There was no one to hear her, let alone help her. There were trees surrounding her. Running footsteps trailing behind her. Angie’s having a hard time catching her breath, almost tripping over a tree branch. The sky is dark and there’s fog everywhere. She’s squinting, trying hard to look at her surroundings. Tears are streaming down her face, and she roughly wipes them off with her dirty hand, making her face dirty as well. Her heart is going a mile a minute, hands moving quickly from side to side. She took long, quick steps, desperately trying to get away. A whimper escapes her lips as she thinks about this being her last day of life. She can’t bare the thought of leaving her loved ones.

“Don’t let her get away. Do everything you can to get her.” Angie lost her train of thought as she heard a distant voice behind her. She moved her legs faster, if that was even possible. She takes quick turns, trying to lose the men. All of a sudden, she saw what seemed to be the end of the forest and a road nearby. She was ecstatic to see that. She ran towards it. As she got close she saw that there were no cars passing by. Angie was furious. She couldn’t believe a road could be so empty. She turned around and only saw trees, seeing no signs of the men. She got on the side of the road and followed that path. She kept running, not as fast as before. It was getting darker. There were no lights or signs. She was losing hope.

Angie couldn’t stand running any longer. She started walking slowly. Her mouth was dry, and she could hardly even swallow. She tripped on her own feet, her legs giving up on her, and falling to the ground. The tears come back to her and she begins sobbing. “No Angie, you have to keep going before they find you. You can do this.” She whispers encouraging words, as she gets up, and continues to walk. She begins jogging.





There were lights from a distance. Angie sees buildings, and hears the familiar sounds of a city. She runs as fast as she can. She gets closer, the buildings becoming more clear. She sees some people and runs towards them.
“Hey! Help me, please! You need to help me.” She falls to the ground, her legs failing her once again. Angie looks up at the man and woman. She tries telling them what happened but at this point the sobs take over and she can’t get anything out but cries. She lays on the ground, realizing how tired her body is, and her eyes begin closing. She hears distant voices but can’t make out what they are saying. She then hears nothing and sees black.


“Young lady?” Angie hears a deep voice at her side. Her eyes go wide open, as a shrilling scream escapes her mouth, her hands and feet going everywhere. She begins yelling out continually, “Please don’t hurt me!”

“I’m not going to hurt you. Please calm down. It’s okay, you’re safe.” Angie met eyes with the guy wearing a long, white coat. She assumed he was a doctor and calmed down, looking around. Angie was in a typical white, hospital room and laying in a bed. She was wearing a gown that she had seen patients wear before and a thought came to mind: she might’ve not known how she got into this but she was safe. She was relieved, smiling widely and tears beginning to form in her eyes. She couldn’t believe she escaped those men and managed to run for so long.

“How did I end up here?” Her voice was hoarse from all the screaming. The doctor quickly told one of the nurses to bring a cup of water before sitting down in front of Angie and began to explain.

“Two people brought you here. They said you came running at them and then fell unconscious. They don’t know what happened to you. Do you mind explaining?” He looked at Angie with concern. She was unsure of whether or not she should tell him the real story. She was afraid the men would find out and want to hurt her more than they already did. The tears had spilt but this time it wasn’t of joy. Angie was having a hard time to remember all of the details.

She looked at the doctor, “I don’t know.” She knew what happened, but talking about it made it seem like it was happening all over again. The doctor gave her a quick pitiful look, which just annoyed Angie but she let it slide. She hates when people give her a pitiful look because she didn’t like when someone felt bad for her. Angie turned away, looking out of the large window that showed the scary world she lived in. She honestly never wanted to leave this room. She was terrified they’d find her again and hurt her. The picture that emerged in her mind made her cry some more.

“Listen, just try and rest and we can talk about it when ever you want. If you need anything just press that button right here and a nurse will come right up.” He pointed to the button next to the bed before standing up, giving a small smile, and walking out of the door. Angie tried getting as comfortable as she could. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s okay. You’re safe.” She repeated this in her head even if it didn’t help her as much. As she kept her eyes closed, she realized how tired she was and slowly but surely, she drifted off into a horrible slumber.





Angie woke up to soft footsteps and murmurs at the other side of the door. It was dark in the room but the little space on the bottom of the door showed that the lights in the hallway were on. She looked at the clock, squinting her eyes, and seeing that it said 3:27 am. She let out a stressful breath. She knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again so now she was left with herself and her thoughts, and knowing her, she’d think of everything and anything. Angie didn’t want to think of anything because the previous events was not something she wanted to think about, ever again.

“Is this the room?” Angie heard on the outside of her door. She turned so fast she almost got whiplash. Her breathing got heavier, as she stood up quickly. She could recognize the voice from anywhere and saying she was terrified was an understatement.

The door opened and a tall man was standing in front of Angie with a serious face. The man that she had always feared was in front of her and she couldn’t run any longer. Her heart nearly stopped and she just stared right at him, not being able to move. This was the end for her, that she was sure.

He turned to the nurse, whispering something to her that Angie couldn’t make out. The nurse walked out, closing the door. Angie’s breathing quickened and she struggled to find her voice. She sits up and he slowly walks towards her, smiling widely while he says the two words Angie never expected to have such hatred for. “Hey, baby.”