My Bloody Revenge
Chapter 2: Freedom

Trudging forward she tries her best not to fall on hands or knees again. She already lost counton how many times she has stumbled and scraped herself. Only time she really knows whereshe walks is when lightning momentarily lights up the sky revealing all the hidden roots andstones in her path. Hours has passed since she left the house and she is soaked to the bones.The dress, once frilly and big, sticks to her body like second skin weighing her down making itharder to walk than it already is. Standing in the middle of the never-ending forest she looksaround hoping to replace some kind of indication on where to go. She knows there is a townnearby but has no clue how to get to it or how far it actually is from the house which makes itnear impossible to know now. Tired and cold there is no other options than keep on walking.Assessing herself she sees gushing wounds on her knees from falling down over and over.Hands and elbows are not looking much better. Tearing some fabric from the dress she uses itto wrap the wounds on her hands and knees before continuing walking. The weather isrelentless and refuses to let up even a little bit. Goosebumps covers her body constantly andher teeth never cease with its clattering. Even though she keeps on walking and rubbing herupper body the heavy rain combined with the wind makes it hard to stay warm but sherefuses to give up. If this is the price, she has to pay for her escape then that is a small one topay compared to what will happen if he should replace her. Stumbling forward she eventuallygives in and lies down on the forest floor when yet another root trips her feet. Sheer will canonly carry her so far and she is so tired. Her body aches and her feet fare no better.

Suddenly a little burst of giggles slips through her plump, bluish, lips and it soon escalatesinto a full-on belly laughter. Lying on the wet, dirty, ground she laughs yet there is nothingfunny to laugh at or to be happy about but she can't stop it. Doesn't know where it comesfrom and by now, don't really care. It's an empty, hysterical laughter. After laying there forwhat seems like a short time the laughter slowly dies down and all her previousdetermination is fading bit by bit leaving nothing but emptiness behind making hertemporarily paralyzed. With nothing more than the clothes on her cold, dirty body, andnowhere to go she is left with nothing. Although, after thinking clearly there was nothing tobegin with so maybe this time, she has actually gained something.

Freedom.

The rain keeps on pouring down hard, whipping her soaked body without mercy and thestrong wind gusts making sure her body temperature remains low but Lyra doesn't careabout wind nor rain anymore. She doesn't care about anything other than the surreal feelingof hope coursing through her body leaving a soft smile on her trembling cold lips. Gatheringthe last of her draining energy she goes on her hands and knees then from there slowlystands. Not caring about directions anymore she aimlessly resumes walking. New bruises jointhe already exciting ones and her body is in dire need of rest and night is here which turns thiswalk into a disaster waiting to happen. With droopy eyes, aching feet and a growling stomachshe huddles close to a big tree with low hanging branches and curls up. Her last thoughtbefore finally allowing herself to fall asleep is hoping the rain will stop soon. The urge to keepmoving still aching inside her but the need for rest screams louder than the need to keeprunning. Unfortunately, the much-needed sleep is short lived when a sudden rustling soundnearby startles her awake momentarily sending a panic rush throughout her entire bodythinking it's her husband again. Looking around and feeling the cold attack her body in fullforce she remembers where she is. Sitting close to the tree Lyra tries to locate where therustling sound comes from but replaceing the task rather hard since it seems to move in differentdirections or is there more than one out there? Letting panic overtake she dashes out in arandom direction and starts running hoping to get away from what or whoever it is whileprying that the darkness of the night will keep her hidden. She runs as fast as her tired legscan carry her without stumbling on roots or stones but luck is not on her side when suddenlyarms are wrapped around her waist tripping both of them to the ground harshly as a result.While tumbling on the ground one-word bounces around in her head over and over in adeafening volume. No. Without her consent Lyra's body goes limp from exhaustion and purefear. Tears falls down and it's getting harder and harder to breath until the entire world fadesaway and goes black as her eyes shuts and she goes unconscious. Not how she pictured hergrand escape to end.