Chapter 29

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The butcher was right behind me, swinging the saw in his clutch back and forth. If I even stumbled or slowed my speed a hair, I'd meet the same fate as Deetz. I set my sight on the treeline in the distance. The wood would offer better cover, more places to hide. The property the house stood on was unruly but too open and expansive like the field I crossed getting there.

The ground disappeared beneath me. I stepped out on nothing but air and tumbled down the side of a small cliff. The bottom was grassy and broke my fall, but didn't save my wrist from snapping. At first, I thought I landed on a stick and the crack was from the wood breaking beneath me, but once searing pain shot through my arm, I knew the snap that rang out came from my bones. I groaned and clenched my jaw to keep from yelling. The throb radiated up my arm, shooting zaps of electricity through my spine. I was dizzy. I was reeling. But I couldn't give up yet. 

The bundled baby laid a foot away, squalling and squirming beneath the blankets he was wrapped in. Oh no, no, no, no. I dropped him in the fall. If he was hurt I'd never been able to forgive myself. Matilda wouldn't ever be able to forgive me. Crawling over with one arm, I unwrapped him from the confines of the crochet blanket. He blinked at me and jutted his bottom lip out. His face was ruddy and stained with tears and the earth, but there were no cuts, scrapes, or bruises. All ten fingers and ten toes were still intact.  By the grace of God, he was alright. 

The butcher skidded to a stop at the edge of the crater I took a plunge into. Couldn've been a sinkhole or dried-up pond. Maybe even the makings of a trap. If that was the case, it sure worked on me. My leg was jacked up and my wrist either fractured or broken, but giving up wasn't a choice. I snatched the kid up with my one good arm and scrambled back out the other side of the pit before the butcher had time to run the circumference of the crater. The chase was back on. 

The adrenalin pumping through my veins did well to mask the agonizing pain I should've been in. There was no telling the extent of my injuries, but the adrenaline did well to dull the pain enough for me to keep pushing on.

The zigzagging method came into play once more. I weaved between the trees and shrubbery to slow the butcher down. He was close enough that I could feel the wind from his saw on the back of my neck. I needed to put as much distance between me and him as I could. And the perfect opportunity laid just ahead. I passed the kid to my other arm, the one that was throbbing, and grabbed a hold of a pliable, low-hanging, branch. Pulling it back with what strength I had left, I held it there until the butcher ran into position, exactly where I needed him to be, then I released it and the branch snapped back, striking him across the face. Saw that trick on tv and it turned out just as successful. Don't say cartoons can't teach you anything.

The butcher hit the ground and the chainsaw landed on his thigh, slicing deep into his flesh. He let out a pained scream and flung the saw off, clutching his gushing wound. 

"And stay down!" is what I wanted to shout, but there wasn't time.

The woods spat me out in another field except this one wasn't empty. Tombstones and monuments stood erect in the moonlight. I made it to the graveyard. Stopping to stare wasn't an option because the foliage in the forest began to rustle behind me letting me know he was back up.

"Help! Someone, please, help me!" I screamed on repeat as I ran through the cemetery, dodging tombstones. No reply came. From what I could see, there were no security guards patrolling outside as Matilda speculated. Damn it. Now what?!

The butcher's shape emerged from the woods and I ducked behind a tombstone, praying he didn't see me. He was hobbling now too so it bought me a bit of time to catch my breath, rest my ankle, and quiet the fussy kid.  Rocking him, I murmured, "Hush little baby. Shhh, shhh. I know you don't have a clue what's happening, but I'm trying to help you so keep your yap shut." I never claimed to be good at consoling kids.

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