❝She's one of those girls you just can't walk away from. One of those girls you will never forget, no matter how hard you might try.❞
BOOK ONE OF THE SCARLETT CHRONICLES |
After being kidnapped as a young child, seventeen year old Scarlett Grey is...
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Hoppla! Dieses Bild entspricht nicht unseren inhaltlichen Richtlinien. Um mit dem Veröffentlichen fortfahren zu können, entferne es bitte oder lade ein anderes Bild hoch.
I COULD HEAR everything.
I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. The sounds of sticks crackling beneath my bloody, bare feet were nearly as loud as the thunder cracking above my head. Each drop of rain bouncing off the leaves of the trees all around me was like a gunshot. But it was all overshadowed by the sound of air rushing in and out of my lungs in short bursts, burning against my dry throat.
My arms pumped vigorously as I ran through the woods, as fast as physically possible.
The forest around me was pitch black, the moon hidden behind a storm cloud. I couldn't see two feet in front of my face, but I kept running. For a moment, a sheet of lightening illuminated the sky and I realized I was about to run headlong into a large tree trunk. I feigned to the right, but my shoeless feet slid in the mud, pitching me forward. I tumbling head first and landed in a cold puddle.
I hadn't registered that the ground was slick with the falling rain. I was too busy running for my life.
Quickly, I pushed myself up, feeling the ache in my shoulder and ignoring the screaming pain in my legs. I picked up speed, running in the same general direction I had been before.
After what seemed like hours, I saw a dim glow of light breaking through the trees in front of me.
I ran faster, if that was even possible. Finally, I broke through the trees and my feet hit the cold concrete.
I whipped my head around, seeing a man climbing into a parked car under a street light. Otherwise, the street was empty.
Vaguely, I heard him calling out, asking me if I was alright.
I tried to answer him, but my mouth couldn't form the words. I couldn't scream. And I couldn't breathe.
My chest tightened and my limbs screamed in pain. Suddenly, I realized just how exhausted I was.
I hadn't eaten in a week and I hadn't had a drink in two days. I hadn't slept in four. My knees gave out and I collapsed.
But I was unconscious before my head smashed into the sidewalk.
