𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟-𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑

The witness

Abby's POV

I can feel the warm wind blowing on my skin and blowing my black hair out of my face. Although I hate the heat, the warm wind is calming this night as it hits my skin. It's not hot, but it's not cold either. In a way, the warmth of the wind is comforting. The branches under my hands crack under the pressure, and the only sounds that can be heard here at the marsh are the sounds of the gentle wind and my breaths.

I should be concerned about the alligators and the snakes, but I find it peaceful here, mainly because there are no people here like there are at the beach. When the beach is too crowded, I come here to think or to calm myself down. It's a bit of a drive, but I don't mind. There are not many places in this world where I feel at peace, so when I find one, I don't mind how long it takes to get there.

The sounds of grunting break me out of my thoughts and draw my attention. Eyebrows furrowing, I turn my head in the direction of the grunting and stand up, not being able to see much in the dark. Backing up, I move further away from the water and closer to the dirt road. As I squint my eyes, I see a tall figure pushing something into the water, and I take a step closer wanting to see what it is. My mouth drops open when I see what it is.

Or who.

There's a man moving a... body into the water. Swallowing, I take a small step back, my eyes never leaving the moving figure. Though I do my best to stay quiet as I walk backward, a twig snaps under my left shoe and the head of the moving figure twenty feet in front of me snaps in my direction. Fuck. I intake a sharp breath before turning around, sprinting in the opposite direction. My converse make it much easier to run, but I can hear the twigs snapping underneath the shoes of the man as he chases me.

I can feel him gaining on me, so I intake a deep breath before increasing my speed to the best of my ability. I get closer to the trees near the water, ducking under the branches, hoping his tall height will make it hard for him to dodge the branches. My short height makes it easy for me to avoid the branches, thankfully.

Unfortunately, he avoids the branches and continues running on the road. He thrusts his arm out, grabs my wrist, and pulls me into his chest. "Get off me!" I scream, thrashing my arms around. I lift my foot off the ground before slamming it onto his right foot. With a deep groan, his grip loosens just enough for me to get out. I rip myself out of his grasp before kicking my foot up, kicking the doubled-over man in the face. I send another kick to his knee before running in the opposite direction, heading for the truck I saw him next to. I can hear the engine from here, which means he left his keys in the truck.

Come on. COME ON. The light inside the truck comes into my view after a few more moments, and a sigh of relief escapes my lips. Forcing myself to run the rest of the distance faster, I grasp the door handle with my right hand, about to open it before an arm grabs me by my waist. "No!" I scream, thrashing in the assailant's arms.

He makes sure to lift me off the ground, preventing me from kicking him or stomping his foot. I cock my head forward before throwing it back, but he dodges it by moving his head to the side. "What am I going to do with you, pretty thing?" he taunts, placing a large hand over my mouth, muffling my screams.

I open my mouth as wide as I can and clamp it down, ripping some skin off his hand. If I'm going to die, I'll make damn sure you go with me. I reach down to my thigh, unsheathing the knife under my skirt before stabbing it into his side. With a loud hiss, he rips the knife out of my hand by grabbing the blade. I'm strong, but my strength is nothing compared to his. "That wasn't very smart." He opens the back door on the left side of his truck and shoves me inside, grabbing the keys from the ignition and locking the car doors, leaving me trapped inside his truck. He goes back to the body and pushes it into the water, far enough that the gators will get whoever it was before unlocking the front door of his truck with the physical key he has in his hands. He hops in the truck, locking his door before starting the truck. "Try to behave, darling. I wouldn't want to have to hurt that pretty little face of yours," he smiles, looking at me as he backs out. Wiping the blood off his nose and onto his jacket, he looks into the rearview mirror as he backs out.