Captured (Unedited)

1

Tatiana POV

Light. Thin, cruel, and yellow. 
It sliced through the cracks in my curtains and dragged me awake. 

I groaned. Every muscle in my body protested as I rolled over. 2:30 a.m. The red numbers on my cheap stopwatch glared back at me. 

It's now or never, Tatiana.

The pain didn't matter. I slid out of bed, silent. My bare feet met the cold floor. 
Drawer. Money. The notes I'd been hiding for months, folded tight, damp from my palms. 
Closet. Two shirts. One pair of jeans. One hoodie. All of it shoved into my duffle bag like it meant something. Like I had somewhere to go.

I scanned the room. Nothing. No photos. No keepsakes. Nothing worth taking. 

A sigh tore out of me before I could stop it. Then I was at the door, ear pressed to the wood. The house was silent. Too silent. 
Down the hall. Past their room. The smell of cheap alcohol and stale cigarettes still hung in the air. 

Kitchen. 
Two apples. A banana. Two bottles of water. It wasn't enough. It would have to be. 
Tears blurred my vision. My chest felt like it was being ripped open. 

Keep it together.
Don't you dare cry.

I didn't look back. 

The front door clicked shut behind me and the night air hit my lungs. Cold. Free. Terrifying. 
They were probably too high to hear me. Probably. 
I ran anyway. 

Fast. Far. With nowhere to go and no one to call. 
All I knew was I couldn't go back. I wouldn't. 

The park swallowed me. Dark. Empty. Trees hunched over the path like witnesses. 
I found a spot, hidden, surrounded by trunks and dead leaves. Dropped my bag. Collapsed. 

Homeless. 
The word hit harder than any of their hits ever did. 
No friends. No home. No one coming for me. 

I leaned against the rough bark and let the silence press down on me. 
Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't—

Footsteps. 
My body went rigid at the sound of them nearing closer. 
Voices. Laughter. Then a groan. A wet, ugly sound. 

Blood rushed to my head. 
Slowly, shaking, I grabbed my bag and ducked behind the nearest tree. My heart was so loud I was sure they could hear it. 

Three men. All black. One of them was on the ground. 
One kick. To the face. 
"See, Daniel? You messed with the wrong people." A chuckle. Another kick. "Did you really think Boss wouldn't find out?" 

The man on the ground whimpered. 

Then I saw it. 
A hand went to a waistband. Metal caught the moonlight. 
A gun. 

My eyes widened. My palms went slick. 
" Told you you'd pay," the man said, cocking it. Pointing it at Daniel's face. 

I couldn't breathe. 
I couldn't look away. 

BANG!

The sound cracked the night. 
And a gasp tore out of me before I could stop it. 

All three heads snapped toward my tree.