Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Suspense/Mystery

The sunlight speckled the earth like leopard spots through the tree tops. My bare toes touched warm grass and fallen leaves. I lept over a fallen tree like a deer and ducked down below it. The world around me might have seemed beautiful... had I not been running for my life. 
Blood has a strong scent. You never forget the stench once it fills your nostrils and covers your body. 
I look down at my shirt and jeans and saw the crimson color flowing over me, drowning me. But it was not all my own. 
Dogs howled, hinting me at their presence. I pushed myself up and forced my noodle like legs to drive myself forward and away from danger. I had lost a lot of blood. I pressed the heel of my palm into the wound on my side and ran. Blood oozed over my wrist and down my fingers. 
The dogs were getting closer. 
And closer. 
And closer. 
I turned left and limped past a tall boulder just to see the edge of a cliff. My heart fell as I bolted toward the edge and peered over. Waves pounded against sharp rocks and the crashing echo rang over my ears. 
I lifted my exhausted body up and turned just to see a snarling pack of mangy mutts surrounding me. 
"Shit..." I muttered. 
A big black dog crouched low to the ground and growled deeply as he pounced. I turned around and covered my head.  His body weight slammed me face down in the dirt and the world spun circled around me. I shook my head and focused on the legs on either side of my head like prison bars. Warm breath wisped over the back of my neck and made the hairs on my arms stand at attention. I lay still. 
Suddenly, teeth sank deep into the cape of my neck. I screamed and the mutt shook me violently. Blood dripped over my ears and down my chin. I inhaled dust and it lined my lungs, making it impossible to breathe without choking. 
The grip on the back of my neck loosened and I tore away. More blood ran freely as I stood and the dog backed down just a little before pouncing again. I knocked him back weakly with my fist. It was almost like he sneered at me... almost like he knew I was dying. 
It was at that moment I heard the horses. Their hooved feet pounded the earth like drums and it only got louder as they approached. In a moment of pure terror, I turned around and bolted to the edge of the cliff. Not a thought went through my head. Not one. 
"Fuck! Don't let her escape!" I heard one of the riders yell. 
I jumped. 
Falling is like flying. You lose all sense of time. I could see the water getting closer. I could hear the waves crashing just faintly over the wind in my ears. I didn't scream. I just fell. 
The cold water encased me like a cocoon and filled my nostrils. 
I read somewhere that drowning is easier if you just breathe the water. So I did. It burned like Satan himself was raking his nails down the lining of my lungs. But then it didn't. I closed my eyes and started to become the water. Suddenly it was warm. I felt light. I wasn't scared any more. My lungs didn't ache. My wounds stopped bleeding. I was dying and yet I was ready.