The Tattooed Devil Wears Chucks

Chapter 39: Unknown. Sunday 10:23PM

Unknown.

Tree limbs thrash at my face as I continue running though the darkness.  I keep my arms up in front of head, attempting to keep them at bay.

Run.

Keep running.

Do not look back.

My legs hurt. 

My feet hurt.

Keep running.

My bare foot catches a jagged rock and I fall to the dirt ground below.  The woods are so dark.  I can barely hear the party anymore.  I'm not sure how far in I am.  Are they still following me?  My panic sets in as I sit against a tree, clutching my right foot.  I can't see it, but I can feel and smell the blood from gash.  I remove my shirt and tie it as tightly as I possibly can around the foot as I begin to feel my heartbeat through it.  I feel my heartbeat everywhere.  It's in my ears, my chest, my hands now my foot.

The sound of sticks crunching beneath feet cause my breath to hitch in my throat.

Fuck.  Don't make a sound.  Don't breathe.  Please God don't let them hear me.

I press my eyes closed tight, praying that they walk passed the tree blindly.  My body shakes with fear.  The pain from my foot continues to surge through me.  There's no way I can run.  I'll be lucky if I can walk.

The footsteps walk passed the tree behind me and I let out the breath I was harboring.

Too soon.

Hands grip under my arms as I'm drug through the woods, arms and legs flailing, screams coming from my very core. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

They let go of me as I continue to scream and attempt to crawl away. "HELP!!"

Something large and sharp strikes the side of my jaw; I feel the break instantly. I clutch it and immediately feel the blood running down my neck. Moans. Painful loud moans are all I can muster now. I can't move my jaw. Tears fall down my face and burn when they hit the open wound.

I'm going to die.

They begin dragging me again. It's so dark. I attempt to dig my fingers into the cold ground underneath me, trying to form a trail of where they are taking me. The sticks and rocks below me tear my skin. I feel like I'm being ripped apart. As my fingers continue to drag my hand clutches a rock. I hold onto it tight. It's my last resort.

We reach a clearing and the smell of lake water fills my nostrils.  The trail I'm making with my fingers ends when it hits splintered wood.  One plank, then a gap, then another plank, gap. It's a dock.

My neck is clutched by a rough hand, making it even harder to breathe. The pain in my jaw radiates from my face to my shoulders.

"Please" I attempt to tell the familiar face. It comes out nothing like that. It sounded more like "eash."

I hear screaming in the woods. People calling my name. They are so close.

My body is tossed into the cold lake water. The rock that my hand was holding drops to the bottom. The salty taste, combined with mud causes me to choke. It burns every cut and scratch on my body.  More pain. More tears. Familiar eyes. A hand that keeps pushing my neck into the disgusting water. It's in my throat. It's in my eyes.  I reach out and grab anything, catching some fabric from my attackers clothing, feeling it rip in my hands. 

More screams from the woods.

Please hurry.

The hands push me under again.

More water fills my throat.

It fills my nose. 

Muffled screams.

Flailing limbs.

This hurts.  Oh god it hurts.

I give up.