Ella emerges from the house with her newly died hair and a clever backstory to tell the unknowing realtor who will find them a new house to live in, trailing a few steps behind Shawna as they make their way to the car.
Her hands hold her neck where the shock collar no longer sits. Ella convinced Shawna late last night that if they go searching for a house and someone sees the collar on her, that someone will call the police because it would look suspicious. Shawna agreed and took it off of her neck immediately.
As Shawna walks around the car to get into the drivers seat, Ella makes a run for it. She runs as quietly yet quickly as she can. For a few minutes, Shawna is completely unaware that she has gone.
Ella runs straight for the road connected to the driveway. Though there is no sign of a building nearby, she knows that eventually, this will lead to another house or maybe even a store where she can call for help. Her blurry vision makes this difficult. That head wound did her no favors.
This is a life or death situation for Ella and she knows it. If she can not find someone to help her, Shawna will surely kill her for trying to escape.
She feels her heart beat violently in her ears louder than it has ever been before in her life. Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump. She can hear every labored breath she takes and feels her limbs growing tired with every hurried step she takes towards freedom.
Ella can feel that Shawna is right behind her. She feels as if she can hear her breathing right behind her. She will not dare look behind her shoulder to see if she is really there for fear that she will either trip or become even more terrified and lose stamina.
Ella pumps her legs as fast as they will go, dodging holes in the roughed up pavement as she goes. She hears the engine of a car behind her, causing both her breathing and her heart to speed up. Yet no matter how hard she tries, she can not seem to make her legs carry her any faster.
She begins to panic, knowing that in the car, Shawna will always be faster than her. The lead she once had will be quickly made up and Shawna will have every advantage on her side.
She turns her body hard to face the right. Ella knows that if she wants any chance at survival here, that she needs to get lost in the trees before Shawna can catch up to her with the car.
She zooms under various shades of green and brown even though her legs hurt and the wind dries out her already tired eyes.
Then she sees it: another road just beyond the trees. She thinks she can even see cars speeding past her on that very road. The road has several buildings alongside it. Even if she can not find a driver, she can get inside one of the buildings and get help from there.
The road ahead shows Ella that there still is hope for survival despite all of the odds stacked against her right now.
Now, Ella only has one goal in this moment of her tragic life: to make it to that road alive.
