Through The Forest
Through The Forest
The car’s wreckage smoldered in the forest’s heart, upside down, its frame a twisted ruin. Smoke curled from the engine, sparks hissing in the dark, the air thick with gasoline and pine. Sharon coughed, pain searing her body, her leg pinned between the seats. She tugged, frantic, as flames licked the hood, the heat growing unbearable.
“Come on!” she growled, pulling harder, but her leg wouldn’t budge. The smoke choked her, eyes stinging, each cough a stab in her ribs. Addicus lay slumped in the front, blood trickling from his temple, but his eyelids fluttered—he was waking. Panic surged; she couldn’t face him trapped.
She yanked again, desperation fueling her, and her leg finally slipped free, scraping raw. Addicus stirred, groaning, as she scrambled through the shattered window, glass cutting her palms. She hit the ground, pain shooting through her injured leg, but adrenaline drove her up. Glancing back, she saw Addicus crawling out, his gun glinting in the firelight.
Sharon ran, limping through the forest, branches snapping underfoot. Her leg throbbed, each step a knife, but she pushed on, the car’s glow fading behind her. Addicus’s voice echoed, chilling her blood.
“Nowhere to run, Sharon! This is the end!”
She stumbled, heart pounding, his words a demon’s taunt. The forest was a labyrinth, moonlight barely piercing the canopy. She felt hunted, her soul at stake, but she wouldn’t stop. A fallen tree loomed, its hollow trunk a rotting sanctuary. She crawled inside, curling tight, holding her breath as Addicus’s footsteps crunched closer.
He stopped near the tree, his breathing ragged. “Hiding, are you?” he called, scanning the treetops, gun raised. Sharon’s chest burned, her silence a shield. His boots circled, then paused, the quiet deafening. She prayed he’d move on.
A hand shot into the hollow, grabbing her neck from the other end. She screamed, clawing as Addicus dragged her out, his grip iron. “Stay still, or I kill you,” he snarled, gun pressed to her temple.
Sharon froze, panting, staring into his manic eyes—the monster of her nightmares. “Give it up, Addicus,” she said, voice steady despite fear. “The police are coming. The mansion’s a crime scene—kidnapping, murder. You’re done. Let me go. Surrender.”
He laughed, a madman’s cackle, “You underestimate me, Sharon. As long as I breathe, I’m free. I always win.”
“Why take me?” she asked. “Why not escape alone?”
“You’re my prison,” he said, eyes wild. “Everything wrong, everything right.”
His words baffled her, his sanity frayed. “Get up,” he ordered. “Walk.”
She stood slowly, leg screaming. “Move!” he barked, gesturing with the gun. They trudged forward, the forest closing in, the air heavy with impending rain.
Peter reached the wreckage, gun drawn, heart in his throat. The car was a burning husk, flames licking the fuel tank. He peered inside—empty. Relief battled dread; Sharon was alive but gone. A trail of broken branches led deeper into the forest, and he followed, boots sinking in mud, the neon glow of Denver long vanished.
The car exploded behind him, a fireball lighting the trees. Peter flinched but kept moving, tracking the trail. Sharon was out there, and so was Addicus. He gripped his pistol, its weight a promise to end the monster. The forest was silent, save for distant thunder, but a faint snap—too deliberate for wind—suggested someone else lurked nearby, shadowing his hunt.
Sharon and Addicus pressed on, her limp slowing them. Exhaustion hit, her injuries overwhelming, and she collapsed, gasping. “Get up!” Addicus roared.
“I can’t,” she said, defiant. “Or what? You’ll kill me?” she taunted. “You’d have done it already. Stop bluffing.”
He glared, then sat on a log. “Fine. We stay. Wolves or the storm’ll get us. Your call.”
She knew he was right—nightfall and rain would kill them. Gritting her teeth, she rose, limping forward. “Smart,” Addicus said, following, his gun never wavering.
The sky darkened, clouds swallowing the moon. Sharon’s hope flickered—Peter was coming, she felt it.