Bloodstained Memories

Melissa hurried back home, her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, her breath was shallow and she was looking frantically behind her as she ran, fearing that somebody might have seen her. The road back home suddenly felt long, her burning lungs were gasping for air, about to burst with every breath she took, her legs were uncomfortably numb and she was on the verge of collapsing, yet she kept going, like an eagle chasing after its prey. Sweat rolled down her skin in salty, thick beads. The forest which was once her safe haven became a dangerous place, her breath hitched as her foot caught in one, thick tree root. She could feel the sting of the fresh cut on her already bloodstained hands, but she knew she couldn’t rest, she had to keep running. She was so focused on getting back home that she was oblivious to the man silently following her from afar. She didn’t know if her mind was playing tricks on her or not, but she could fathom the tiniest bits of her house in the near distance and she felt her body relax at the thought of her cozy place. The feeling only lasted for a split of a second until she saw him, her Lucas. She thought he was dead, yet there he was, standing right in front of her, with a smile resting on his beautiful, tired face. She stopped dead in her tracks, this can’t be true. If he was alive, then whose body did she see the other day, and why was she forced to kill a stranger, and leave him there in the forest, lying in his pools of blood. She was sure she was hallucinating until he spoke up, “We have to leave this town, take this and meet me in the address I wrote down”. 

 “Lucas! You’re alive?”

 “I’ll explain everything later.” He cupped her face in his hands and rested his forehead against hers. “I can’t risk losing you again, Melissa. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Both of them wished that this would all be over soon, that they’d wake up and it would just be an awful nightmare, and somehow, they’d both be back on the beach, where they’d make fun of that stupid, scary nightmare. But, sadly for both of them, this was their reality, and their life can’t go back to how it was before. She took the slightly heavy envelope from him and walked to the front door, she can hear his motorcycle roaring back to life behind her and wondered how in the world did life take such an unexpected turn.

 She locked the door behind her and made her way to the sink, the water turned a pale shade of scarlet as she washed her shaking hands. The color burned in her mind with what she’s just done, sickness crawled within her as she tried to wash the stains off her clothes, yet the previous scenes played in front of her eyes like a movie. The action so vivid, reminding her that this could never be forgotten, and she finally allowed her body to collapse, her vision was blurry and the tears kept falling like salty waterfalls. Her sobbing was the only sound that filled the silence, the sound harsh, and echoing through the old walls. These walls that held so many photos, so many memories that would soon turn to dust, she promised herself they’d both find a way to fix this. Her footsteps carried her upstairs where she began to gather her things, she was zipping her suitcase when her eyes came across the white door down the hall, that door that was last opened a year ago, it was only today that she found herself turning the knob, and the tiny crib came into view, the crib that once held her most precious achievement is now cold and empty. She padded into the room, the floor creaking beneath with every step she took. She picked up a pink, plush bunny that was once her baby’s favorite toy and a tear slipped down her face as she remembered how the poor baby’s cries settled whenever she caught sight of that bunny. The yelling in the distance snapped her back to reality and she hurried back to pick her suitcase, she ripped open the envelope Lucas gave her and took the car keys with the note that read “Drive south for 100 miles”. She already knew Lucas had a plan, and she trusted him with her life, yet she still couldn’t shake that ugly feeling deep in her guts. She feared their small encounter would be the last time she’d see him, however she decided to follow her heart instead. 

“The door is locked; she must’ve already left!”

She peaked through the window and saw a group of five masked men, all carrying guns were huddled in front of her house, the black SUV parked nearby told her that indeed, her fears were true, they came looking for her and nothing would stop them except her death. She quickly but quietly made her way to the back door, she was just a few steps away from her freedom, a few steps away from reuniting with her love, she was about to get in the car when a gunshot echoed deafeningly through the air, and she couldn’t help but scream at the agonizing pain in her leg.

“You think you’re smart enough to run away from me?”

His voice sent chills down her spine; she already knew what torture was waiting for her if she ever survives this time.

“What do you want from me?!” She spat at him. Another gunshot, this time in her arm, and she hissed through gritted teeth. Her vision became blurry from the amount of blood she lost, she was trying so hard to crawl away from him, but he was stronger than her, he turned her body around, and she was already dying from the pain. She could remember her face turning towards the ground, and that the floor tasted like acid, hands were handcuffed behind her back. The last thing she saw was the pink rabbit lying on the floor beside her, and what was once a toy, became stained with blood, and everything turned black.