'Murderer' He Whispered

12

Megan felt like she was being suffocated slowly and painfully as she paced inside her tiny bedroom. Her clothes and books were strewn all over the floor as she picked her way across without trampling on any of them. From the other side of the house, she could hear her mother yelling.

The young girl grimaced as the woman's voice rose a pitch higher than normal, the words flying out of her mouth at the speed of lightning. Megan couldn't understand what she was saying, but her eyes widened when she was certain she'd heard her own name thrown into the mix of the tumbling words of rage.

Megan's breathing quickened until her chest began to tighten painfully. With a sudden pang, she knew what her mother was angry about, and it all had to do with her.

She's found out I did it!

Without a second thought, the young girl leaped over to her wardrobe, threw open the doors and scavenged through all the books, papers and other objects she had dumped at the bottom until she found her bag and yanked it free of the clutter. She turned and grabbed all the clothes she could find on the floor and stuffed them all into the bag, not caring if she was throwing in clothes and underwear that needed washed along with her hairbrush and some socks.

Pulling a pair of socks on before pushing her feet into her black ankle boots that squeezed against her toes and wrapped her yellow and green striped scarf around her neck, Megan tied her long, bleach blonde hair into a messy bun before opening her bedroom window and climbed out, thankful that their house was a bungalow as she wasn't the best climber and would surely have fallen if her bedroom was located a floor higher.

Stepping onto the wet grass below her, Megan pushed her window shut again before racing across the garden towards the road. She slipped on the wet grass, feeling her legs give way from underneath her before landing on her shoulder blades as her head banged against the dirt. She let out a cry, but she had no time to let the pain hold her back as she forced herself back up, dragging her bag behind her.

Megan ran and ran until her lungs burned painfully in her chest until she finally halted at the edge of the forest on the outskirts of her hometown where she hoped no one would find her. For now, at least.

Dropping her bag to the ground, Megan fell to her knees and breathed hard, feeling the cold morning air sting the walls of her throat as her body trembled against the damp moss and dirt that felt like ice as it soaked through her baggy jeans.

Megan chewed on her bottom lip as she stifled the sobs erupting in her chest. She knew her mother would be looking for her, but she couldn't be found. She didn't want to be found. She wished her mother would just forget she ever existed and let her do what she pleased, but Megan knew that wouldn't be the case.

Finally gaining her breath back, Megan gazed at the tall trees in front of her, taking in their solitude and wishing she was one of them. She had nowhere to hide as she had no friends who were close enough to her that would allow her to bunk at their place for a day or two until things died down, and she hated the rest of her family. Just like her mother. She had nowhere to go, and no money to keep her going. She couldn't hide in the forest for that long, not through the cold nights. She'd freeze.

Perhaps freezing to death is better than being found, Megan thought bitterly as she wiped a single tear from the corner of her eye.

Suddenly, from behind her, a twig snapped under pressure, startling Megan as she jumped to her feet and grabbed her bag, ready to make a break for it. However, whoever had found her wasn't her mother or any of the members of the woman's circle of friends that sounded more like a cult.

"Megan? Is that you?" a familiar voice called as it neared her.

Sudden loud screeches shrilled from terrified birds as they flew from the treetops, causing Megan to spin towards the bark trunks in terror.