Escape
“Eventually is eventually too late.” (unknown)
...I ran through the forest, the light rain whipping against my ears, and I had no idea how much longer I could keep running.
My only worn, brown dress clung to me like old resin on a tree. Beneath it, I wore only a thin undergarment. Both grew heavier with each passing moment, weighing me down and slowing my progress.
My only possession was a silver pendant, wrapped around my wrist with a leather cord and covered in scraps of cloth. To lose it would mean losing the only memory of hope and humanity I still carried with me. It was all I had.
Though it wasn’t raining heavily, fortunately! The run in wet clothes, however, was exhausting, and with every passing minute, as my garments soaked through, my movements grew more rigid.
My lungs began to burn. It felt as though they were filling with smoldering embers. Those beautiful light points, so magical when they danced in the campfire, seemed to gather inside me, settling deep within. They gathered and tightened, leaving me breathless, stealing more and more air with every moment. Burning. Soon, they would suffocate me.
I could not hear my pursuers, but I could feel them chasing me...
“They are far too close!” urged my inner voice.
I wasn’t sure how I knew, but it was certain. I had to keep going!
My feet were already sore, for my shoes were mere light leather slippers, and neither my shoes nor I were suited for enduring such an enduring running.
I could feel the blood on my feet, for I had recklessly stepped upon stones and branches, with no time to slow my pace. My right ankle throbbed from the several times I had twisted it as I stumbled over larger limbs and smaller tree stumps.
My long, dark brown hair was a wild tangle, no doubt filled with leaves, wood, and dirt. Stuck together by the wetness, strands whipped into my face from time to time, worsening my already limited sight.
Tiny twigs struck my face again and again as I fled. My skin was smeared with streaks of dried and fresh blood.
Thin rivulets streamed from my forehead down my brow, almost black eyes, tears like carnelian falling down my cheeks. Each time I dared a glance behind me, they flashed in the light. They shimmered reddish, full of promise and like harbingers of doom, creeping ever closer, like a predator on the hunt.
Under the cover of night, I had hoped to gain a lead.
I had set out in the fading twilight of that nearly-passed day.
Once more, I glanced anxiously over my shoulder, seeing threatening, blurry shadows. Figures that seemed to follow me.
Was it truly happening? Were they mere illusions? Were they the ghosts of my fears? Or were they my merciless hunters? How close had they come?
Though it felt like an eternity, I had only run for about two hours. At first, I had moved quickly but cautiously, not suspecting my disappearance would be noticed. I had hoped to use the whole night to escape, without anyone realizing I had gone.
Had I truly believed in a happy twist of fate?
Believed I could escape it all?
The violence?
The pain?
The hopelessness?
Then, suddenly, faint voices and sounds crept into my ears, like the quiet snapping of branches behind me. A rustling here or there, a step or footfall? A growl or a grunt? Sounds too strange to be from animals. Deep, intense, and oddly stilted.
I quickly realized it wasn’t the random movements of wildlife, but something—or someone—was purposefully heading toward me, as if guided by a compass or something of the sort. When I changed direction, they did the same. When I made a detour, they adjusted just as swiftly.
At first, I ran harder, trying to breathe as quietly as I could. Every step was carefully placed. I thought that by being cautious and making as little noise as possible, I might escape my - accidental? - pursuers. Slowly, but undetected, I hoped to increase the distance between us.
I soon realized it was not by chance. They were gaining on me! Fast! So I ran even faster. My heart began to flutter in my chest like a bird, as I feared more and more that I had been discovered. My breath came in ragged gasps, trying to outpace my heart. Had they noticed my absence? I could hardly believe it.
My hunters no longer cared for their noise. Branches snapped loudly under heavy steps, and here and there, I heard deep breaths.
One of them must have tripped, for the crash of a heavy body against a tree was abrupt and violent. A groan and a soft whimper could be heard for a moment before fading.
It vanished so quickly that I thought it must have been imagined, but soon after, the leaves rustled and crackled, and something rose, though it did not move any farther.
A bone-chilling scream echoed through the night before the sounds shifted again. The steps following me grew more numerous, yet lighter. It sounded like far more than three people, and strangely soft, muffled—almost like… paws?
