Saving Emma - A Flip Zimmerman fanfic

Chapter 2. Out There

A/N: Reminder this fic does contain injury, sexual-related trauma and crime/kidnapping trauma :) Thanks so much for reading! I love seeing all of your comments and interactions!

Emma POV

You were walking along a wooden path that coursed its way through a peaceful forest. The place felt familiar, like you have been here before, but there was something different about it this time. Something almost unsettling. Through the pine trees you saw a small herd of deer far off, peacefully grazing. High above you a chipmunk was calling to its lover and below you the flowers spun through the breeze. You took a deep breath, filling your nose with the scent of pine. It was calm, tranquil, and peaceful. So why did it feel so different? Like there was a creature just around the corner waiting for the right moment to disturb the peace.

As you continued walking further down the path you noticed that the animals have left; there was no sound and the light was fading. You looked up to see dark clouds rolling across the sky exchanging the delightful blue with an evil gray. As quickly as the clouds came so did the wind. It was relentless, tearing at the tall trees around you, forcing them to sway and bend against their will. The trees seemed to groan and cry for help but the more they cried the harder the wind whipped at them. Panic started to set in. To your left, a once strong and resolute master of the forest wailed as its roots were uplifted and it crashed down, blocking the path behind you. You wanted to run, but you couldn't. An invisible chain tethered you to this spot, forced to watch the peaceful sanctuary be torn down. You were helpless.

Leaves and pine needles swirled around you while tree limbs fell on all sides. Screaming now you pleased with the storm to stop. But it didn't listen. Lightening struck to your right then again right ahead of you. As the first tears of fear fell from your eyes so did the first drops of rain fall from the sky. The wooden path started to roll under your feet making you fall to the ground just as the trees had. You curled into a ball, knees pressed against your chest and arms over your head and let out one final plea.

You could barely hear the response of the howling wind and rain but a deep, commanding voice said, "you're safe now." As if that phrase was the secret code, the storm stopped and warmth immediately replaced your terror. You looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn't find anything. Through the debris that covered the ground you saw the flowers had re-sprouted. Above you the chipmunk resumed its chirping and the deer were back in their usual place grazing. Life resumed. You rose from the ground and continued down the path, cautious and perplexed, stepping over the fallen branches and around the splintered holes in the wooden path. As you kept moving forward the strong aroma of pine stayed with you, comforting you and reminding you of the good times before the storm and the good times yet to come.

*****

You had had this dream almost every night since you had moved to Utah. It always started the same way; peaceful and happy. And then the storm would come.

The night before you were kidnapped was the first time you were saved by the voice saying, "you're safe now." You were saved from the storm every time you dreamed after that and it was the only content feeling you could hold onto during your imprisonment.

The words became your mantra. Like if you just kept saying it in your head it would make it real. So you did. While your captor beat you, while he cut you, while he sexually abused you. One day the storm would end and you would be safe.

After a while you began losing faith in your little mantra. Every dream became a sardonic reminder that you actually weren't safe and you were getting closer and closer to being drowned out by the storm. The night you decided to never repeat those words again was the night that your literal storm ended.