Eden Lake

Chapter 24

Tears are streaming down my face, but this time it is not out of sadness or despair. No. This time it is out of relief and happiness. The corners of lips curl up into a smile and I laugh out loud upon seeing the high, grey, fence in the distance. My way out. I come to a stop in front of the gate, my hands grabbing onto the bars. I look and see a small van has stopped on the road. A man is sitting behind the wheel and Jenny is seated in the passanger seat. I sigh in relief upon seeing Jenny is still alive and now out of Brett's reach. I open my mouth to call out for Jenny when the man steps out of the van, closing the door behind him. I watch him closely, the man looking somewhat familier.

"Ricky? Ricky?" The young man shouts, walking towards the fence.

I immediately scurry behind on of the trees. Suddenly, the thought of calling out doesn't seem like such a good idea after all.

"Ricky, you little shit! Where are you?"

I stay hidden and hold my breath upon hearing Ricky's and Mark's voices.

"Little bastard!" I hear the man shout. "I've got better things to do. Mum's worried sick. This lady says she's been hunted. You know about this?"

I carefully look out from behind the tree to see the man is scolding Ricky. I panic quietly, wanting desperately to warn Jenny. But the anxiety is quickly being replaced with relief as I see her driving away in the van.

"Hey!" The man calls out after her and runs after the van, stopping as he realizes he cannot keep up with the speed. They all stay right where they are, making it impossible for me to escape from here. I quietly move back into the forest, walking along the fence in hope to find another opening. I won't lie, I wish I were in that van with Jenny, but I'm glad she made it out. I look around the fence, seeing nothing on the other side of it. I lay down on my stomach and crawl underneath the fence. I jump up and run as fast as I possibly can. I laugh in relief as I continue to run to my freedom. But then, a familier voice stops me dead in my tracks, "you're not going anywhere."

I turn around, all the happiness and hope of getting out of here I just felt, suddenly disappearing. Brett. I step back as he moves closer to me. "Stay away from me!" I shout angrily. He stays silent and takes out another knife, grinning at me. I start to run, my heart beating so fast I feel as if it could explode. I hear him following behind me and as I expected, he catches up with me in no time. He tackles me onto the ground and gets on top of me, straddling my waist. He holds me down with one hand, while he is holding onto the knife with his other hand. I try to fight back and repeatedly hit him on his chest, before I kick him off me with my knee and he rolls down the road. I get up quickly, ready to leave, when I hear him call out after me. "Just knowing how I broke your little heart when killing your boyfriend is satisfying to me. He was a little bitch anyways."

Blinded with rage, my fingers wrap tightly around the handle of the knife. For as long as I can remember, I have been running from him. But not now, my days of running are over. I sprint towards him and it all seems to go in slow motion. I move towards him, with nothing but the intention to kill. I raise the knife into the air as I near closer to him, plunging it down into his chest. I grin from ear to ear as I pull the knife from out of his chest, seeing it is covered in blood.

"I made it." I whisper to myself.

"No, you didn't." Brett whispers into my ear and that is when I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. Our body's slump against each other, my hand immediately reaching for my stomach. I look at my hand that is now covered in blood and I collapse onto the ground right next to Brett. His knife has fallen from out of his hand and is now laying somewhere down the road and out of his reach.

I try to fight the tears, my body feeling numb. My vision is blurry and the pain is unbearable. I blink a couple of times and turn my head to look at Brett, who is laying on the ground next to me. He turns his head and his eyes lock with mine. I expect for him to jump up and finish the job, but he can't. It appears that I injured him to the point where he cannot even get up. My eyes grow heavy and it's too hard to keep them open. I feel myself starting to lose consciousness. Too tired of fighting, I give in. I close my eyes, darkness surrounding me.