Broken Hearts Hold Hope (Royal Series Book 1)

Prologue

"Get back here!" He screeches angrily running after us.

    "Hurry! Up there!" I say barely loud enough for her to hear me, wiping the sweat and pouring rain away from my eyes. We scramble up the muddy hill over to the boulders. I begin to hear the faint sound of cars speeding along in the distance. I try to keep a steady pace but she keeps slowing down. "Come on hurry!" I call from the top reaching my hand out to her. She reaches but her hand slips from the muddy, wet rocks and she falls faster than the rain pouring down on us. I can no longer see her through the darkness but only hear her cries of pain. "I'm coming!" I yell, not wanting to leave her behind. I could never do that.

"No run!" She yells back through her painful crying.

    "I can't leave you!" I cry out as I hear him get closer. "Come on we have time to make it!" I scurry down the rocks while my raw hands burn but don't fail to keep me up. But something is wrong. It's quiet. The only sound I hear is the rain pounding around me. I can't hear my own breathing, the cars, or her cries and most terrifying, I can't hear him. I search around but I can only see a few feet ahead of my face. I can see her feet but they are in an awkward position and she is silent. I have to get out of here.

The second I spot his hideous face from behind the trees I run. I run until I can run no more. The buzzing of cars is louder, I must be close. Using the trees, I push myself toward the sound. My legs ache and my throat burns. Bloody rain streams down my face and from my palms but I must keep going. The rain pours harder with every second.

    My ripped plaid dress clings tightly to my skin, occasionally catching on a branch or two. My long brown hair plastered across my face as I struggle to catch my breath. My bare toes sink into the muddy mixture on the ground and I catch on something, dropping my body into the mud. Everything hurts but I must get out.

Suddenly, I feel something coarse and strong wrap around my slender ankle. I let out a gut curdling scream as I am quickly drug backwards by my foot. I struggle to get away as his thick arm slithers under my stomach, lifting me into the air. I kick out as hard as my legs allow, managing to land a few blows on the attacker. He grunts a few times before he lands a smack across my cheek. The burning sensation cools a little in the rain but still stings. He drops me to the ground, sure to keep a tight grip on my arm.

    He begins to drag me through the muddy grass towards the cabin by my forearm. His hands burn into my skin, sure to print bruises. Rock after rock and stick after stick, he doesn't stop to continue dragging me back. A rough surface slices through my dress and my skin like scissors and paper. Soon I begin to feel chunks of gravel roll through my fresh cut. The pain is like fire to my skin. No amount of cold rain can soothe the pain I feel now. As an attempt to lower the pain, I kick my foot out to the side and shove my body onto my stomach. I try to use the pouring rain to wiggle my arms out of his grip but I only receive his sharp, jagged nails piercing my skin.

Reaching the cabin, he whips my lightweight body up the stairs and onto the wooden porch with an inhuman like force. My body slams to the floor with a thud louder than the thunder from the sky. Slivers of wood slice into my side as a few boards break underneath me. My head slams down causing black spots to invade my focus. I roll to my stomach and use all that is left of my energy to push myself onto my knees and elbows. A searing pain reaches my side when he lands a forceful kick to my waist with his steel toe boots. My body slides across the wood and into the heavy metal door to the cabin. I try my best to blink away the dots but they just keep appearing.

    A bright light fulls my eyes with hope of finally being saved. Unfortunately that hope was soon vanished as I was again hoisted into the air by a pair of disturbingly familiar arms.
    "You idiot!" The deep voice behind me screeches in anger towards the one who had brought me back. He pulls me up and cradles me in his arms, brushing thick sticky locks out of my face. The black dots begin to soften and I can bring my focus to the man holding me. His face is painted with worry.

"I didn't know they would get out!" The other defends but all he receives is an angered glare. "I'll call for the doc to fix her up. No big deal." It sounds like he is trying to convince himself.

    "You better fix this." The man holding me growls out. "Where is the other?" He demands, clutching me tighter with anger.

"She's gone." He whimpers. For a few minutes we are left in silence and I regain full focus. After a while, I am set down and helped back into the cabin. At first I stumble and the man behind me grumbles as his arms reach out to catch me. I take advantage of this.

    Out of both anger and fear I bite down as hard as I can onto his forearm that has slowly slipped up towards my chest. He screams in pain and drops me onto the hard flooring. I scramble to my feet and take off. I can hear them follow after and I know I can't keep running because this head start wont last long. I need to hide. Noticing a large oak tree ahead, I run behind it and pull myself up. The rough bark is slippery but I manage to stay on. I climb until I hardly see the ground below.

I listen closely, pushing my back against the center of the oak to hide in the shadows. I can hear their yelling as they run past the tree. I wait a little longer before I work my way down from the tree and run back towards where I heard the highway. I push my body through the assortment of dark trees, long wisps of uncut grass wrap my ankles, slowing me down a bit. I begin to feel the ground soften beneath me again and I know I am close. I pull myself back up the rocky hill and push myself to the sound of the rushing cars. Once I feel the pavement under my feet, I let out a sigh of relief.

    "Help!" I scream waving around in search of a rescuer, breathing unbelievably heavy. "Help me!" I scream again watching the truck a few feet ahead of me screech to a stop. They open the door standing up looking over it. "Please!" I struggle to keep myself up. I drop to the ground closing my eyes to block out the pains and noise. The tears flow out, I sit undisturbed and in shock while the driver runs up to me. My body begins shutting down.

"I'm here to help." The soothing voice tells me, grasping my shoulder and lifting it to look into my eyes. "Let me help you." It's like I'm spacing out, I can hear him and understand him but I can't move or talk or hold my weight. He lifts me into his arms. He isn't exactly the strongest but he still manages to carry me and lay me in the passenger seat of his dark colored truck. "Here lay down, it's still a little ways to a safe place so don't hesitate to get some rest. You are in good hands." I hear him say as he slowly closes the door.

    The mixture of blood and rain water drips from my body and into the plush grey seat. I remain curled in a ball as he jumps into his seat and slams the door, not missing the fact that he is quite nervous and keeps checking on me. I feel the car rush forward as I close my eyes. The soft voice of country singer Reba McEntire trails from the quiet radio and into my ears. The gentle rocking of the truck and the melodic voice of Reba lulls me to sleep . . .

    "Run!" She yells following behind me. "He is coming." The darkness turns pitch black and the rain stops. Its silent. I reach out and grab her hand. Her sweet face twisted into disgust and horror. Her green eyes turn pale and tear up. Her thick, curly, black hair sticks around her crumpled and dirty face. The ground shakes violently before dropping below us. My arms shoot out to save me.

    My eyes jerk open and I'm panting heavily but my achy movements are restricted. A pair of cold, soft hands grip my arms to hold me still and bright lights blind me. All I can see is white. White walls, a white ceiling, white sheets. The air smells of latex. I begin to panic. Air leaves my lungs, I can't breathe. My chest aches more with every false breath. My fingers and toes go numb, my eyesight blurs.

    "Calm down!" The voice above me exclaims. "It's okay now, It's just the stress, let it go." Every sentence grows louder but nothing calms my shaking body. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying my hardest to grasp just enough air to breathe in. I can feel more hands crowding my frail body. Black begins to hoard my already blurred vision. The struggle is coming to an end. My limbs are all numb, my head aches with lack of oxygen. My eyes flutter as the darkness engulfs me.