Time.
People always say that it's such a valuable thing, but in one's youth it is often taken for granted. Seconds, minutes, hours... they all pass by as if it's nothing. We wake up, go to school, get out, do homework, see the day go dark, we go to sleep, then we wake up to restart it all over. We take for granted the time we have and it's not until now when I realized how short of it we were, that I truly saw its value.
"Where do we go?" I panicked, as we had reached the edge of the small downtown. I looked behind us towards the main avenue that consisted of multiple coffee shops and grocery marts. A few people walked the streets, but not enough to notice immediately our distress. In a moment like this I suddenly craved the big city life, with lights illuminating the streets. Instead we had one or two lamp posts per three blocks, leaving us to dim lighting as the day grew dark. There was a beauty and a curse to living in a small town. Everything was basically in one place, but there wasn't far to go.
"We have to cut through here. We have no other option." Luke managed to breathe out through his pants for air. We had been running for blocks away from the man but he was very persistent and now we were more than desperate for an escape. Luke ran his hands through his hair, moving to cross his arms behind his head as he tried to catch his breath.
I looked at the cornfield in front of us that was placed strategically by the owner at the very edge of town. What better way to create a natural fence around your property yet remain close enough to town. I peered up at the tall stalks of corn that loomed over my head and gulped. I wasn't very tall and I knew these would cover me, but I wouldn't be able to see over them. I would need Luke to help guide us, but in order for him to see, that means the man would be able to see us.
"He'll see us, Luke. You're taller than the stalks." I pointed out as Luke's head nearly leveled with the stalk of corn beside him.
"I'll duck. C'mon, we have to go. There's no time." He panicked, as we heard the man's heavy footsteps approaching. He grasped my hand tightly in his as he pulled us into the cornfield, ducking his head down as we ran straight through. The leaves crunched below our feet but minimizing that level of noise wouldn't help us move any faster.
"You have to promise me something, Beth." Luke said through his rough breathing, his voice low, as we had just pushed our way through a multitude of corn stalks. This cornfield was massive. I continued to push the stalks out of my way, even though my body tensed up at his words.
"What is it?" I asked. The tone he used was scaring me. It was the type you would use when you know something is coming to an end, and it scared me that he was talking that way right now.
"I want you to promise me that if something happens, you'll run. You'll run as far away from the danger as you can, and don't worry about me." He pleaded. I stopped suddenly in my footsteps to look up at him, keeping my gaze steady on him.
"I can't promise that, Luke." I told him honestly. We were in this together. I couldn't just leave him. I just couldn't.
"I know, babe." He said, grabbing my face gently with both his hands. "But I'm going to need you to. I'd risk my life for you but I can't have you doing the same for me. I couldn't live with myself." He whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. I grabbed his hands and pushed myself away.
"And you think I can? Luke, this isn't fair, you can't just ask of me something like this!" I hissed, keeping my voice low still. The stalks of corn further behind us started to rustle from movement that wasn't ours and I knew that he found us. "We need to keep moving." I said, readjusting my grasp on his hand, continuing to push forward.
"Beth, promise me." He reaffirmed, following my path. I felt my heart clench. He was desperate for my promise, but I couldn't promise him that I would just leave him behind. It would tear me apart. I looked up quickly to blink the tears out of my eyes, before I continued to push the stalks out of my way in a hurried manner.
"Okay." I agreed, not wanting to say more.
"Promise." He said again, this time his voice right by my ear. I hated that he was talking like this. We were both going to get out fine, nothing is going to happen.
Just then the man began to laugh that cynical laugh of his and my feet instinctively began to pick up pace. We let go of each other's hands as we now had to use both hands to push the stalks out of our way to compensate with our faster speed.
We ran. The sounds of our panicked breaths mixed with the crunching of the leaves beneath our feet to fill the night air, as the sound of the man's footsteps chasing us became closer and closer.
