Stuck in a Dream (INCOMPLETE)

Chapter 2

Rose ran and ran and ran. She ran until she couldn't feel her legs; until her knees were knocking together so hard, they were about to give out; until she became used to the cramp in her side; until she pretty much ran out of sweat; until she lost at least five pounds. That's how much Rose ran from the institute.

She ended up in the middle of a forest. She slowed down to a walk, eventually just dropping from sheer exhaustion. With shaking hands, she grabbed a water bottle out of her bag and gulped it all down, along with two granola bars, and another bottle of water.

She leaned against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling as she took in deep breaths, relishing the air she was breathing. Never has she been so greatful to breathe the air, no matter how many chemicals were in it. She took a deep whiff of pine, relaxing her shoulders; the smell of the forest always calmed her. When she was younger, she would always-

Wait. No. Not "when she was younger". She was 15 years old. Rose had to keep reminding herself that. It was kind of disorienting to be 89 years old, almost ready to die, when suddenly, you wake up as a 15 year old. But she had a goal now; to find her parents. Rose took the backpack and rifled through it,  her hands brushing up against some papers.

Slowly, she extracted them out of her bag, holding them out at arm's length in case it was some sort of bomb. Rose didn't remember ever grabbing papers from anywhere...

Unless someone had known that she would escape. Maybe someone knew that she would eventually stumble upon that room, and would look in the closet, see the backpack and take it. But who? And why?

Rose looked closer at the papers and noticed a note attached to it, written on a piece of paper that was smaller than the others. She brought them closer to her face and read the perfectly written words, noting in her head how her helped was female, since the handwriting look very feminine.

"Rose,

Run away. As far away as you possibly can. By the time you read this, I hope you have reached the forest. I guess I should tell you my name. I'm Elizabeth Cunningham; but more importantly, I'm your aunt. Your parents, my sister and brother-in-law, were devastated when you went missing. To guarantee your safety, I volunteered to work for the man that had you kidnapped. Years ago, I had heard that your parents had been killed because they were snooping around the Institute's business. So please, don't go looking for them-"

The words blurred together as tears filled her eyes. No. Elizabeth was lying. She was not her aunt. Her parents weren't. They were healthy and perfectly alive. Right? Ripping the note off, the crumpled it up into a ball and threw it as far away from her as she could. With shaking hands, she leafed through the papers, discovering that it was her file. There, in front of her, was her birth certificate, contact information, everything and anything there was to possibly know about Rose Elton.

"Well, I guess these will come in handy eventually," Rose mutters to herself, neatly stacking them together and placing them back in the bag. She got up and dusted her jeans off, determined to put as much distance as possible between her and the institute.

~*~*~*~

After hours of wandering around, Rose decided to get some sleep. She found a bunch of trees and bushes that would provide adequate shelter, so she decided to set up camp there.

Along her walk, Rose read the rest of the note, skipping over the parts of Elizabeth claiming she was her aunt. She discovered that this backpack had a tent and sleeping bag in it; they were folded up airtight in order to fit the clothes, food, and water that Elizabeth knew Rose would take. She took it out and set up the tent, noting how roomy it was, along with the sleeping bag.

That night, it took a while for Rose to fall asleep. She just couldn't shut her brain off; sure, she was tired and exhausted from her trek through the forest. But her brain was a different story; thoughts of her parents and Elizabeth swirled through her mind, along with plans of where she would go.

Slowly, her eyes drooped down until they were completely closed. She curled up and was about to fall asleep when she heard it- the snap of a twig.

Someone was near.

And they were coming closer.