By My Hand

Untitled Part 1

By My Hand

ByLauren Cypher

Chapter1

Run. Just keeprunning. But everything hurts, and I am so thirsty. No,don't be stupid, ignore the pain, and just keep running. He'llnotice you're gone. Just run. That bold silkyvoice kept overriding her own desires and needs, keeping her ontrack. It was just as weak as she was right now.

She focuses on theground beneath her paws; just putting one foot in front of the other. The forest floor is soft and cool on the pads of her feet and thesmell of pine and moss fills her snout. I just have to keepmoving. She wills herself forward, keeping her focus on nothingbut the next step. Keeping her breath as slow and steady as she can;inhale, deep breath, and exhale. Her lungs are burning from theeffort, she hasn't run in ages. He nearly killed me. I amimmortal, and he almost killed me. Her breath catches in herchest at the thought. Don't think about it, just keep going. You can keep running. That vicious voice seethes. She triedto shake away the images that kept intruding on her thoughts,reliving the horror she'd just endured, god, he was having fun,it was fun for him to do the things he had, she tried toonly focus on the sound of her foot falls through the trees, as thememory of the glee in those dark brown eyes bore into her mind.

Just get as faraway as possible, that's all you have to do right now, just keeprunning. For once she is grateful for the other voice in herhead, often only antagonistic, it is finally helpful. Keeping herfocused, centered she gives a little more leash to that darknesswhispering at her, she normally keeps it locked away in the back ofher mind, her own thoughts take up enough space never mind lettingthat thing have a say. It had been quiet for a long time, hardlydeigning to speak to her since she had married Vince, and when it hadduring those years, it was quiet, subdued. Odd that it decided tocome back now that she'd left him.

Her muscles are tightand sore, protesting every stride. She keeps running, keepsbreathing. Being in wolf form again helps. It's easier to focuson instinct this way. She hadn't shifted forms since before thatNew Year's Eve party all those years ago, and the feeling waseuphoric. He'd begun to hate when she shifted, forbade her to doit anymore while she was with him. It was a simple request, andafter all he'd done for her it seemed reasonable, until now.

As a wolf instinct isall that matters, the pain is easier to ignore. Where am I? Howfar have I gone? Not far enough. She knew theestate had backed up to a wildlife preserve outside of Vancouversomewhere, but she never did figure out how far it extended, havingnot been allowed to wander past the estate grounds unaccompanied inyears, she'd never felt inclined to investigate. She might haverun a hundred miles by now or just a few yards she really couldn'ttell. She had run directionless, weaving and changing direction asthe forest undergrowth dictated. The adrenaline pumping through herveins is the only thing keeping her on her feet and moving.