Kacey wouldn’t stop running. She couldn’t stop running. She wouldn’t let them get her...not again. The black night followed her every step with deathly silence as her black boots roughly stomped across its fallen leaves. Her breath coming out in harsh bursts as her bright hazel eyes shot frantically around the forest she was in, searching for a road and praying desperately that he wouldn’t find her...not again.

Her lungs felt as if they’d been stabbed with fire licked tongs and her heart was beating so fast that she swore, even if she didn’t get caught and made it out of there, she’d die from a heart attack. She couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

Two hours. That’s how long she’d been running with hardly a break in between and no clean water to spare. She escaped the minute he turned his back and, with strength she didn’t even know she had, head butted him in the back causing him to fall limp to the floor. It took twenty minutes to get the keys off his front pocket (considering he fell forward) and another ten to unlock the chains on both her hands and feet. By that time, he was beginning to stir and so, without shoes or socks, she ran out the front door.

Now here she was, with splinters piercing her soles and bruises tattooed on her arms and legs, running as if her life depended on it...perhaps because it did.

Finally completely out of breath, and clutching a gigantic stitch in her side, she took one last quick look at her surroundings before leaning against a tree gasping for breath.

That was her first and last mistake.

Slowly, the bark crawled up her arm and like spiders knitting a web on the wall, it embedded into her skin. Kacey jumped and immediately began to yank her hand away from the tree but it was no use. The insect-like bark burned her skin like fire. A scream ripped from her throat as the burning sensation trickled towards her heart. She yanked and pulled as tears ran rapid down her face.

This was it. This was how she died. It wasn’t David or even a heart attack; it was dumb tree. A sob broke free from the depths of her chest as she watched the bark climb up her arms and legs, leaving only her head and chest untouched.

She looked up at the sky, begging God to at least let her die on a starry night. It was the least He could do. But as the bark raced up her neck, the sky remained pitch black and she laughed. A loud bitter guffaw that echoed against the trees and carried to the airport about a mile away.

Perhaps she’d gone mad or perhaps that’s what people did in situations like these (as crazy as that sounds).

But as the bark gave its final blow to her heart, Kacey May stood frozen for eternity. A smile never leaving her face.

(Not at an airport, sorry...not sorry 😜)