Prologue
777 Words
Five Years Ago
Riella
My hands are shaking and I can’t get them to stop. The tighter I squeeze them together the more my entire body shakes. “Don’t panic Riella. Just breathe. In and out. That’s right. You got it. In and out. The only way you get out of here alive is if you remain calm, cool, collective and quiet.” Footsteps are getting closer as more and more people come into the depths of the woods and the sound seems more eerie and dangerous like the wildebeest stampede that killed Mufasa.
They were gaining on me and I couldn’t let that happen or I’d be a dead woman just like the others, so I jumped into an old well without a second thought. My feet broke my fall and I think I sprained my ankle and the water that’s now up to my waist is most definitely contaminated, judging by the weird green color, slimy feel and rotten egg smell, and I will definitely need a tetanus shot as soon as I get out of here, assuming I get out of here alive that is. On top of that, I’m sure this well is housing every creepy crawly insect from my worst nightmares. However, it's nothing compared to the nightmare I’ll face if the Devil finds me. Jason Finch the devil incarnate, my Devil. Ironic that I once thought he was my angel, my savior, my knight in shining armor, a good Samaritan who saw a broken girl and patched her up, fell in love and gave her a future. I scoff at my young naïve self and curse her for not seeing behind the mask and not finding out who he really is sooner than now.
I defied him and then I ran for my life. I don’t even know how he found me this fast. I left my phone, my car, my laptop (after scrubbing it clean, of course) and everything else I could think of behind. Did he have a chip planted inside me that he could track? At this point, I can’t and won’t put anything past him.
I just couldn’t stay after I found out what he was tricking me into doing. When I found out the truth about those girls, I felt all the blood drain from my body and replaced with ice-cold water. I was sick to my stomach. This man I thought I loved makes me sick to my stomach. I threw up for 3 whole days, I even thought I was pregnant for a minute. I took five tests just to be certain. But it was just him and his disgusting ways. How could a man do those things to another human being? After that, I had to get out, I had to leave. I couldn’t let him turn me into a monster, no matter how much I loved him.
Thump Thump Thump Thump
I hear at least a few dozen swift but heavy footsteps above me, almost as if the people are wearing working boots. How many people does he even have helping him? Why do bad people always have a hoard of followers ready and willing to complete every depraved task asked of them?
“I think she went this way. I see a shoe over here.” I heard a man say. I looked down at my feet and cursed myself. “s**t!” Fingers crossed “Sweet baby Jesus I am but your humble servant, please don’t let the devil find me.”
“Riella baby where are you?!” The devil shouts and a shiver runs down my spine and not pleasurable ones that you get in anticipation of a night of love-making. A flashlight is shone down the well and I step back closer to the walls and I feel moss on the entire back of my body and in my hair.
They spent the entire night searching for me. Thank the heavens no one came down the well. I waited two whole days before I climbed out of the well smelling like death itself. Then I walked as far out of town as my legs would carry me. Once the sun rose, I was offered a ride by a kind man in a pickup truck. At first I thought he might be one of Jason's men, but quickly shook that thought. I was on the verge of dying either way. After 72 hours of no sleep , no water and no food, I was dehydrated and too exhausted to care. After i got in the back of the pickup and we were on our way, everything went dark.
- Writer
