Chapter One: What happened?

 It was dark at night. There were a few stars in the sky and a moon illuminating the whole silent forest with its non-luminous light. 

It was at this particular moment, the chilling breeze of the night became so cold and unendurable for human skin. It was also at this time that the forest and its calmness became so scary and intimidating except for the animal noises that could be heard from the distant part of the woods.

At the center of this forest, a pair of beautiful blue eyes flashed open in the middle of the night. Looking at her surroundings, Kathie's face altered into a frown. She was in an unknown place and was surrounded by trees and other horrific things.

As she was still gazing around with confusion written all over her face, a new spasm of pain jolted her body upright and made her tighten her face more.

Kathie quickly examined her body carefully and realized that she was lying on the floor and was badly injured. She slowly touched her hair which felt damp with shaky hands, only to bring it back with a blood stain on it. 

Then, she gazed at her lower abdomen which stimulated an excruciating pain, and saw a dagger that was deeply stabbed into it… and was immediately awash in fear…

With the same expression, Kathie staggeringly stood up from the floor. Although the knife that was stabbed into her belly still hurt, she was more interested in what was happening to her.

This wasn't the last place she found herself before everything went dark… or was she thrown into this hideous forest after what happened yesterday?

This beautiful young lady had a very nice model shape and glittering long legs that had been stained with dirt. Nevertheless, her dirty look didn't distract her beauty from blooming in the eye.

She has captivating blue eyes, ravishing creamed skin, and long blonde hair. She seemed to be around the age of twenty- three or four. 

She was donning white nightwear.

Even at a young age, Kathie Martinez encountered a lot of scandals and problems that destroyed her life forever.

She was alive…

Aren't I supposed to be dead or something? Am I in heaven? What exactly am I doing here?' She asked herself.

Many unexplainable questions kept running through her mind but what was so disorienting was the fact that she was alive. 

No, she needs answers to what happened to her yesterday. 

She tried remembering anything but all her memories felt vague and blurry, however, she was able to capture a few things.

Yes, yesterday she was on her way to a hotel, but what happened after that, she wasn't able to remember it.

Then, the next moment, she saw herself in a grim dark room and was encircled by a few tattooed men with guns and cigarettes.

Yes, she could remember vividly that she pleaded for her life but no one lent an ear to her pleas.

She could feel the joy they were deriving from her pain. She could hear their laughter in her agony. Among all these, the one that hurt her the most was that, after they had used her to a slump, they still had the guts to pour a hot liquid on her face. 

Like, how heartless could they be?

The insufferable pain she felt that night was nothing to talk home about.

She was alive, seeing her death happening in front of her. She was conscious, feeling her face burning away with a hot liquid. Her face was burnt and disfigured in a disgusting way that could never heal.

However, what she saw as she woke up in the forest wasn't the way she was tormented and killed that night. Her head wasn't bleeding and no knife was stabbed at her. 

They only used her so many times and when they had felt satisfied, they poured acid on her and hung her head on a tied rope.

She thrived for air in her lungs but got none, She cried and struggled until she couldn't struggle anymore and everything turned dark.

As she thought of how she died, she immediately touched her face and neck to confirm, however, her face seemed to be perfectly fine and no mark was felt on her neck.

How come?

She could remember vividly that racking pain she felt on her face when that acid made contact with her face. 

So how did her face heal so magically?

After thinking too much but couldn't think of anything, Kathie tried to find her way out of the forest, however, before she could move her legs, she felt another surge of pain shock through her body making her hold her stomach in pain. 

The dagger has started giving her too much trouble, but hasn't she suffered enough? She doesn't need more pain. But, if she were to remove the knife from her stomach she might bleed to death which isn't a wise decision. 

'But what other decision is better than death?' She thought.

With death, she would be able to live her life away from all the troubles of the world. Away from all the betrayal she had felt, away from all the envy shown on her, away from all her pain, away from so many problems that come with life.

"Yes death is better," she said determinedly.

"So all I need to do to end this suffering is to get this knife off my stomach, right? If I had this opportunity before those men used me, I could have ended my life without a thought" She said with tears streaming down from her eyes.

 So with her mind made up, Kathie shut her eyes and held the tip of the dagger with both hands before dragging it out with full force.

"Ugh!" she groaned in pain and misery.

She looked at her abdomen and noticed that she had started bleeding again and if she didn't get to the hospital as soon as possible, she might lose a lot of blood.

Nonetheless, this was what she wanted. She needs her freedom from pain. She wants death!

She quietly went to an overgrown root of a tree and sat, slowly using her last moment on earth to grieve.

What a beautiful garbage life she had lived.

'Love is dangerous' she never believed in that word until now that it has led her to her grave.

"If I was to be given a second chance I will never love again" She muttered silently as she wept bitterly for her life.

She wept until her eyes began to feel blurry and she collapsed.