Redress (gxg)

Chapter 48 "Karma"

Third P.o.V

Exhausting.

Numbing.

Cold.

Those were the primary impediments why it was a difficult for Amelia and Clifford to move faster as they would have wanted to, but for them, who were determined to escape, those weren't enough to stop them. They continued pushing through the thick and damp forest, supporting each other as they took on the uneven ground, with multiple obstacles on the way.

They never would have imagined that this was how their night would turn out, running for their freedom, in the middle of the night, in an unfamiliar environment, with nothing but will and determination. For the first time in their lives, they experienced what it felt like running with no sense of direction, and without any actual plan, and it didn't feel right for them, but it was unexpected how their will to earn their freedom would push them to go further even if their bodies were hinting otherwise.

"I can't see anything," Amelia complained as she paused for a moment, catching her breath.

"Don't stop, we have to keep going," Clifford reminded, dragging her forward.

"This isn't how I imagine things would turn out," she said as she followed her husband.

"No thanks to you, this is all your fault," Clifford suddenly blurted, catching Amelia by surprise, "You underestimated Alexandra, and you got us in this situation."

"How dare you!" Amelia snapped, jerking his hand off her arm, "If it weren't for me, you would be nothing! You would've been in prison a long time ago with your tiny brain, so be thankful that you got this far because of me!"

Clifford snorted, "As if your big brain prevented this from happening. Face it Amelia, you got beaten by your daughter...She's smarter than you."

"And was I the only who got beaten? Don't test me, Clifford," she warned through gritted teeth, "I've had enough of you."

"And you're gonna do what huh?" he taunted, "Last time I checked, you ran out of plans, you don't know what to do next, and it sucks. So stop complaining and get moving."

"And what plan do you have? Continue running? For what?"

"For freedom!" Clifford snapped, turning to Amelia and glaring at her even if it the night was preventing them from seeing clearly. "I want to get out of here so badly. This place makes me sick, it's like crawling up through my veins, it's itchy and cold, and more importantly, I wanna get out of here so I could make Alexandra pay for making us fools! So if running is gonna help us get out of here, then that's what will do, understand?!" Clifford yelled, and in that moment, a flash of lightning, followed by a thunderclap suddenly echoed through the forest.

With a clenched jaw, Amelia immediately pushed past through, bumping her shoulder to his, and continued on her way. She was angry, at him, at their situation, and more at herself for not coming up with a plan. She was used to being calculated, precise, and in control of things, and Clifford was right, it sucked to lose all of it, making her feel vulnerable.

Back at the resthouse after her plans had backfired, she felt drained and hopeless, that it was no use to resist anymore. It was an unusual feeling for her that someone outsmarted her, let alone that someone was her daughter. She couldn't exactly describe the feeling, but she hated every ounce of it. It felt terrible as she wasn't used to failing with her plans.

Soon after as they continued on their way, rain had started pouring slowly, adding to the difficulty of their situation. Not long after, the ground was covered with mud, and it became slippery, and from time to time, they would trip and fall.