Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Home

The gravitational pull that could be felt as I was falling mid-air caused my heart to be lodged into my throat. The harsh wind hitting my face challenged the elasticity of my skin, causing my face features to be pulled in different directions. I couldn’t stop the scream from tearing through me like a great shard of glass. Together with the big tear drops that got carried away by the icy wind, one of Mark’s shoes flew off my foot.

I was coming on to a tree with an uncontrollable speed and flailed my arms around, hoping that I will be able to latch onto a sturdy branch. The feeling of the sharp twigs and small branches slicing at my skin as I made my way in was apparent, making me wince and hiss. The colored leaves were obscuring my view as I tried my hardest to protect my head from any sudden impacts.

“Argh!” I groaned in pain as my belly made an impact with a big branch, knocking the air out of me together with my consciousness. My arms and legs were dangling in the air as my poor stomach was carrying my weight on the branch. Painful moans and groans were making its way past my lips as I shook my head, trying to gather my thoughts.

“For a second there I thought I had died.” I mumbled as I ruffled my hair. My hand's movement swept away the twigs that were stuck in my hair.

“April!” A booming voice from above called out.

I craned with a lot of difficulty with my head up and saw a raging Mark standing at the window. “I-you-argh!” Lost for words, he face palmed himself, pulling down his face features. “You’re unbelievable.” He sighed, shaking his head in disbelieve.

I smiled sheepishly. “I told you that the game wasn’t over yet.”

He shot me a sharp glare and pointed his finger at me warningly. “You better don’t move from that spot, you hear me? Don’t. Fucking. Move.” He commanded, his voice flat and steady, but tight as a plucked wire.

I stuck out my tongue, letting the ‘bleh’ sound roll from it while sticking up my middle finger high in the sky. “Bite me.” I challenged, which wasn’t a good idea as I saw Mark’s eyes darken, thunder brewing behind them.

Shit.

He turned around and disappeared from my view, but his heavy footsteps that carried anger with them shook the fragile old building. The tree could even feel the tumor.

With no time to waste, I climbed down the tree trunk. I landed on the soft moist ground but quickly stumbled and fell to my knees. Cursing under my breath, I looked back. My eyebrows knitted together frustrated as I stared at my shoeless foot. I glanced urgently around, hoping to find the missing shoe, but in vain I couldn’t find it and, against better judgment, threw the other shoe away as it was hampering my movement.

I promptly rose up and proceed to ran in to the woods, hoping to shake off my stalker. Pushing the branches aside that were obscuring my way, I let my feet carry me further and further into the cold, dark nature of a maze, ignoring their burning pain.

“April!!” A roaring sound tore through the woods, causing the chirping birds to flutter their wings away in panic in a search of their new refuge.

Refusing to look back, I forced myself to keep going. Even though the fear that was coursing through my body commanded every muscle in me to freeze, I kept pushing through.

Only the sounds of my thudding heartbeat, my shallow, harsh breathing and the squelching sounds of my bare feet hitting the moist ground could be heard until…

My feet got caught in a root of a tree that was sticking out of the ground, causing me to lunge forward and fall, planting face first into the ground.

“O-Ouch…” I groaned miserably. “This is not the time for you to be clumsy April. Come on!” I grumbled under my breath, berating myself as I slammed my fist on to the ground.

My ears twitched at the rustling sounds that were closing in. I could feel the flight responses kicking in, increasing my heart rate, flooding me with adrenaline as I scurried quickly away into the bushes.

“April!” Mark yelled as he made his appearance in front of me. I clasped my hands over my mouth, trying to muffle down a gasp.

“I know that you’re here somewhere kitten, answer me!” His eyes kept shifting around, hoping to catch a glimpse of me.

Sweat poured down my body as I stayed still as possible. I tried not to breathe, but I knew it was impossible and let out small shuddering breaths.

“Baby, I am not angry, okay? So please just stop hiding.” The anger that previously was clear was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, it got replaced by worry.

Now that I am taking a closer look at him, I could see that his hair was in a disarray together with his suit. One of his hands was carrying the giant shoes that I was wore before, as if he was the prince in Cinderella searching for his princess.

“How many times does this woman have to throw my heart into chaos before she is satisfied? Does she not know that worry will cloud my mind knowing that she is running out there somewhere without damn shoes!?” He exhaled, covering his face with his hand. “What if she gets sick!?” He grunted.

I could feel a weird tugging sensation at my heartstrings at the sight of the desperate man in front of me. I wanted to wrap my arms around this disheveled man, but I quickly pushed that feeling down into nothingness.

A rustling sound could be heard, and Mark snapped his head in that direction only to see a squirrel grabbing a chestnut. The sight of the cute creature had me in aw, but Mark’s face only showed disdain towards it. Raking his fingers frustrated through his hair, Mark pulled out his gun aiming at the squirrel and with no hesitation shot it.

Tears were pooling out of my eyes as I had to stifle down a scream. I was petrified as I watched the horrifying scene unfold in front of me. The small creature was now lying down in its own blood, his body twitching as the light in his eyes slowly dimmed away.

“Stupid thing.” Mark grumbled, annoyed, and run in the opposite direction of where I was; continuing his search for me.

When I was sure that I couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore came crawling out of my hiding spot. Sobbing, I slowly walked to where the dead squirrel was.

