Freedom by Ferrari | ✔

Chapter One

I wrote many short stories over the last few months. This is one of them. There will be five chapters in total. I hope you enjoy it. :)

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Lillian Hall stood at the entrance of the graveyard, rain pounding against her umbrella as the wind rippled the flimsy fabric. The yard lights cast eerie finger-like shadows against the concrete tombstones. She swallowed hard. During the day, the trip through the field and out the forest on the other side was a piece of cake; but at night, it was a whole other world.

She often came here to visit her papa's grave, but only when the sun was at its highest point. She and her husband lived just beyond the forest. If she went around the long way, it added another thirty minutes to her walk. And with the rain and how quiet the streets were, the last thing she wanted to do was take forever to get home.

Usually, she took the bus home from work, but this had to be the one day she lost her bus pass. It couldn't have happened yesterday when it was sunny or before the news revealed that a serial killer might be on the loose in the area.

She opened her purse and counted the change. After buying lunch, all she had were a few measly dimes left. "So much for a taxi."

Pulling out her phone, she dialed her husband, Manny. He didn't pick up. She tried again but received the same voice message. Nothing new. When he was in the middle of something, he didn't answer the phone for anyone, except when his drug buddy, Patrick, called. He cared more about drugs than he did about her.

Everyone told her to leave his lazy good-for-nothing ass, but that was easier said than done. She had tried that before and he found her within a day, beating her to kingdom come. The bruises on her stomach and back were a brutal reminder of the power he had over her. There wasn't even any point in going to the police station. He had friends on the force. They were the ones who helped him find her the last time.

No. She had to drop completely off the radar. New name. New everything. She wasn't sure how to do that without the witness protection program, but she'd figure it out. Taking a deep breath, Lillian stepped through the archway into the cemetery. She could see the light on in the building and assumed the caretaker was still on-site, which was good because if she had to scream, he'd be able to hear her.

Tightening her grip on the handle of her umbrella, she tentatively moved along the path. Her heart pounded deep in her chest and her teeth chattered as though they had a voice of their own. A black bird swooped down, diving in front of her. Lillian screamed. After realizing what it was, she kicked at it with her boot. It hopped out of the way as it cawed at her.

"Go away!" she said, stomping with her foot. Finally, it looked at her briefly and then flew away. "Darn, stupid thing."

Her heels clicked and clacked on the concrete path as she made her way deeper into the meadow, surrounded by graves and trees. Horror movies were made of scenes like this. Men and women doing stupid things, like opening the door after they get a phone call or splitting up to go check out a noise. And here she was, approaching a forest in the dark. But she just wanted to get home. It's not like she didn't know where she was going. She'd taken this "S" shaped path a thousand times before. A second later, the crow swooped down again, nearly landing on her head.

"Go away!" she cried.

Picking up her pace, she rushed through the graveyard. A dark dreadful feeling of death assailed her. Her breath caught in her throat. In the building across the way, a dark plume rose from the chimney. She knew what that meant. Another body had been turned to ash.

That was one thing she'd never really given much thought to-whether she wanted to be buried or cremated. It probably didn't matter one way or another, it's not like you were conscious anyway.

Suddenly, a dark shadow crossed her peripheral vision.