Inside of You

After a few seconds of more sounds of crunched leaves, the psychopath finally noticed. He knew we weren’t alone but his face didn’t seem scared. It was blank. I didn’t know whether it was better if I killed myself or lived anymore. I was that confused.

Once his focus seemed dazed, I took the opportunity to slip from under him and kick him in the face as hard as I could. Affected by what I did, he fell to the ground and groaned in pain loudly. As he rolled on the floor, I ran past the trees to an unknown direction that eventually led me to an open clearing. I was lost beyond comprehension and I didn’t know what to do anymore. He was bound to follow me one way or another but would he know exactly what path I took? I bit my lip as my fear grew inside of me. I glanced from right to left trying to find a way out of this mess but I couldn’t think of anything. What happens if I only get even more lost in the woods? What happens if I bump into him again? I wouldn’t want that to happen so I just ran to the east side of the clearing and hid behind a tree with a wide trunk. I slid down and prayed that someone would find me. But then I realized that my phone was actually inside the pocket of my dress. I grabbed it as quickly as I could and texted John.

I didn’t know how fast he could reply but maybe once he sees the word ‘SOS’ flashing on the message, he’d come to my rescue.

I gripped my phone as hard as I could as I waited in agony for his reply. Seconds seemed like hours here and I wasn’t sure I was gonna survive that long. My heart started burning about a few minutes ago and the pain was only worsening as the seconds ticked by.

My breath hitched as I heard more leaf crunching from my front. I slowly started to get up from the soil and kept a watchful eye in my surroundings. Everything was so dark that it was hard to see. But I guess if I wanted to survive, I’d have to start moving.

I crept my way behind another tree and made sure that I didn’t make much noise. Tears were sprinting out of my eyes like waterfalls and it was getting harder to see or breathe. I wiped the snot that formed under my nose as I tried to calm myself down. I peeked on the left side of the trunk to see if there really was someone there but the moment I moved my head, someone from behind me covered my mouth and held me by the waist. I screamed so hard that my lungs burned. I kicked and elbowed him but all I got was air. This was it, this was the end.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I heard Garrett’s voice say. “It’s me.”

He dropped his hold off me and I fell to the floor. I sighed heavily as relief washed through all the parts of my body. But the heavy breaths weren’t stopping. I felt like I was going to crash or black out any minute now and in this situation, that was the worst thing that could happen.

Garrett crouched down right next to me as he searched the area. “Did that guy hurt you in any way?”

“It’s the same guy,” I told him as I locked him in an embrace. I was lucky to be safe with Garrett. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on to my senses. My breaths were short and heavy and he was getting this really worried look on his face. Like he really did want to help me but he didn’t know how.

“We’ll get out of this,” he assured and for that moment, I was hopeful.

But the hope was cut short when a new pair of feet came marching in. He was back and he was eyeing Garrett as if he was a piece of meat that he wanted to tear apart. I couldn’t bare having Garrett hurt because of me so I got up and tried to defend him but Garrett only pushed me aside and closed the tense gap between them. He took the first strike and hit him really hard in the face. Garrett broke his nose and I thought it was over but he only scrunched his face and got back up to defend himself again. He started to grapple with Garrett and proved to be stronger. He punched Garrett right in the gut and didn’t plan to stop. I got up and ran towards the two men and tried to fend them off of each other.

“Stop it!” I called out but I was only thrown to the side by the asshole that wanted something from me.

My head hit something really hard. I didn’t know what it was exactly – if it was a rock or a tree – but I was sure that I must’ve scratched myself a little at the back of my head.

“This guy isn’t going anywhere alive,” he laughed evilly as he faced me before turning to Garrett –who now seemed miraculously healed – and kicked him right in the nuts.

My throat was getting dry and everything was getting hazy. I watched as Garrett finished him with kick-punch combos. I felt like I was watching a video game. I laughed as the sight unfolded in front of me. I was getting dizzier and dizzier as everything around me spun in circles. I touched the back of my head to see how bad the damage was. It was really cold and wet. I guess it wasn’t just a small wound after all. Unfortunately, I was too buzzed to care.

When Garrett was making his way towards me, I tried to get up but I couldn’t feel my legs. I heard him curse a profanity before I blinked heavily. I tilted my head front to see another figure running into the scene. I couldn’t see who it really was far away.

Garrett motioned for him to come faster. I was slowly losing sight but I was glad I saw John’s face before I completely wiped out. It showed that he actually got the message – that he actually cared.