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Even if my stomach was crazy enough to rattle the car, I'd made it so far into the woods I can't even see the damn thing.
How long have I been walking? I must have completely zoned out in my mind and let my body take over our escape. Somewhere along the way, my blood turned ice cold, enough to numb the aches and pains for a while. There's nothing around except for wild bushes, trees, and, most likely, some disgusting snakes.
Fucking shudder.
I've been saying that we have been in the middle of nowhere, but now I've lost all sense of time and direction completely. What's worse is I don't know how much longer I can keep going.
This is the closest I've gotten to disassociating in months...I'm not proud to say that I'm so fucking glad I managed to escape without really thinking about it or experiencing the pain of walking.
Now that I'm present, my brain finally computes the misery of the hike. Bile and tears are a constant companion with the agony shooting through me. I'm almost positive my feet are shredded to ribbons, my arms and face littered with slices from the unforgiving brush, and not to mention, again, my insides feel like they are trying to tie themselves up into a knot, only to yank on the ends tighter.
Drama queen, you say? I wish.
"Shit, fuck!" A sharp stabbing pain in my toe loosens my lips enough to let loose a yell. The stumble has me careening to the right, losing my balance.
A strangled whimper shatters the quietness of the night around me when my shoulder collides with a tree. A fresh wave of hell shoots up my neck and down my arm while my body crumples to the ground.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I do my best to keep my voice down, even as my vision spots over with darkness.
Sometimes a nightmare is just too much to bear. The pain too taxing. The exhaustion too heavy.
"There's no fucking way I just managed to dislocate my shoulder," I murmur, biting my lip hard enough to bleed. Lifting my shaking hand, I push gently on the throbbing joint.
Before I can pull my hand away, burning bile rushes up my throat. I barely manage to whip my head to the side in an attempt to puke anywhere else but on my own person. The movement brings more stabbing pains, only causing more dry heaving and additional torment in my stomach.
A vicious fucking cycle.
Yep. I dislocated my fucking shoulder.
The disbelieving thought grumbles in my brain at the same time my chin hits my dirty chest, out for the count.
I hope I got far enough away.
"EVELYN!" The roar of Kyle's voice has me jerking awake with panicked breaths. Unfortunately, that only makes my chest ache; a reminder that I will never fully heal from the first time he held me against my will.
The adrenaline that spikes my system dulls the throbbing in my shoulder and the rest of my body.
"PET!"
"Shit, shit!" I can't help but chatter out the shaky words as I heave myself to my feet and bolt away from my hiding spot.
Hopefully, me hearing the echo of his voice means he's far enough away for me to run without him seeing. Because, let's face it, I am running like a newborn deer. Except my lack of coordination is due to a lot of fuckery.
"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!"
The rage in his voice sends my thundering heart into overdrive; telling me I need to move faster. Holding my injured arm around my injured stomach, I hustle-hobble my way through the scratchy forest. Sweat drips down my back and into the fabric of my disgusting dress.
"Shit," I hiss when a branch gets hold of the black garment and rips the bottom half away.
The sound of it makes the adrenaline pump into my veins faster for fear that he might have heard. I leave behind the scrap and allow my feet to take me as fast as they allow.
"EVELYN!" The sound feels closer, and I swear I can almost feel his putrid breath fanning across my neck.
Whipping my head around, I barely notice the damp strands of my hair whipping across my chest and cheeks.
Then everything bottoms out.
A horrific sense of weightlessness makes my tummy swoop and my brain lift.
