tight as it clamped around my waist, and he hoisted me up in one arm like I was a ragdoll. His free hand covered my mouth, smothering my screams as he lugged me back toward the road.
I dug my heels into the ground, trying to slow our progress, but my feet ineffectively dragged behind me. I drove my fingernails into his arms, trying to inflict enough pain for him to loosen his hold. When that didn’t work, I went for his face. He shifted and tightened his grip so that I couldn’t even do that. Struggling to breathe with his viselike clutch around my chest only intensified my desperation. I kicked my feet at his, and he stumbled slightly.
I did it again and again, struggling in his grasp, my breaths coming in shallow gasps as his grip tightened. Finally, my persistence paid off. One of my feet got under his, and he toppled face first, losing his hold on me as he went down. I landed on my knees and got up before he did. I ran, and hoped it was in the right direction.
Toward Nathan. More than anything, I hoped he was alive.
I heard the man-beast-thing behind me, closing the distance. I pumped my legs faster and harder to keep ahead of him. My chest burned for air, my vision blurred, and my ankle throbbed. I ignored it all. I had to outrun him. If he caught me, I was dead.
His fingers grazed my back, and then caught the heel of my foot. I stumbled and fell forward, smashing my face into the ground. The impact pushed the air from my lungs. I recovered quickly and crawled to my knees, but it wasn’t fast enough.
He was on me before I could get up. He flipped me over onto my back and lowered his face to mine. His lips twisted into a sinister grimace. The golden flames in his eyes surged. His breath smelled like death, and made me gag.
I struggled to squirm out from under him. He pressed a knee into my chest and threw his other leg over the both of mine, pinning me to the ground with his weight. He held both my hands above my head in one of his and, with his free hand, gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. From the look on his face, I knew that he planned to kill me right then and there.
Despite the knee pressing into my lungs, I got a big enough gulp of air to scream for Nathan. I only managed part of his name before I was backhanded in the mouth. It hurt enough to bring me up short. Temporarily.
I writhed beneath him and yelled again. This time, I got the whole name out before I received another smack to the face. Tears sprung up in my eyes, partly from the pain. Mostly out of frustration. Where was Nathan? I didn’t want to consider the possibility that he was already dead. If he were, I would be next. He was my only hope.
“Nathan! Nathan!”
It was pure fear that pushed his name out of my lungs as the beast on top of me clobbered me over and over. Finally, he clamped his hand over my mouth, shoving my cries back down my throat. When his hand shifted to pinch my nose shut, I bucked under him and shook my head from side to side. He was too strong for me. Nothing worked. The hand stayed.
The freak was going to smother me!
I didn’t want to die this way—alone, on the cold forest floor, at the hands of a monster. Adrenaline surged, kicking me into warrior-mode. Working my mouth open, I got a chunk of his palm between my teeth, and clamped down—with everything I had.
“Argh!” He pulled his hand back.
I sprung out from under him and kicked him in the stomach while he was still reeling from the bite. The kick barely fazed him, but it didn’t matter. Someone else whizzed by me and slammed into him, driving him off of me, and allowing me to wriggle free. I watched the two shadowy figures wrestle on the ground in front of me. It was too dark, and they were moving too fast, to tell who was who. One of them had to be Nathan. I hoped one of them was Nathan.
One finally gained the upper hand, flipped the other onto his back, and drove a knife down. A wet gurgling cry pierced the night as the one on
I dug my heels into the ground, trying to slow our progress, but my feet ineffectively dragged behind me. I drove my fingernails into his arms, trying to inflict enough pain for him to loosen his hold. When that didn’t work, I went for his face. He shifted and tightened his grip so that I couldn’t even do that. Struggling to breathe with his viselike clutch around my chest only intensified my desperation. I kicked my feet at his, and he stumbled slightly.
I did it again and again, struggling in his grasp, my breaths coming in shallow gasps as his grip tightened. Finally, my persistence paid off. One of my feet got under his, and he toppled face first, losing his hold on me as he went down. I landed on my knees and got up before he did. I ran, and hoped it was in the right direction.
Toward Nathan. More than anything, I hoped he was alive.
I heard the man-beast-thing behind me, closing the distance. I pumped my legs faster and harder to keep ahead of him. My chest burned for air, my vision blurred, and my ankle throbbed. I ignored it all. I had to outrun him. If he caught me, I was dead.
His fingers grazed my back, and then caught the heel of my foot. I stumbled and fell forward, smashing my face into the ground. The impact pushed the air from my lungs. I recovered quickly and crawled to my knees, but it wasn’t fast enough.
He was on me before I could get up. He flipped me over onto my back and lowered his face to mine. His lips twisted into a sinister grimace. The golden flames in his eyes surged. His breath smelled like death, and made me gag.
I struggled to squirm out from under him. He pressed a knee into my chest and threw his other leg over the both of mine, pinning me to the ground with his weight. He held both my hands above my head in one of his and, with his free hand, gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. From the look on his face, I knew that he planned to kill me right then and there.
Despite the knee pressing into my lungs, I got a big enough gulp of air to scream for Nathan. I only managed part of his name before I was backhanded in the mouth. It hurt enough to bring me up short. Temporarily.
I writhed beneath him and yelled again. This time, I got the whole name out before I received another smack to the face. Tears sprung up in my eyes, partly from the pain. Mostly out of frustration. Where was Nathan? I didn’t want to consider the possibility that he was already dead. If he were, I would be next. He was my only hope.
“Nathan! Nathan!”
It was pure fear that pushed his name out of my lungs as the beast on top of me clobbered me over and over. Finally, he clamped his hand over my mouth, shoving my cries back down my throat. When his hand shifted to pinch my nose shut, I bucked under him and shook my head from side to side. He was too strong for me. Nothing worked. The hand stayed.
The freak was going to smother me!
I didn’t want to die this way—alone, on the cold forest floor, at the hands of a monster. Adrenaline surged, kicking me into warrior-mode. Working my mouth open, I got a chunk of his palm between my teeth, and clamped down—with everything I had.
“Argh!” He pulled his hand back.
I sprung out from under him and kicked him in the stomach while he was still reeling from the bite. The kick barely fazed him, but it didn’t matter. Someone else whizzed by me and slammed into him, driving him off of me, and allowing me to wriggle free. I watched the two shadowy figures wrestle on the ground in front of me. It was too dark, and they were moving too fast, to tell who was who. One of them had to be Nathan. I hoped one of them was Nathan.
One finally gained the upper hand, flipped the other onto his back, and drove a knife down. A wet gurgling cry pierced the night as the one on
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