Could it be? Impossible, so many wild creatures together? They weren’t as heavy-footed as before, yet still substantial. Bears? Wolves weren’t this heavy, were they? I prayed they weren’t. The more I thought, the more fear crept up my spine.
My steps grew faster and faster, until I was running for my life, no longer paying heed to the sounds I was making.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The trees blurred past my sight.
I had only ridden a horse once, and when it had carried me in a gallop over fields, I saw the forests and meadows fly by. Not that I would have minded riding again, but I had not earned it. Only in an emergency had I been afforded such a ride.
A well-respected lady from the nearby town had needed medical assistance, and in the storm that raged at the beginning of my ride, I had been the expendable one to fetch the doctor. But the pounding of my heart quickly dragged me back to the present.
Wait, how could I run this fast? Clearly, fear was driving me to a speed I never could have imagined. I soared between the towering trees, leaping over stones and decaying tree stumps.
Whatever it was that propelled me, whatever gave me strength, I silently pleaded for it to continue aiding me.
The light was fading swiftly. The last weak remnants of daylight faded. A faint gray lingered as the final visible border before the colorless void of night, but soon the darkness swallowed the day entirely and called upon the moon to stand as a monument to the emptiness and finality of all things.
I had run far enough that I couldn’t see anyone, but I could still hear—or more accurately, feel—that something was still on my tail. No, I hadn’t heard a thing for some time, although I did catch the sound of rustling leaves and the soft patter of raindrops falling on the foliage.
The sense of impending doom lingered. Everything inside me screamed: Keep running! Do not stop! Even though the rain had subsided, a sea of fog was spreading through the forest, swallowing everything that dared enter.
The thick fog, like clouds, formed so quickly that I could see even less than before.
Damn! In the darkness of night and with the fog, I had to be more cautious. I knew the forest well, but I was entering areas becoming less familiar, and since I wasn’t only watching the forest floor, I worried I might trip on a root or something else and injure myself.
That would mean my brief escape would end, and my pursuers would catch me. Most likely, they would return me to my parents—at best—and that would change nothing. All hope of a new beginning, free from them, of escaping my father’s brutality and my mother’s cruelty, would be dashed. I would have no freedom left, and my chance to flee would be lost.
I leapt over a small stream and took a sharp turn to keep running for just a little longer. My clothes were already soaked. I wasn’t sure if they had dogs that could track my scent, but the stream was shallow, and I considered that possibility.
On a rock in the stream, I scraped the sole of my right foot. I feared the wound might be deep enough that I had injured myself more seriously. Perhaps the cold would keep it from bleeding too much. A jolt of pain shot through my leg like lightning, and I hobbled on.
The stream widened after a while, and I had to alter my plan. Exhausted, I climbed out of the now-deepening water and spotted some rock formations, sharp and rugged, yet offering cover.
Between two large rocks was a gap, but as I tried to squeeze through, I quickly realized it was too tight. My small, nearly starved body couldn’t fit through.
I didn’t want to lose the advantage the creek had given me by being trapped against the rocks, so I slid back out and circled the large stones. I managed to regain some speed and continued running, ignoring the signs of fatigue in my body.
When I focused on the hunters and sensed their direction, a cold shiver ran down my spine. My soul froze, and that only pushed me onward. Something reached through the fog like ice. Cold, clear, and deadly!
I pressed on, ignoring my pain and aching limbs. And I ran! As though the devourer of worlds himself were chasing me. I could feel my muscles tightening and my heart pouring all its strength into each beat.
I had to climb a small rise and found myself staring into a yawning abyss. Just in time, I nearly came to a halt and swerved around. Had it been daylight, I might have seen that the chasm didn’t stretch on both sides the same way.
In the fraction of a second, I chose to run left, not paying attention to the wound on my foot. As I ran, I prayed that Mother Moon would protect me and show me a way out of this chase.
Too late, I noticed that the ground beneath me had changed! A scent of rot blew toward me, and, confused, my legs gave way. I flung my hands out to catch something. A soft, frightened croak escaped my dry throat.
And then I fell...
Irresistibly, into the depths...
