Behind Closed Doors

Prologue

One. Two. Three. A deep breath. Four. Five. Six. A slow exhale. She just needed to get her wind back, then she could run again.

"Eliza," she heard her name called and a slow, taunting, feminine drawl. "Come out and play, Lizzy." Two other girls giggled in the background.

"It's ok, Lizzy," another voice called from the same direction as the first. "We just want to talk about the ghost in the bathroom."

Lizzy ran her fingers over the rough bark of the tree she leaned against, centering her mind, trying to think of a way out. She knew the first girl to call out was Hannah, the leader of their trio. Hannah wouldn't hurry to chase her; she would make Olivia and Grace do the dirty work.

"Lizzy, come on. It's just us," the first girl called again.

She felt her legs wobble beneath her, but she forced them to hold her up.

"What?" she called back, keeping her voice even, but her heart hammered against her ribs.

"Ghost!" Hannah yelled with laughter.

Lizzy felt her muscles clench.

"Come on, Lizzy, it's ok, we won't tell anyone. We'll keep it between us. You can trust us."

Lizzy felt her jaw tighten. Taking a quick peek around the tree, she saw a flash of pink maybe forty yards behind her. A twig snapped to her right. One more deep breath, chiding herself to stop thinking about the burning in her chest and throat. She pushed herself away from the shelter of the tree and ran for everything she was worth.

"Wait!" Hannah yelled.

"Got her!" the third girl screamed, just as Lizzy sidestepped her grasp. She zigged and zagged through the trees, ducking low branches, and jumping over obstacles on the ground. If she tried to run flat out, Grace would catch her. She was, after all, the varsity track star of the school. No one could beat her in a straight and fair race.

That was fine though, Lizzy had traveled these woods for years coming to and from school. She knew their pitfalls like the back of her hand. Creston Gorge would be the place to lose the girls. It wasn't large by any means but there were a lot of dead ends. Lizzy took a sharp left, using her hand around a slender tree to cut the corner without losing speed. She felt her feet sink into soft earth and heard the squeal of dirt beneath her sneakers.

A sharp pain shot through her knee, but she kept running.

"Lizzy, stop!" Grace called from behind.

She felt her body start to slow. Her legs shook as she tried to take another step forward. No! She had to keep going. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She couldn't hear anything except her breathing.

"There she goes, catch her!" Hannah demanded, lazily jogging after the others. Lizzy saw her out of the corner of her eye and almost tripped over a large rock for her distraction. Grace whooped behind her to the right.

Coughing, Lizzy struggled for breath as she caught her balance. She looked back over her shoulder to see Hannah and Grace closing in on her.

Olivia jumped in front of her from behind a large clump of brush. Crying out, she skidded to a halt, feet away from Olivia's outstretched arms. She backpedaled, narrowly missing Grace as the girl slid to adjust her momentum to avoid crashing into Olivia.

Grace came up behind her and put her hands on her shoulders, trying to shove her backwards. Lizzy spun around to face her, but she didn't have time to dodge. Olivia's strong grip threw her off balance. The girls began to fall, both tumbling forward into the grass.

Lizzy rolled over and gasped for air. She kicked hard behind her, smiling when she heard the yelp of pain. On her feet again in seconds.

"You stupid bitch!" Olivia yelled, lunging at her. Lizzy dodged out of the way and ran again. She would never make it to the gorge, but Creston House was just past the tree line. If she could get there, maybe she could find her way out of the woods.