"I'll get you! You'll pay for what he did to me!" the man shouted, laughing crazily. I let out a scared cry, and pushed myself harder, my heart beating frantically inside my chest.
"Luke, c'mon we need to run faster!" I shouted behind me. "Luke, please!" I begged again, still not seeing him run alongside me. It took me a moment to realize that he never responded to either plea. That's when I noticed the shift in the night air, the origin of sounds singling down to just my own breaths and footsteps. I slowed my pace, catching my breath.
"Luke?" I called, turning around. But there was no one there and the field we were running through was completely deserted.
He was gone.
I stopped and peered around me. Where did the man go? Better yet, where did Luke go?
"Luke?" I said in my normal voice, not wanting to scream in case the man was still out there. I began to back travel, retracing our footsteps for any sign of him. How could he just vanish like that? It made no sense.
My heart had been beating so fast, though, and my mind was screaming its thoughts. I remember being able to hear and feel the pulsing vibrations of adrenaline running through me. Maybe it was just all too loud that I didn't notice? I continued pushing my way back through the stalks when my face was suddenly planted into the dirt that was once below my feet. I heaved myself up, balancing myself to sit up as I turned my body around to see what I tripped on.
There in a hole between the corn stalks sat a rock, the height of half my leg. How did I not notice the rock before? Did I retrace my steps correctly?
The sickening feeling that I was right where I was supposed to be crept up inside me when I noticed the smear of blood on the edge of the rock.
**
You have to keep running. You promised Luke. You have to do this for him.
No, you just said 'okay'. You never promised anything.
Keep running, Beth.
My mind was arguing with itself in the midst of its panic as I ran in the direction of my home. The police station was in the direction of town, and I didn't want to go back and further that way in case the man decided to pop out nowhere just as quickly as he had vanished with Luke.
Luke.
I suppressed the tears that I could feel building up inside of me, waiting to burst. I need to be able to tell my parents what happened without my tears getting in the way. I could cry later.
But it was too late.
I could already feel my tears cascading down my cheeks without permission as I ran up to the front door of my home and opened the door.
"Mom! Dad!" I yelled, my voice sounding hysterical. I knew I sounded like someone was about to murder me, but the funny part of that is that someone was trying to less than a few minutes ago.
My parents footsteps stampeded down the hallway in my direction. They had their night robes wrapped tightly around them and their feet were bare. Back in the comfort of my own home, I couldn't help but let go of my emotions. I sobbed into my hands at the doorway not daring to take another step forward in case I collapsed. My parents crowded around me, and I felt their arms circle me, trying to lift my head from my hands to get me to look at them.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" my mom panicked.
"It's Luke." I managed to squeak out before another sob choked its way out. Flashbacks were already dancing its way into my vision: The man, Luke, the blood on the rock. The fact that I didn't know what happened to him was all too much.
"What about Luke? Was has gotten you like this? You're in hysterics!" My dad exclaimed, not bothering to keep his voice low. My mom contrasted, pulling me into her embrace and placing my head on her shoulder as she rocked me side to side, gently.
"He's missing. He was kidnapped by this, t-this man. I don't know who he is. He was chasing us," I tried to keep the sobs away as I continued to explain, "and Luke fell behind and when I looked back he wasn't there. He just vanished and so did the man. All that was left to give me proof that it all happened is Luke's blood on this rock I found when I walked back." I sniffled, catching my breath as my crying stuffed up my nose.
My parents stared at me not knowing what to say. I honestly wouldn't know how to respond either. Nothing this big ever happened in this town, so how do you respond to something that is unknown to you?
"He's gone." I whispered, finally letting the words seep into me as I was forced to face the reality.
A/N:
Hi. Sorry I know you probably hate me for making you wait. I usually update faster, but since it's nearing the end of the school year I have a lot of school stuff going on. So for now the updates may not be as frequent as you're used to (if you've read other stuff of mine), but it'll be updated don't worry. :)
Well I hope you like it so far, please vote and comment! It all means a lot to me.
Thanks guys :)
~M