Chained - Cannibalistic love

Chapter 12

Fear pulses through my body as we run. I can hear them yelling behind us, but I don't dare turn to see how far behind they are. By the sounds of things, they are a decent distance away, but I have never been an athlete, they will easily catch up with me if I slow down even the slightest bit. My legs are already aching as I push myself to go harder and faster. The forest is dense, and I desperately try to avoid tripping over any tree roots. I can feel the trees grabbing at my arms and clothes as I keep sprinting. My breathing is getting heavier by the minute. All I need to do is get to the edge of the forest and hope, for dear God, civilisation is close. I risk a glance to the side, hoping I don't trip during this time. I see Nova, slightly slowing down. She looks to be exhausted and out of breath. Probably hasn't done any running or any kind of exercise in a long while. If ever. I mean I was never much for sport either but through school, I managed to stay active.

"Nova, come on, they're catching up. Please hurry!" I gasp out trying to maintain my speed. The adrenaline pulsing in my veins pushes me to keep going. I keep an eye out where I'm running while still glancing at Nova. I watch as she risks a glance back. I go to yell out, tell her to watch out. But it's too late. I watch as her foot hooks onto a tree root and as if in slow-motion I watch her slam into the ground. I skid to a stop and run back over to Nova. Our breathing is heavy as I crouch to sit beside Nova, who has tears in her eyes holding her right ankle tightly. I can see blood on her knees, but her foot is what worries me. It's already looking blue and purple and starting to swell. I gulp. This isn't good. I may have only done one year – well less considering my current situation – of Nursing but I can tell that it's broken, and if not that then it will be a severe sprain. There is no way she can get up much less run. I dart my eyes in the direction of the shouts, nearing closer by the second. We can't stay here. We'll be caught. And punished. We're so close, we must keep running. My eyes go down to her foot again and I know this is the end there is no way she could run. But I can't give up like that. With a deep breath, I turn to face Nova.

"Nova, can you get up? We can't stay here, they're catching up!" I plead with her. I know full well she can't get up, let alone run on that foot. But I need to try. I won't leave my new friend behind. Not like this. Not when she's hurt and sure to be punished because of our escape attempt. I won't let her do this alone. Glancing up I can see dark figures getting closer and closer. If we want to make it out of here, there is no time to waste. Nova grabbed a hold of me and tried to push herself off the floor, letting out a small shriek as soon as she put a tiny bit of pressure on her foot. This isn't good. We're doomed. I watch helplessly as she looks down at her foot miserably. The tears flow freely from her eyes.

"Valerie, listen. I need you to run. Get out of here. You want to be free, so run. Go!"

"What about you? I can't just leave you!" I say desperately, tears in my eyes. We may not have known each other for long, but she's become a good friend, one I will not give up on. We will get out of here. Together.

"I'll be fine. Now go!" And I did. I ran as fast as I could trying to get as much distance between me and Ryan who I'm sure is leading the pack. I'll come back for you Nova; I promise. The next time you see me will be with the police in tow. I don't dare glance back to see if Nova is okay, I can't risk tripping and hurting myself like she did. I'll go to the authorities, and I'll get Nova out.

The trees seem to get even denser as I continue running. My breathing is shallow and loud to my own ears. My heart thundering in my chest like it's going to jump out any minute now. I can hear the sticks breaking with loud snaps beneath my shoes. I have to keep going.

I stare out in front of me hoping to see an end to the everlasting trees. I see none. In front of me, I see only trees. On my left more trees and my right even more trees. Turning back is no option. All I can do is keep on running. I force my legs to keep moving, motivating myself by chanting 'Just keep running, just keep running' in my head over and over again. But I can't keep up this pace. I can feel myself slowing down, my legs feeling heavy as I push on. I keep my eyes on the tree line hoping it will thin out revealing a road. Or even better; a police station. But I know this is wishful thinking. Especially the police station one. They are cannibals doing illegal things they wouldn't dare do this so close to law enforcers. They wouldn't do this close to anything where people can accidentally walk in on them killing someone.