A bad choice

>> Hazel

I ran like crazy through the forest since at the moment the only thing on my mind was to lose the men who were tailing me. For that purpose, I deliberately took a lot of turns and ran into thicker parts of the forest where there were a lot of bushes and plants to cover me.

I purposely chose the path which didn’t allow a proper view of the way ahead and had many things to block the view of a person.

I ignored everything and focused only on escaping but still running barefooted was not a good idea. I was getting scratches all over my feet from all sorts of things on the ground and the pain was tingling the rest of my body.

After a while of simply running like crazy, I glanced back and saw no sign of anyone behind me, that’s when I slowed down.

The adrenaline running through my veins started calming down as well and exhaustion began to take over.

As I shifted from running to jogging to walking I felt the heat leave my body in heavy puffs while sweat started dripping down my skin.

Wow.

I sure ran like a dog.

I stopped in the clearing that was only about two square feet in area. 

There, I placed my hands on my waist and took deep breaths in order to steady my breathing.

After a few seconds, I looked around and noticed a small stump in the clearing.

That’s a nice chair. I nodded to myself in approval of my own thought and walked over to it and sat down.

As soon as I did a sigh of relief escaped my mouth.

Man! Sitting down feels so good!

I looked up at the sky. It was a clear day with white clouds traveling across the sky in all sorts of shapes.

I wonder if I’m really safe from Valek’s men now or do I need to keep going?  

I was still thinking about it when suddenly pain started creeping in like a little bitch.

“Ow! Ow!” I looked down at my feet since that’s where the feeling was coming from, “Oh…”

I noticed that my feet were bleeding.

I sighed as I stared at them because there was nothing I could do to treat them at the moment.

I sighed yet again.

This was bound to happen since I had no shoes on. 

Maybe I should have used something else as a weapon? 

I slumped my shoulder and intertwined my fingers over my lap to think.

Did I have any other option? There was nothing in the car I could use…

Besides, Valek would have noticed I was up to something. Taking my shoes off gave me an excuse that I just wanted to free my feet. If I had grabbed something else it would have caused way more suspicion.

I closed my eyes in distress but opened them up soon after since the pain wasn’t letting me rest.

Guess I should get out of this place first.

I stood up.

That’s enough rest, I can’t take any chances.

I began walking as one thought persisted in my mind.

I have to find her. I came all this way for her. I have to find her at all costs! And because of that, I can’t get stuck in any place, especially not with a man as dangerous as Valek Vincenzo.

I was about to leave the clearing when I heard rustling from behind me. I flinched and froze in my path. Then I heard some rustling from my left and then right. I shot my head in both directions and realized I had no time to waste and have to get out immediately.

I started running again while trying to ignore the pain in my feet, except that this time, I was already conscious of it and it was very difficult to dismiss it yet I gave it my all.

I can’t lose here!

As soon as I started sprinting I heard a voice, “I found her!!” A man yelled, “She’s going West!!” He screamed and then started running after me.

I immediately realized it wasn’t just him. I could hear more than one person running after me.

The urge to look back was killing me, the fear and anxiety were swelling up and even though I knew looking back while running in an area with thick obstacles is bad, I still turned my head around for a glance.

Three men were behind me, running to get me at full speed. At that moment I felt thankful to God for making me a fast runner.

I shot my head straight ahead after a short glance and even though I didn’t bump into anything, I failed to realize there was a ditch right in front of me, which I fell into almost immediately after I looked ahead.

A painful scream left my mouth as I crashed at the bottom while something pierced through the side of my right foot. On top of that, I bumped my head while falling down due to which the world around me began to spin a little.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

I looked at the tree branch hanging on my foot as it pierced through the edge. Drops of blood began to trickle down while the pain started getting unbearable.

Oh no…

I’m done for…

I groaned in pain but held my tears in with all my might. 

In frustration I looked up and noticed the three men circled the ditch and looked down.

“We found her.”  One of them looked behind and spoke. He was most likely telling that to someone who made his way to them, someone, or some people.

Shit.

At that moment, everything felt lost. There was no way for me to escape and even if I miraculously did, there was no way I could run now. I somehow managed before but now, it was impossible.

I looked down at the ground in defeat while everything felt like it was spinning.

The number of men above the ditch increased and I sighed in defeat and slumped on the ground. 

Fuck…

As I lay there I looked back up at them but I couldn’t focus clearly. My vision was getting a bit dark and heavy.

Ah well… 

Might as well go to sleep.