Scared {Non 1D Version}

This is the same story as the One Direction version but I have changed the names and some looks of the characters just in case. This is also under copyright law so no stealing! Thanks - Avri B.

Scared: Panic-stricken, petrified, fearful, horror-stricken....and yet nothing close to this.

"Run! Why wont you run?!" I scream at my brother, fear etched in every word.

"My foot's stuck!" He yells frantically trying to free his foot that's buried deep in a rotting log.

Looking back at him I see that sure enough, his foot is stuck and the wood is too strong to break easily. Running to where my brother is I yank his leg as hard as possible. No luck. Hearing The Man's angry yelling coming from the right I shake away the fear coursing through me and pull harder. He's too close to us!

"There's a rock over there, smash the wood around my foot." He says not letting the panic meet his eyes though I see it thrashing about.

I can't help him, we both know it. I try anyway as angry tears spill from my eyes. Why couldn't we have had a normal family with normal family members that won't get us killed?

Nodding my head I grab at the rock, slick with mud thanks to yesterday's storm. The wood chips away with every swing. Mark jolts when his ankle is free. It's working but too slowly and we don't have enough time.

As if on cue our cousin comes bursting through the bushes brandishing his gun in one hand and a rusted machete in the other. Shivers run down my spine at the memories of the machete alone, the gun being a whole other story. He is too 'talented' in the art of pain; physical and mental. A true psychopath. Mark yanks on his leg again, were doomed and we both know it. Mark's breath catches beside me and I already know what he's about to say.

"I can't get away" He says slowly before whispering "You need to run." He then pulls me to his side as if he could possibly shield me from this demon stalking towards us.

My brother's eyes are on me I know but all I can do is stare into the demonic gaze of this oncoming beast. With clenching fists I wrap one hand around Mark's arm protectively. The action is in vain and nothing but a show of love at this point. Nothing and no one can keep us safe.

"Run. Now." He says pushing me.

Protesting, my head shakes no but my mouth never moves. I'm frozen in fear standing beside Mark, whatever strength there was now seeping  from me. Every second of this life has been a game of cat and mouse. Were the mice. The Man's gun is raised as our eyes meet; his eyes set and gun cocked. Mark pushes me hard and finally my legs work. I take one last look at Mark trying to see anything in his eyes; hope, an idea maybe...and I see nothing.

'I love you' he mouths.

 A knife slashes in my peripheral. I run blindly deeper into the woods, to where, God only knows.

Running through the woods at night is terrifying but what's been left behind is petrifying. After what could've been minutes but could've also been hours I stop to catch my breath and listen. I'm disoriented, hurt and absolutely silent. For a long moment the only sound is the crunching of leaves on the damp dirt, the same dirt now caked on my hands.

I jerk at the sound of a gun, the shrill screech of a bullet hitting its target and a thud that could only have been my heart stopping. Falling to my knees I sob, completely ignoring the pain threatening to shred my sanity.  My hands tear at my face smearing mud into my ears. The physical pain is manageable and nothing compared to the agony in my chest. The pounding is painful, for a fleeting moment I worry about a heart attack. Would that be so bad though? Would I die and be joined with my brother again? His chances of having survived are zero. That psycho would never have let us live. 

"That son of a bitch did it..." I say, despair taking over every part of my body.

Hate courses through my veins but it's gone just as quick, quickly replaced with exhaustion. I'll never know just how long I lay there crying out for my brother but as the flow of tears slow I pick myself up. That's what Mark would have done. I scan the thick forest around me in the hopes of just maybe finding a road to a town far enough away. Choking back a sob I stumble through rotted logs and sharp branches.  A deep cut on my leg starts to ooze and the pain is beginning to strike in waves when the adrenaline wears off. The thing is though, I don't care. Let it bleed, let me bleed until there's nothing.

Exhaustion has torn any bouts of energy from me there may have been. My feet ache and I'm now very aware that one of my ankles may be fractured but I see a light ahead and I can't stop now.

"Almost there." I say, peripheral vision starting to fade fast.

The forest is thinning out as the light gets closer and closer. With blood drying and pain intensifying...everything disappears at once. The smell of earth fills my nose and I want to get up but there's no way. Nothing will move. Scared, fear is what found me in the dark.

"So close damn it" and I'm gone.