
I am out of breath  
She just keeps running  
As if she knows this path  
I just keep on running  
My bare feet pound the earth  
I am running faster    
Than what I know it is worth  
As I think to turn around  
I hear the child scream  
I stop dead in my tracks  
Is this but a dream?  
I pinch myself  
I pick up a handful of dirt  
If I don't keep moving  
I fear the child will get hurt  
Suddenly we stand across from each other  
Between us is a stream  
I once again ask myself  
Could this be a dream?  
I kneel down slowly  
I start to play a game  
I splash water towards her  
She giggles and does the same  
We go back and fourth  
With this game we play  
I try to get closer    
I try to see her face  
At the snap of a twig  
She again begins her run  
I trudge through the water  
I notice the rising sun  
We come to a clearing  
I see the gravel of a street  
She stands in the middle  
Worn out, she falls to her feet  
She doesn't see furious headlights coming around  
I scream to tell her  
But it doesn't make a sound  
I collapse next to her  
Hoping she will live  
I cradle her in my arms  
Knowing it is all I can give  
The car just kept on driving  
Because they did not care  
When I looked down at my arms  
She was no longer there