Prologue
It was now or never, she stared at the large open field lit only by the full moon above her. The treeline in the distance was her only hope of salvation and if she didn't move now she wouldn't make it.
She glanced back at the white house from her hiding place ducked behind the dilapidated shed, she wasn't sure where her captor was the darkness helped hide her but also him.
Taking a deep breath she propelled herself forward, across the lawn and down the dirt path towards the field, her bare feet being tore up by the rocks and sticks, her legs so weak they barely held her but she pressed on she had to get out of here.
She reached the field and realized it was farther to than trees than she originally thought, a second later she heard his voice yelling out to her in the darkness. His voice, it was enough to keep her moving despite the darkness, despite her now agonizing feet, despite her weak legs and pounding heart.
She dove into the darkness of the wood line ducking behind the first tree that she found, a sturdy old oak tree. She gripped the bark until her fingers ached. Her chest heaved and her lungs cried out for a break, heart pounding until she feared a heart attack. She wasn't sure how long she was missing but it was certainly long enough for her malnourished body to become weak.
"Shaylee," He taunted.
He was close, too close.
She wanted to push forward into the woods, her only hope of losing him was in the woods but she knew she didn't have the strength to get any real distance between them. So she cowered behind her friend the oak tree and waited hoping he passed by.
She heard his boots crunching on twigs and leaves, the same twigs that had speared her feet and scraped her legs. If she had a pair of shoes she felt near positive she could escape, if her heart gave out so be it.
His flashlight beam slithered past her hiding spot barely missing her and she closed her eyes tightly pressing into the tree, wishing she could crawl inside and disappear.
"Shay, we both know this is pointless," He said his tone almost gentle.
She bit her chapped and bleeding lip, a tear winding down her swollen cheek.
"Come on out," He called.
She didn't move.
His light and footsteps retreated and after a few minutes she felt somewhat sure he was gone, carefully she abandoned her tree and began tiptoeing through the forest, trying her best to not make a sound. A twig snapped in the distance and she paused.
She would regret pausing for the rest of her life.
A sharp blow to the back of her head was the last thing she was acutely aware of.
