Returning to Innocence [EDITING]

Chapter One

I ran through the fields, unsure of where I was and unable to get any bearings in the barren landscape. The heavy footsteps behind me grew closer and I sped up, stumbling over anything in the way. It was dark; the sky was clear but the stars gave off little light. I kept running through my stumbling. It was now or never.

“Scarlett! Stop! When I catch up to you, I'll kill you! I'll leave you closer to death than I ever have before!” he yelled. I kept on running, turning a corner onto an empty road. I felt my heart sink, but he was still behind me. My breathing was ragged but still I kept running. This was my only chance of freedom and I wasn't about to waste it.

I ran down the road, the hard concrete hurting my uncovered feet far more than the grass and mud of the country lane I was running along before. I couldn't afford to stop, couldn't afford to slow for a second, couldn't afford to waste any time. The adrenalin was wearing off slowly and my legs were growing more tired and weak. I could hear him gaining on me and gave one last burst round a bend. Ahead of me I saw headlights, two singular dots in the distance.

“Hey!" I screamed, running into the middle of the road. "Stop!" The headlights continued towards me and a flash of fear ran through me before I supressed it and continued running. The chance of escape and freedom spurred me on and I heard his footsteps falling away from me. As I got closer to the car, it began to slow and pulled over to the side and I approached it quickly. The driver got out and I ran straight into him, my legs giving out as I did so. I glanced back for my captor but I could no longer seen him; he had disappeared into the shadows of the night to escape being caught.

"Are you okay?" the driver began to speak. He was a fairly young man I noted through my panic and fear, before realising he was still talking. "What happened to you? Are you okay? I need to take you to a hospital..." he trailed off muttering to himself as I stumbled slowly over to the car with his help. I was getting dizzier as we moved; a mixture of exhaustion and relief I presumed.

As the young man began to drive again, I let myself sink back into the seat and enjoy safety for a minute. "What happened to you?" the man asked again, glancing over at me worriedly before focusing on the road ahead again.

I took a deep breath “I was kidnapped.” I watched as the young man choked silently before clearing his throat and attempting to speak.

"Wh..ho...?" he began before shaking his head. "I'm John."

"Scarlett." I whispered quietly, closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the car speeding along the road. I felt dirty and shivered as I remembered all of the things that had happened.

"Are you okay?" John asked again and I opened my eyes to nod weakly at him, before leaning back and letting silence fill the car. "The nearest hospital is quite a way." He chuckled as I stared at him.

The reality of what I had done had began to settle in. I was free, I was safe from him. No more torture, no more pain, no more abuse. I would no longer be chained to a wall I thought and my eyes drifted down to my bruised and scarred wrists. I was safe for the first time in so long and I wasn't sure how to feel. My emotions were overloading from relief and confusion. I would see my parents again, I could go to school again and be normal again.

"What's the date?" I said suddenly, leaning forward in my seat and turning to look at John.

"It's January 21st, 2008," he answered and I felt myself pale. "How long were you..."

"I've been missing for a year." I whispered, more to myself than him. "I've been gone for a year."

I didn't answer anymore of John's questions, stumbling out of the car when we reached the hospital and answering nurses questions vaguely as I struggled to comprehend what was happening.