Chapter 6 Chapter six
Fire blazed from somewhere, casting everything in flickering orange light. Bodies lay on the ground, some moving, some not.
My eyes found a path in the trees that was clear, but it was walled by dark, dense forest stretching in every direction. If I ran in this chaos, I might actually make it. The thought of freedom was enough to make me cry.
I grabbed the door frame and hauled myself out of the carriage. My bare feet hit the dirt and I stumbled forward, but my body moved before I could think.
Run. Escape. I had to get to Vincent, only he can help me now.
“Get her!” Someone shouted from behind me as more screams rang out. “Don’t let the human--”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest. Just ran for the path.
“You fools! After her!” I heard Barron’s angry squeals as he yelled out orders that I didn’t care for.
Branches whipped at my face and arms. Roots tried to trip me whenever I thought I dodged them. The shredded dress caught on everything in my path, leaving me with barely enough to cover my exposed flesh. But I didn’t stop. I just couldn’t.
I couldn’t tell if they were still chasing me, or if I’d lost them in the thickest, but the sounds seemed to fade away into the distance, and I slowly started to notice something was off about the path I was on. The branches and trees looked like something large and angry had bulldozed its way through without stopping. Destroying everything in its path. And whatever it was…it must have been huge to be able to form this uneven path.
My lungs began to burn and my legs screamed at me. When was the last time I’d eaten? Days ago? All I got in the rout were pieces of stale bread…nothing more. I thought most handlers fed their livestock so they could sell them for a higher price.
I pushed on though. I had to--
My foot suddenly caught on a root, and I went down hard. Pain exploded through my knee when it landed on a jagged rock. It hurt so fucking bad and I wanted to scream. Scream and curse as loud as I could. But I didn’t, what if they found me? I picked myself up and tried to keep running. But my legs wouldn’t cooperate and blood started gushing out of the wound, making my already weak body feel weaker. I was weak from starvation and fear and---
My knees suddenly gave out again and I fell, this time I caught myself on my hands. Cutting those too on sharper rocks. My feet also hurt. Who knows what I stepped on?
“No.No.No. Please get up!” I was hyperventilating as I tried to push up. But when I took another step, my world tilted to the side. Thankfully there was a trunk and I leaned against it. When did everything start spinning? My vision was starting to fail me, darkness was creeping in from the edges.
“Please. Not now…”
Not when I was so close to---
To what? Where was I even going? I was lost for sure in the middle of nowhere, wearing rags, no food, water, and I was bleeding out from everywhere. If they didn’t find me, I would surely die from the blood loss before I died from hypothermia or even starvation. My back slid down the tree trunk until I hit the ground.
Maybe dying here wouldn’t be so bad. Anything would be better than going back to that man. Better than having my virginity stolen.
I couldn’t even cry. I closed my eyes, just for a moment. Just to rest…
CRUNCH
My ears picked up on boots crunching over dried leaves and twigs and my eyes snapped open. Shit.
I tried to stand, find a better hiding place that wasn’t this open, but my body wouldn’t obey. I could only watch helplessly as the sound drew nearer and a figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
Barron? It had to be him.
But, no, it wasn’t him. It was someone else. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Wearing a black mask with silver filigree that caught the moonlight.
I knew that mask. I saw him at the auction.
“No,” I whispered, trying to crawl backwards, but my path was blocked by the tree I was leaning on. “S-stay away.”
But my body gave up on the fight. Darkness flooded my vision and the last thing I saw before unconsciousness claimed me was the masked man kn
Feeling beside me, reach out with gloved hands.
