Roughly six years ago...
Missouri
My fatigued, weak legs pushed on through the brushy woods. Thorns from the sticker bushes digging into my skin. The beam of a flashlight lurked in the darkness behind me, flickering through the dreadful trees. Casting ominous shadows through the already eerie woods. Each rapid breath I sucked in burned deep within my chest, but I could not stop. I could not get caught. I was running blind, the moonlight now concealed by thick clouds. My hand firmly clasped over my stomach, at the slashes that still trickled blood.
My ears tuned out the distant barks and shouts of officers. I couldn't think about what would happen if they caught me... how they'd never believe me. How I'd spend the rest of my life in a prison cell , or they'd think I was insane and stick me into another type of cell. Who am I kidding, maybe I am insane. None of this can be real. It's not possible.
I grunted as my foot caught on something sending me crashing into the muddy, cold earth. The dead leaves crunched under my body as I rolled, spiraling out of control from the momentum. Every ounce of my body was howling at me to stop. I hissed, shakily pushing myself up from the ground ignoring the pain. The barks were still distant, but they were gaining ground.
I had to find a way to cover my scent. Those dogs would find me by morning light if I didn't. Kneeling down my hands scoured over the earth, until they landed in something cold and slimy. Mud.
Without hesitation I began painting myself in the mud. Haphazardly slopping the gritty frigid sludge all over my clothes and skin. Cupping my hands I lowered them back into the puddle once more. Dousing my hair. Trembling from the cool air brushing against the mud, I lifted myself from the ground to continue my attempt of evading.
Hours passed, hours of stumbling through the darkness. The lights and barks never too far away, pushing me to keep going. The gashes across my stomach now screaming in pain, scorching every movement, every rise with breathing. Why was I still going? My family... they're gone. There is nothing for me, nothing I can be in this life now.
I reined in a cough as I paused, resting my arm against a tree. The morning light cresting through the dead trees. I felt as if I were about to fall apart-both physically and mentally. My life, my everything eroded before my eyes in just mere minutes. Perhaps living out my life in a cell would be my punishment for letting my parents die, for not doing anything to save them.
Slumping against the tree, my back slid down the scaly bark. I wouldn't move from this spot. I'd let them catch up, let them haul me off to jail. A shiver enveloped my entire body, one that I likely had all night but only now noticed. My vision blurred as I stared at the dirt caked to my hands, hands that would have cuffs around them soon enough.
My head jerked up at the sound of a branch cracking behind me, but I kept my word, I didn't move. Almost silent steps approached, only the faint sound leaves crunching could be heard over my thundering heart.
A blonde haired woman stepped into my line of sight, a black shotgun in her arms aimed at me. My spine stiffened against the tree, eyes locked on the barrel pointed at me. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, her eyes were puffy with purple bags underneath. Not a single thing about this woman radiated kindness or compassion. My mind screamed at me to run, to not give up, but my guilt won.
"Astrid, I take it?" She gruffly asked, not a spec of emotion in those icy blue eyes.
I didn't answer, just held her cold gaze. Even if I wanted to talk, I'm not sure I could at this moment.
"If I ask you a question, I expect a fucking answer," she gritted out, those eyes narrowing in on me sending ice through my veins. All I could do was nod. She most certainly wasn't a cop, not with her brown jacket, blue jeans, and hiking shoes. Something deep within my gut was clawing at me to get away from her.

YOU ARE READING
Eclipse of Vengeance
FantasyAstrid Greene had been a fairly typical teenage girl; attending high school, playing sports, and nightly family dinners. That all changed when a cloaked being slaughtered her parents in front of her at just fifteen. Instead of finishing high school...