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- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: January James
- Language: English
- Genre: Gothic Romances
- Format: PDF/ EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Vivian
I the red tops under my boots as I bolted from the
Glade. Tears filled my eyes, obscuring what little of the landscape I could
see. My heart bled as I forced myself forward; it had broken irreparably. My
legs burned from being pushed beyond their limits, and my brain was
forced to carry it all. It had switched into self-preservation mode, only
permitting one thought: get off this toxic island.
The clouded moon did little to light my path, so for direction I had to
rely on the terrain my feet pounded over as I ran, clawing at ragged breaths
as I went. The voices continued to grow louder behind me. A roar, nasal and
nauseatingly familiar, spraying curses in every direction. Erratic voices I
couldn’t identify, aiming unsuccessfully for calm. Panicked shouts, some
recognisable, others not. And one commanding voice that talked over the
top of them all.
Rupert.
My lungs closed up, only loosening when I stopped and clapped my
hands to my knees. I gulped back air like I was suffocating and a full body
shudder made me retch. I couldn’t shake the fragments of human remains
from my mind or the smell of decaying corpses from my nostrils. It never
was the red tops that stank; it was the infected earth they thrived on.
With a barely fresh lungful of air, I ignored the screaming burn in my
legs and tore through the thicket of trees that sheltered the red tops. I almost
relished the feel of them popping and squashing beneath my feet. No curse
in the western vocabulary would have done my hatred towards them justice.
My hands slapped the trees as I passed. Cuts and slashes decorated my
fingers and my neck as I thundered through the satanic branches; it was as
though the woodland itself wanted me dead.
After a minute or two, the male voices and the piercing bark of guard
dogs quietened. I wasn’t being followed. They would catch up with me
sooner or later, though, so I kept on running. I scaled fences, not caring that
the cameras mocked my every move, and I tripped every alarm. Still, I kept
running.
In half the time it took me to reach the Glade, I arrived back at the road
and almost collapsed onto Minty’s bicycle. Darkness and silence
surrounded me, a stark contrast to the blinding screams inside my head. It
spun with questions. Where now? Where do I go? The cottage was not an
option. I’d have to leave this place with nothing but the clothes on my back.
Could I hide out at Minty’s? No, I had no way of knowing how loyal she
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