Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ix.getaway car
There was this time, she couldn't remember when, but her mom was still living, that her parents had taken her and her brother to a 4dx movie theater. The room was dark. Pitch black except for the illumination of the screen before them. They were watching Jurassic Park, she thought. Her memory was from that time was hazy. But what she did remember was fear. Because for those two hours of the movie, she felt like she was living it. With each tilt of the seat or blast of air in her face. It felt real. Something she couldn't escape. Even though in the deepest pits of her mind, past the fear and anxiety, she knew it was all fake.
This moment felt like that.
It felt like a movie experience. Because something like this couldn't be real. Things like this didn't happen to Nova.
This was a movie. A dark, twisted movie. One that she couldn't escape. She'd been tied down to the chair. Forced to watch through to the end. The heavy, humid air was not real. The blood soaking through the tan police uniform was only corn syrup. And the words of panic were all written in a script.
This. Wasn't. Real.
She watched, unable to move as John B. fell to his knees. His hands were placed firmly over the bleeding wound in her abdomen. Blood coated the calloused hands. Whispers came from his lips, head pointed downward, urging the officer to live. Pleading with her to stay with him.
Sarah stayed, standing beside Nova. Heaving so heavily that it made her gag. Tears streamed down her cheeks, streaking the foundation on her face. Black smeared beneath her eyes. Nova realized, just then, that she hadn't cried yet. No tears stung her eyes.
"You have ─" Sarah stopped shaking for a moment, leaning in to whisper into Nova's ears. Her sobs were cutting through her voice. "You have to run."
She didn't understand. Sarah was telling her to run. Run where? Nova had nowhere to go. Not without John B. and her best friend. She wasn't going to leave them. She wasn't going anywhere.
Nova turned, only slightly, shaking her head. Eyes wide in panic. She wasn't going to ─ she couldn't leave them.
"Someone needs to get help, Nova," she pleaded with her. Still, though, Nova shook her head, but Sarah kept urging her. "I'll be fine, okay. They're not going to hurt me."
