There are few things I enjoy more than reading a story by someone who writes for the sheer pleasure of writing. I think that is what happened here. You like to exercise your writing muscle.
This is vivid, articulate, well paced. The tone of the piece is consistent with the content. I love the irony. Tiny termites were his undoing, not the ferocious dogs.
Such a very short story accomplishes a lot.
If this were my story, and if I were fine tuning it with exquisite edits, one thing I would do is look at this section:
The cold air of the night also worsened his predicament. Slowly, the brisk pace of his feet began to fade until it came to a stop. He was sapped of the strength to continue running. He held his breath as he crouched behind the trunk of a big tree, muttering a word of prayer.
There is nothing wrong with this section, but I would find a way to eliminate some of the ofs. Just telling you this, one writer to another, as I would suggest to a colleague in a writing group. Sign of respect :) You can, of course, disagree.
I enjoyed reading this.
To be honest, it's the feedback I get from the community that encourages my fondness for creative writing nowadays. Thank you for the constructive criticism like always.
Now that you've pointed it out to me, I really see that "Of" appeared one too many times in that paragraph. I really should find a way to reduce them.