Page 193 of Lost in the Dark

Footsteps hunted me; I could hear them behind me. The heavy tread of his boot. The grating sound of his laugh, as if he knew exactly where I was, knew where I would hide.

Knew I would run.

And he was looking forward to it.

I couldn't help running, I never could. My heart beat loud in my ears, but not loud enough to drown out those terrible footsteps. He would find me and beat me, and staying put only meant it would happen sooner. I was on a shadowy path, half hidden in the forest. I pushed through the brush, swept a branch to the side, and moved away from him. Each step was quiet at first, and then a branch snapped beneath my foot.

"There you are," he called.

No no no no.

I took off, feet sliding on the thick leaf litter. I needed to get some distance between us. Maybe this time I could get away, find someone to help. Until then, I'd be silent, hoping the sound of his own feet, his cries and promises of pain, would drown out whatever noise I made.

Nothing was familiar here, but I could see a flash of purple lightning crackling in the darkness ahead. I felt drawn to that light. I ran faster through the dark forest, trees appearing before me as if materializing in the dark. But then the path was gone and something smacked me in the back. I stumbled, one of his boots falling to the ground beside me.

No…

He thudded down on top of me, his knee digging into the small of my back for a moment until he straddled me, flipping me over so that I could see the rage in his face. His eyes burned with a fury I was all too familiar with.

"You're mine," he hissed, spittle flecking my face.

"Stop!" I screamed into his face, trying to lash out with my hands, my legs, but he was so strong. Too strong…

Another massive thud, but this time it was my body hitting the floor.

My sheets were twisted around me, trapping me just like he had. I flailed in the cotton, struggling to free myself, gasping as they came loose and I could kneel on the floor, free from bindings. My breath came in ragged gasps, the cool wood of the boards beneath me reminding me I was in a cabin at a remote retreat, far from Karl.

My breath misted in the air and I glanced around, wondering why it was so damn cold. One window was open, though I didn't remember opening it myself. Maybe it had been like that to air the place out before my arrival.

A shiver shook me.

God, the cabin felt like a fridge.

Scrambling to my feet, I rushed over and drew it closed, eyes searching the room for some kind of heating. There was a radiator along one wall and I turned it on, holding my hands over it to make sure that it was heating before dragging my blankets off the floor and diving back into the bed.

I could see faint orange light through the highest windows, the ones with no curtains, and knew that morning wasn't too far off. What a shame that I felt bone tired. If I didn't have to get up for a full day of activities, I could have easily gone back to sleep again.

I flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

I didn't always dream of him, but when I did, it was bad. Accidentally smashing glass last night must have triggered my brain into thinking about that time he'd smashed all the glass on our table, and then he had chased me down in the woods.

But not these woods. I sucked in a deep breath.Not here.

Here, I was safe.

And now I had to rise and shine for my boss, tick all his team player boxes.

Sitting up in the bed, I dragged my hair back from my face and twisted it into a bun, securing it with the band that always lived around my wrist when it wasn't in my hair. Karl loved my hair long, claiming the bright orange curls were like a halo of fire. I wanted to hack it all off to spite him, but sometimes it came in handy for hiding bruises.

I wasn't quite ready to sacrifice it yet.

Red flamed on the horizon, visible through the trees like there was an inferno just over the hill. I was half tempted to go for a wander and see if I could spot whatever had broken last night, but then, I didn't want to be discovered at the scene of the crime, either. A glance at the digital clock on the wall showed me that there was still a half hour before the earliest activity began. I should get up, I really should. But my eyes were burning, and I was not one for greeting the day with a group yoga session before I'd had food and coffee.

I dragged the blanket up over my head and tried to go back to sleep.

Two hours, two slices of toast with jam, and three full strength coffees with cream later, I was milling around with my team, trying desperately not to catch the attention of our ropes course instructor as she helped everyone gear up for the morning.

Heights were not my thing. In fact, they were decidedly my least favorite, and the fact I was here on the first full day of the retreat made me sick to my stomach. Couldn't I have got archery, or orienteering? Something that I could at least look halfway decent at. I needed to impress.