Her Heroes

Chapter Twenty-Five

The red-haired girl was panicked; she was flying down a deserted road, her hair flying as she peddled harder and harder. The bike was moving side-to-side as she pushed herself further. Her head kept whipping to look behind. She only had the clothes on her back and a small pack. 

She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened. Her shoulders hunched and she forced herself to go faster. The girl glanced back again and saw that the silver car was gaining on her... what she didn't see though was that she had lost direction of where her bike was going.

The world slowed down as the front wheel careened into the curb. Her body flew over the handlebars and she landed hard on her stomach; her pack was lying on the ground a few feet away. The bike was tipped and the wheels spun viciously.

The car skidded to a stop and she dropped her head to the ground, turning it to the side. Her curls hid most of her vision as the passenger door opened and a pair of expensive shoes touched the ground.

The shoes approached calmly and tears leaked from the girl's eyes. The shoes were in front of her now and the person squatted down, forcing themselves into her line of vision. Her lips rose in a snarl as the man dragged her to her feet, his expensive-looking suit out of place in the middle of the woods.

He held her hand in a vice-like grip and picked her backpack off the ground, not paying attention to the stuffed bunny that fell to the ground. The girl did though and began to fight the man, throwing her free hand as a club and digging her heels into the ground. He let go of her wrist briefly and she ran to her stuffed toy. 

Tears streamed down her face as she stood up with the toy clutched to her chest. The man was right behind her but she didn't notice. His face was coated in fury as he drew a knife from a hidden pocket in his suit jacket. The girl didn't turn but her face twisted in agony as the knife was drawn down her right shoulder blade to her hip.

Her knees gave out and she began to fall before the man tugged her body into his arms. She lost all fight as he trudged back to the car and got in. When the door closed, the car turned and sped off, leaving dark skid marks on the ground and splotches of crimson.

***

My eyes traced the shadows on the ceiling. I had been awake for what felt like hours; the dreams of the girl kept getting worse and worse. Nobody I could think of had fiery hair like hers, it just didn't make sense why she kept appearing. 

It felt like I had been laying there for another thousand hours before my alarm finally went off, signaling that it was time for me to get ready for school. Shrugging off my covers, I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the shower, watching as the mirror steamed up.

Slowly stripping, I looked at the blurred reflection. Turning my back to the mirror, I looked over my shoulder, tracing a jagged scar from my right shoulder to my hip with my eyes. I couldn't remember how it had gotten there, it just appeared at some point. 

I stepped into the shower and sighed in contentment. There was no better way to wake up fully than by taking a shower. The feel of water pummeling my head made me smile wider before I turned my head up and laughed. 

Sadly, my shower time ended much sooner than I wanted. Patting myself dry with a towel, I walked back into my room and pulled on the school uniform. I hated the stupid thing, but nobody could judge me for wearing a sweatshirt and yoga pants every day. 

My hair was a mess that I couldn't be bothered to fix today so instead, I grabbed my pack and left the room, closing the door softly behind me.