Cheshire Girl

Ch. 27

I was running and I was scared, cold and tired.

                I was in modern clothing.  I was New Girl again.

                I was pretty sure if that I myself had been running, I wouldn't have been as tired.  I also went ahead and assumed that, if I were being chased, I'd still keep my head and pace myself so that I could run longer without wearing myself out enough to be caught.

                It was a while before I noticed that… I wasn't in the woods.  It didn't look like I was even in Cheshire.  I was in a big, empty field that felt like it went on for miles.  There was no moon in the sky, only stars.  I couldn't see any other lights around me.  I felt incredibly alone and scared.

                I heard a man's yell and I ducked down in the tall grass, making me itch and dirty.  I didn't dare try to crawl, to stir the dry grass.  I couldn't tell how far away he was.

                It looked like no one ever came out here.  It was the middle of the night.  Who could help me?

                I crawled forward, rubbing the dirt all over me to keep low, despite my instincts, which told me to stay still.  I had to put as much distance between me and him so that, if I decided to run, I'd have some kind of head start.  That could work, right?  I needed it to.

                I was coming up on a big mound of dirt.  There were a few next to it, equal distances apart.  They were all smoothed down.  There wasn't any tall grass here; it was all packed dirt.  I moved around a mound of dirt and tried to peek around it.

                There were lights—a car.  He was going through the field.  I could still hear it even though it was far away.  It moved slow and weaved, trying to shed as much light as possible.  It wasn't driving towards me, but that was only a small comfort.  I had to assume he was looking in all directions for any sign of movement.

                I kept the mound of dirt in front of me as I moved back.  I could see the beams, and I moved according to the car, keeping the mound of dirt between us.  I bumped into another mound of dirt and did the same.  I cautioned a glance behind me—

                Trees! 

                I'd maneuvered through the dirt mounds, my heart pounding because the car was moving closer, like he somehow knew where I was even if he couldn't see me.  I was going to panic, but I didn't want to freeze.  I turned and ran for the trees.

                Everything illuminated around me.

*

I bolted up at the sound of knocking on my door.

                "Bella, I'm leaving.  You be good, okay?" she said.

                "Okay," I said hoarsely.  I could hear her footsteps walk away, down the stairs, the door close, Todd/Ricardo turn on… and then her driving away.

                I sat in my bed for a few minutes, feeling breathless.

                So I couldn't brush off New Girl.  I could only assume, then, that I had to figure out who this girl was… why she was in danger… and… what, save her?

                "What do you want, Beatrice?" I asked out loud.

                I immediately regretted that when I thought how scary it would be if something moved or happened in my room.  While I was sort of used to her late-night visits, I still didn't want Paranormal Activity stuff happening in my house (another movie I'm not brave enough to see).