To the Bone

The night air in the forest was still as the freshly disturbed dirt shifted. All the animals grew quiet, sensing a predator as it shifted once again, fingertips struggling to break through the soft soil. Finally a head of black hair broke the surface, moving groggily before a woman’s face emerged. She took a greedy breath, coughing up dirt speckled with blood.

Her face was smeared with blood, mixing with the earth to create dark mud. She began to cry, tears clearing a path to reveal her honey brown skin underneath. She put one forearm in the dirt, using it to pull herself out of the shallow ditch she’d been buried in. Her other arm hung limply at her side, the moon illuminating a piece of bone poking through her skin.

She collapsed once she got halfway freed, sobbing into the ground. The ends of her hair were jagged as they fell loosely around her face as she struggled to control her breathing. There was fear in her espresso brown eyes as she looked around, seeing if she was truly alone. When she realized there were only animals in her midst she let out a choked cry of relief.

She looked up, biting her split lip with determination as she began pulling herself out again. She whimpered every time her limp arm was knocked around, but knew she had to find help. Finally she pulled herself loose, lying on her back and panting. She looked up at the sky, seeing the stars and the moon and smiled softly. She had figured she’d never see them again.

She tried to sit up slowly, knowing she had to make her way to the trail if she ever wanted to be found. Her legs shook violently as she slowly stood, threating to send her back to the ground. She stumbled to a tree, leaning on it for support as she got her bearings. She could see the yellow crime scene tape and limped towards it. She knew how to get to the trail from there.

She grabbed the tape, struggling to pull it over her head to get on the other side. Her entire body ached and she couldn’t completely catch her breath as she finally ducked underneath, seeing the excavated scene she knew so well. She couldn’t believe he had been so cocky, leaving her so close to an active crime scene. She continued forward, grabbing anything she could find to steady herself as she moved over the uneven terrain. She knew she was getting blood everywhere and contaminating everything, but she didn’t care. She had to make it, she had to recover so she could kill the monster that had done this to her.

She felt a fire of rage in her belly, remembering his face and let it drive her forward as she let out a small, near muted cry. It was all her hoarse voice could muster since it was caked with dirt and worn out from screaming. Finally she made it to the other side of the tape and stumbled underneath it. Everything in her body begged her to stop but she knew she had no chance of surviving if she did. She felt her legs give out beneath her as she hit the ground, seething in pain as her limp arm bounced. A fresh wave of tears ran down her face as it began to bleed again.

She looked up, seeing the trail from where she was as she began to crawl again. She used her feet to push herself forward through the cobwebs and plants. Her fingers dug into the dirt, feeling like they were worn down to the bone as she begged her body for that last bit of strength. If she got to the trail a hiker would find her. Finally she broke through the deer path and felt the gravel rub against her face.

She smiled widely, letting out a small sigh of relief. She had done it. Someone would find her now, they had to. Tomorrow was Saturday and the trail would be full in just a few hours. She just had to stay alive for a few more hours. She looked up, seeing the dark sky was beginning to grow lighter and decided it was safe to close her eyes. She knew her body was exhausted as she laid there, having given everything she had.

She woke up to the feeling of her body shifting and screamed, thinking he had come back for her, but the voice that spoke wasn’t his.

“Miss, calm down you’re all right.” She opened her eyes to see two women in hiking attire bent over her, one cradling her in her arms. “We called the police and they’re on their way, ok?”

“Wa…” The battered woman couldn’t even speak as she tried to point at the standing woman’s water bottle. Her throat was burning and she had to be able to give her statement to the police. Luckily the standing woman saw her small point and grabbed her water bottle, holding it to her lips.

“What’s your name?” The woman holding her asked after she’d taken a few greedy gulps.

“Ade…line.” She gasped. “Adeline Foxley.” She swallowed thickly, no longer being able to feel her limp arm. “Tell Spencer…” She coughed violently, spattering her muddy clothes with more blood as the outline of her vision began to blur. She turned to the women, knowing unconsciousness was coming for her again as she struggled to speak. Four words came out of her mouth, quiet as a whisper before she blacked out.

“Tell Spencer I’m sorry.”