The road to freedom

Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and her lungs were on fire. It felt like she had been running for hours, but he was still so close behind her. She was small and weak. That's what happens when you're five years old, mal nourished and locked in a tiny room for weeks on end. How long had she been trapped there? Had it been weeks? Months? Longer? She didn't know. She just knew that one day she would get away. She had to get away.

She had finally seen her opening. One split second where his back was turned to her and he hadn't cuffed her to anything yet. That one split second was all she needed. She stood up fast and ran.   Her eyes burning from the sunlight as she pushed her way through the door. It had been so long since she'd been outside. She could hear him screaming behind her. She knew she just had to run. Where? She wasn't sure. She didn't care. She just needed to go as fast and as far away from him as she could.

She didn't even have a chance to look around and pick a direction. She just opened that door and ran. He lived near the woods, that she knew. She could see the trees outside the window when he would let her upstairs. He had been doing that a bit more lately. Trusting her more to be allowed out of her dark cellar of a room, and up to where he lived. He had even let her sit on the couch and watch TV with him from time to time. She would still be tied up, but at least it was better than being in that room.

One time, when they were watching TV, the news came on and she saw a picture of herself and saw her parents. He had quickly turned off the TV and sent her back down to her room. To her dungeon. But that brief moment of seeing her parents gave her the boost of hope she needed. She needed to fight for them.

After that day, anytime he had let her upstairs, she started to pay more attention to her surroundings. Where the exits were. Where furniture was, so she wouldn't trip if she needed to run. He had never left her near any objects she could use as a weapon against him, but her day finally came. He had forgotten the handcuffs on the counter when he brought her up to have dinner. That few seconds he needed to turn and walk over to grab them was the opportunity she had been waiting for. And now she was running. Running as fast as her weak legs could take her, through the dense forest. The rocks and twigs dug into her bare feet, and the branches seemed to scratch and attack her and slow her down. As if they were on his side, trying to keep her with him. They continued to scratch her arms and legs and ripped her nightgown, but she didn't care. She just needed to keep pushing through the pain.  

She tripped and fell a few times, and could hear him gaining on her. The last fall had twisted her ankle and she was starting to lose hope, but she knew she had to push on. If he caught her, she would never get this chance again. He would make sure of that. She would never see the outside again. Never see her mom and dad, or her sisters. She would be locked away with him forever, or worse. 

"Little giiirl?" He said, in his eerie sing song voice. "Let's just go back home. I'll make your favorite dinner." 

She would not be fooled. She knew he was trying to lure her back. He was pretending everything would be ok. But it would never be ok. She tried to get up and run more, but instantly fell back down on the ground. She grabbed her throbbing ankle, silent tears falling down her face. She knew now it wasn't just a twisted ankle, but she couldn't quit. She had to keep going. She had to get away.  

"Little girl!" he yelled. Anger ringing in his words now. He still couldn't see her, couldn't find her. But he soon would if she didn't get up and keep moving. She stood up and carefully started to move again. Trying her best to not put too much pressure on her ankle. She looked behind her to see if she could see him, but because she wasn't watching where she was going she tripped on a rock and rolled down a small hill. Her head hit a large stump at the bottom and she could feel blood dripping down the side of her face. Her ears were ringing and her head was spinning. She thought she was going to be sick. She sat up and took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm the spinning in her head. 

"Little girl!" He yelled again, sounding closer. She was running out of time. "You can't run forever."  

She used the stump to help lift herself to her knees, trying to ease the nausea and get her balance. Her head was still spinning as she looked up and saw it. A road! Her heart started to race, she was so close to freedom. She didn't have to run forever, she just had to make it to that road. She could hear the motor of a car heading towards them. Soon the car would be over the hill and driving down the path in front of her. This was it. This was her chance. Her only chance.

She glanced behind her and saw him up the hill in the distance. She knew he was far enough away that she could make it to the road before he got to her. He was angry, she could see it on his face. Those dark shark like eyes staring at her. He knew he would lose her, lose his game, his toy, his plaything. She gave him a smirk before she pushed herself up off the ground and ran as fast as she could towards the road. Adrenaline was pumping through her and she pushed through the pain that seemed to be shooting through every inch of her body. Ankle be damned, it could be looked at later. For now, she just needed to run. Run away from him and the hell she had been living in. Run to that car. Run to her freedom. Run to her family.

She would win.