That's What She Thought

Prologue

Prologue 

Twigs cracked beneath her feet as she ran, her heart pounding in her chest. The thundering clouds above spit out droplets of rain, drenching her clothes. 

As she continued to sprint through the deep, dark woods, her foot slipped on a puddle of mud. She fell flat on her back, winced, and cried out, realizing she had twisted her ankle and cut her leg on some thorns. They throbbed with unbearable pain. Managing to sit up, she saw a huge gash torn up the side of her leg. It bled like a rushing river. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. She wished and prayed that this would be over soon, but she knew she wouldn't stand a chance in her condition. 

When she opened her eyes again, a dark figure stood over her, staring into her crystal blue eyes. She shrieked with terror. She tried to wrestle free as they grabbed her with great suffocation, but this person was too strong for her. They yanked her up from the ground. 

"Please! Let me go!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "What do you want with me? What did I do? Who are you?" She choked on her words, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she sobbed again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just can't take this anymore," she didn't even know what she was apologizing for. She just wanted to be free. Then she couldn't hold in her tears any longer. They spewed out like the rainclouds above. "I'm sorry-y-y-y..."  

"Shut up!" the person raged angrily. "DROP AND GIVE ME 20!" she thought she had heard them incorrectly. Did they want her to do...push-ups? Why would they have her do push-ups in the middle of the woods? 

As she was thinking about it, they kicked her in the back. "I said, GIVE ME 20!!" She hit the ground hard. She tried to do push-ups as they instructed, but she was so weak now that it was practically impossible. She pushed as best she could, up and down. "That's not low enough! Get down!" They hollered again as they forced her down with their boot.  

But it wasn't just any boot. She remembered only one person she knew had these boots. They were rich, and had the boots specially made. Anyone she knew would want them.  

Then she realized what this meant. She knew who was torturing her! She had to get out of there. Now. 

But then...how could she possibly escape them in the condition she was in?  

As she was about to scream their name and call for help, she heard them kneel down beside her. They whispered in her ear in that deep, eerily familiar voice, "Never thought someone just like you could hurt you so bad, did you, Peyton?" 

And then everything went black.