Fiction Fest prompt: write about a pair of shoes

Once we cleared the trees, we instinctively ran towards the river. I could hear them behind us. We didn't have much time. Our only hope lay on the other side of the water in front of us. We were going to have to swim for it. We had no other choice. Breathing hard from our escape, we stopped, both of us bent at the waist with hands on our knees as we tried to catch a breath. My lungs were usually the stronger between the two of us, and they didn't disappoint me today. Sam continued to wheeze, but at least, she was standing and not passed out or coughing uncontrollably as she tried to catch her breath. That's good. Her asthma was under control. She'd be able to go on. I stood up and breathed in deeply of the salt-water river smell. With my eyes closed, I could easily believe that we were at the ocean. I opened my eyes half expecting to see flip flops scattered along a beach and sun-bathers asleep on their towels, but instead I saw the dry banks of the river with dozens of pairs of shoes lined up perfectly parallel to the water's edge - each pair glittered in the bright sun, reflecting shades of red, blue, orange, purple, and yellow. Fear immediately bulletted through me. These were Nataran shoes, and it could only mean one thing: they were in the water waiting for us. They'd laid a trap, and we'd run into full speed.