The girl swooped into hiding. Desperately attempting to quiet her breathing.

One. In and out.

Two. In and out.

Three. In and out.

Good. She was breathing more steadily, but fear still quickened her breathing.

She stepped forward from her hiding place. Was he gone? She frantically wondered. Her heart raced, her one good eye darted from place to place searching for her pursuer. He wasn’t far. She could sense it.

As she darted from her hiding place she sensed the objects around her in a distant, fragmented manner. A scent here, the feel of the way her bare feet touched the cold ground, the way her hair whipped behind her as she ran. She could especially feel the way her right eye watered and throbbed in pain. Her hearing even seemed hyper focused on her inner mechanisms as all she could hear was the fast-paced beating of her heart as it rushed blood throughout her body.

She was breathless, her muscles ached. But she urged herself onwards, ever onwards. In the distance, she heard yelling. It was him. She couldn’t stop. The fear inside her blossomed to a point where she almost froze, turned around, and went back to him. He would still forgive her if she went back now... she slowed her pace while indecision danced back and forth within her mind.

One second, then two as her pace slowed further.

NO!

She WOULD NOT go back. She would no longer belong to him. She would be her own. As her heart soared in hope, she picked up her pace. Hope filled her with determination. She had made it this far. She wasn’t giving up now.

As she urged her feet onward, she heard heavy foot steps behind her. Closer and closer. She pushed her body to its breaking point before accidentally tripping on something she couldn’t see.

She fell hard to the ground. She struggled to get up as she could still hear the heavy footsteps falling in line behind her.

Haphazardly, she made it back on her feet and started sprinting, desperately hoping it would give her the distance she needed to get away.

Suddenly, a force ripped her backwards. She fought against it. Scratched, punched, kicked. She fought harder than she ever had in her life. Her eye closed, screaming, and yelling the worst profanities she could think of when a voice she didn’t recognize reached her in her maddened attempt to flee.

“HEY! Hey! STOP! I’m not trying to hurt you!”

For some reason, this was enough for her to open her eyes... for her to see a different set of brown eyes than the one she had been so used to seeing.

Relief flooded through her body as she relaxed.

She had made it. She was free.