Run, Evelyn, run!
I thought to myself, willing my legs to go faster. I glanced over my shoulder, all too aware of my pursuer.
Why won't they just give up already? At this rate, I'm going to be the one doing the giving up.
I grit my teeth, and continued running. I knew I couldn't keep it up for much longer. My breath was heavy, laborious. I turned a corner, and raced down a different, darker alleyway. The stench of dead things, rubbish and sewage clouded my senses. In all my luck, I saw light at the end of the passage. Dodging discarded "food items"; empty bottles and other refuse of the like, I kept my thoughts and sightline on the opening. Once I got onto the main road, I'd be in the open. My attacker wouldn't follow me out there.
Fixed on my goal, I became less aware of my surroundings. The hem of my dress was touching the ground, dangerously close to my feet. My puffed sleeves brushed the walls of the alley. But I couldn't care less. I was heading for the open, heading for the light. I wouldn't have to run any longer. I was so focused on the idea of not running, of getting out and away, that I forgot to dodge the rubbish. My foot caught on a particularly large pile of rubbish, and suddenly, the world seemed to slow.
Falling, falling, falling.
The person chasing was approaching, catching up. I wanted to run, continue on to the light.
So close, yet so far.
I fell and hit the ground, the warm stone of the alley. I scrambled to get back on my feet, maybe I could save myself. But my dress was too long, and in the panic I stood on the hem of my dress, falling again, harder.
The attacker was closing in.
I knew I would never make it.
YOU ARE READING
Queen of Diamonds
Ficción históricaEvelyn Hyde. She is an orphaned Victorian noblewoman. A Victorian noblewoman with serious trust issues. So, when suspicious murders start appearing all over London, trust becomes more precarious by the hour. At first, the victims are Evelyn's enemie...
