Forever

Chapter One; First Night

(I do not own any photos I include unless I say so. I will give credit to the photographers if i can find out who took the photos. Let me know if you know who took any of them)

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I leaned against a tree and held my breath. I could hear Jase and his guys shouting in the distance. I stood very still and kept quiet. My pulse pounded in my ears and tears ran down my cheeks. The voices faded and I finally let out my breath, panting heavily.

I sank to the ground and buried my face in my hands, trying to replay everything that had just happened. My head was fuzzy and I struggled to recall the events.

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I remembered Felix and one other guy throwing insults at me, but I don't quiet remember what they said. Next thing I know, someone punched me in the stomach and my head hit the ground. I remember seeing flashes of the people around me. Someone was carrying me over their shoulder. I could tell it was Jase. This wasn't the first time I'd been in this situation.

When I regained conciousness, I was in some sort of small warehouse. I was dropped on the ground. I wasn't blacking out anymore, but I was dizzy and the sounds around me were muffled. I could see Jase standing off to the side. He was talking to another guy, whom I recognized, but I didn't know their name.

(Quick side note, I will probably never get down the whole who/whom thing, so if i put one in the wrong spot, please just ignore it. English grammar is weird.)

Jase looked over at me and saw I was awake. I tried to get up when he started toward me, but I couldn't move. My whole body ached and I could feel blood running down my face.

He crouched in front of me and all I could do was stare back up at him. "Such a shame," he said. "If you had only done as you were told, we would have to do this to you." Then I blacked out again.

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I had no idea where I was, why I was running, or how I even got in the woods. All I knew was that those bastards were close behind me and I was running for my life.

I looked around and saw I was near a small lake. I managed to get to my feet and I walked around. There was an old decaying dock at the edge of the lake surrounded be water lilies. I looked for a sign or a road, but it was to no avail. The only sound in the forest was the snapping and crunching of twigs and dry leaves under my feet. There were no birds chirpping or buzzing from insects. I couldn't even heard the leaves moving in the wind, or distant cars. It was dead silent.

I then heard someone shouting somewhere in the woods. I couldn't understand what they were saying. I heard a small splash behind my and I spun around. No one was there. I felt dizzy again and I fell to the ground. I felt like I was going to pass out, but only for a few seconds.

I lay on my side and stared out at the lake. The sun had just set behind the trees and the forest was getting darker. I saw movement among the water lilies near the dock. Someone rose up out of the water. He was older than me, I could see, even from this distance. He had black hair that reached his shoulders and dark skin. As he waded closer to the shore I was better able to make out his face and I saw that he was Korean. Maybe he was the one I heard shouting. His black t-shirt and shorts clung to his skin, showing his thin but toned and somewhat muscular body.

He saw me lying on the ground his expression turned to a mix of fear and concern and started walking toward me.

My heart beat faster and I tried to get up and run away, thinking it was one of Jase's "friends," but I didn't get more than a few yards before he reached me and grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away but he yanked me back. I tried pulling away again and he gripped me tighter. I winced from the pain.

"Stop moving," He said in a firm voice. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"To help you."

"Yeah, right," I scoffed.

"Why do you think otherwise?"

"You're with Jase. None of you ever give a damn about—"

"Hold on, who is Jase?" The stranger looked confused, and I could tell he wasn't bluffing. No one who new Jase would play dumb like that.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I ..." I didn't know what to say.

I looked up at him and saw his face for the first time up close. I suddenly felt very nervous, but I didn't know why. He had genuine kindness in his eyes, something I hadn't seen since my mom left. He looked at me with pity, and, even though I didn't know him, I felt overwhelming relief and greatfulness for him being there.

He let go of me and sat down on the ground in front of me. I then became aware of every cut and bruise on my body. I was exhausted and I lay back on my side.

"What happened to you?"

"I.. I'm not really sure, I don't remember everything...," my voice cracked as thought about what i did remember and tears stung the back of my eyes.

"Who is Jase?"

"He's a sick bastard who beats people up and treats them like his servants for fun. Him and whoever are cruel enough to join him. Only thing worse is—" I was going to say my father, but the thought broke me and I felt hot tears running down my face. Usually i'd be mortafied for crying in front of someone, but my mind was too muddled for me to think about the fact that I wasn't alone. I was scared and confused and lost.

He pulled me into his lap and held me. I was shocked at first by the gesture, but didn't dwell on it for too long. For the first time in over a two and a half years, I felt safe. The notion caused more tears to come forth. We stayed like that for a long time, even after I stopped crying.

I spoke first. "Why did you do that?"

"Sometimes people just need a hug."

"Why do you care?" I asked, and I looked up at him. "You don't even know me."

"So? Why would I not care?"

I realized I was still in his lap and I moved so I was sitting in front of him. I looked at the ground. "No one has ever cared about me." His face became serious. He thought for a few moments in silence.

"Look at me," he said, and I did. He put a hand on my shoulder. "You're in really bad shape. You're badly bruised and you're covered in blood and dirt. I don't know what happened to you, but you're going to come home with me and tell me everything and I'll help you to get better, ok?"

"I can't, I have to get home." I didn't want to go home. I wanted to go with him so I could be anywhere but there.

"Where do you live?"

"Boone."

"Boone! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Kid... that's, like, two and a half hours away from here. How'd you swing that?"

"I don't know... Where am I anyway? I don't even know how I got here."

"You're in the middle of North Spring, Virginia. What's your parents' phone number? I can call them—" I stopped him as he started to take out his phone.

"No, don't." He stared at me in confusion but didn't question me.

"Ok, I won't call them, but you're coming with me." I didn't object, partially because I didn't want to, but mostly because I didn't have the energy to. He saw this, and instead of waiting for me to stand, he picked me up."

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"There is no way I'm letting you walk, kiddo."

"Why not? I—"

"You won't be able to walk the distance to the house. And look at your shirt." I didn't have to. It was covered in fresh blood from a large cut. The stranger walked off with me and a sudden fatigue came over me and I fell asleep. I guess everything that had happened over the past few days had caught up with me.

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The next chapter will be out later this week.