“How horrible.” I cried, peering down at the now dead creature. Void of life, it was now turned in to a hollow carcass and…

That was my fault.

“I’m so sorry.” I whispered lowly. The tears that kept streaming down my face made their way falling on to the dead squirrel.

Gathering some fallen leaves around, I placed them on top of the dead animal. Clasping my hands together, I prayed for it, hoping that it may find its way to heaven.

“Please rest in peace.” I whispered, and with a crushing feeling of guilt, resumed my escape.

…

Exhausted, I was dragging my feet through the muddy soil. I don’t know how long I have been walking through these woods, but the sun had already been exchanged for the waning moon, and the owls were singing their tune. The temperature had dropped so much that my breath was visible and that I was shivering up a storm.

I had no shoes; no phone and I was a mess. The fatigue was getting to me and I felt compelled to let myself become one with the earth. My mind was drifting away, and my eyelids were getting heavy.

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“Sleepy.” I muttered.

A loud honking sound snapped me out of my sleepy daze. Yelping, I fell back on my bum as a car swooshed by.

“What?” Blinking continuously, I was shocked that I arrived at the roadside.

I stood up and dust myself off as I glanced around, scooping the area. There were still no buildings to be seen except for the one-way road in front of me.

‘Maybe if I go down this road, I will be able to reach the civilized world.’ With that thought in mind, I went ahead; waltzing down the road.

Every time a car drove by, my body would flinch involuntarily and I would squint my eyes, praying and hoping that Mark wouldn’t be driving in one of those.

It was difficult for me to see where I was going in the dark. The only time that I could see where my feet were landing was when the headlights of a car would pass by.

My teeth chattered, and my feet started to feel numb. “Wil I ever reach home?” I wondered.

“Not like that I can tell ya.” an amused voice said.

In startlement, I let out an ear deafening shrill voice.

The middle-aged man who looked like he came from the countryside plugged his index fingers into his ears, blocking out the shrill sound, and let out a chuckle. “That was a good one.”

Heaving, I clutched at my chest as I glared wearily at the man occupying the truck.

“What’s a young lass like you doing on the road at night?” He inquired as he lets his eyes roam over my appearance.

I shuffled uncomfortably on my shoeless feet, giving him a brittle smile. “Let’s just say that a road trip ended up being a disaster and that I am now having trouble finding my way back home.”

His bushy brows came together as he gave me this skeptical look. “It sure must have been a rowdy road trip if you even lost your shoes.” He nodded at my feet as he leaned with his arm against the window frame.

“Drunk youngsters, am I right?” I smiled tremulously as I could feel my body breaking out in a cold sweat.

The man was silent for a moment, pondering about something as he eyed me. He lets out a sigh. “Well, hop in then.” He said, gesturing with his hand to step into his truck.

“What?” I asked, shocked.

“Don’t you need a lift home?” He raised his eyebrow as he gave me a lopsided grin.

“W-Well yeah, b-but…” I stammered. “Would you really go out of your way to do that?”

He scoffed. “Listen, I’ve got two young lasses at home and it wouldn’t sit me well knowing that one of them would wander through the night at the side of the road shoeless. With that in mind, how could I leave you like that?” He explained. “Now hop in and tell me where I should drop you.”

I thanked him with a wobbly smile and hopped in the passenger seat. “Don’t blame me if your seat gets dirty.” I warned him.

He threw back his head, letting out a hearty laughter. “I won’t.”

After telling him the address, his face morphed into a shocked expression. It shocked him that the destination was far away and was even more shocked that I was planning to get there by foot.

It took a few hours before the familiar buildings came into view. ‘Wow, and I was planning to walk all the way here? I must have lost my mind.’

The drive came to a stop in front of the house where my best friends were living in. A gave the man Cher’s address because my apartment key isn’t with me. They are still in my clothes. The clothes that Mark took from me and there’s no way that I could go to the police station knowing that there’s a possibility for another mole to be there.

I stepped out of the truck, my feet landing on the hard pavement. “Thank you so much for the ride.” I said, feeling thankful.

“No problem lass.” He smiled, revealing a sharp golden tooth. “And how about having a road trip closer to the city the next time?”

I snickered. “We will keep that in mind.”

I waved the man off as he drove away. I turned around facing the front porch of Cher’s home. Taking a big gulp of air, I took big strides until I was in front of the door. I pressed in the doorbell slowly. Promptly after the bell rung, the lights of the bedroom lit up.

“Who is it?” A groggy, sleepy voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

“It’s me.” I answered softly.

The door was slammed open, revealing an angry Cher in her nightgown and next to her was Brandon, standing in his boxer short.

“You better have a good explanation to why I couldn’t get ahold of y- OH MY GOD! What happened!?” Cher shrieked as she run over to me, Brandon following suit.

Seeing my friend’s face made all the built-up tension in my body disappear and made me break out in tears.

They both panicked, gazing at my weeping figure, their hands jittering around, not knowing what to do with them before Cher took me into her embrace. I rested my head against her shoulder, letting my tears soak into her clothes. She stroked my head, trying to calm me down, but I couldn’t stop sobbing as I clutched on to the thin fabric of her nightgown.

‘I’m home.’

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