Prologue.

The shadows swelled around her. They seemed to fight to encase her as she tried to hide from the terror that followed her. She pressed herself deeper into the trees, feeling the rough bark of the tree against her bare skin, the pounding of her blood in her head and the rustle of the leaves on the earth path were the only sounds. She let out a small gasp of relief, and then she heard the footsteps. She panicked but had enough presence of mind to stay still so he didn't see her. If she moved or made a single, minuscule sound he would find her, she had no doubt about that or about what he would do to her if he did find her. It flashed through her mind whether she should let him find now rather than later when he would be angrier. If she went back now he might be more lenient, but she doubted it. He never was. But then again she'd never got this far away from him before and before he had realised she was missing she hadn't been able to remember a time when she had felt that free. She heard him swear under his breath and ran on.

She sank to the ground quietly scraping her back as she went. She hit the ground and curled up sobbing silently. He might still be near by and if he heard her. Ugh, she shuddered and pushed the thought from her mind. The darkness consumed her as she drifted into an uneasy sleep on the uncomfortable forest floor.