Unheard Screams
I stumbled around in the darkness, tripping over the vines and roots of the many trees surrounding me on all sides. Ragged breaths wracked my throat as I ran blindly, blackness clouded my vision. My dirty hair clung to my face, streaked with sweat that tangled with the tears running freely down my cheeks. With a start, I tripped on a soft object, and then landed on another. I looked down and could just make out a pair of blank eyes staring back at me. Screams rose in my throat. It was a dead body. His last victim.
The sound of rustling came from the bushes nearby making me snap my head around. He must have heard me. I quickly got up and ran forward again, led only by the scarce patches of moonlight shining from above in thin streams. Those bodies, they must have been killed by him. This is all started with him. He kidnapped me, just off of the sidewalk. He must have known that no one would care to look for an orphan like me; no one would notice my absence. He didn't expect me to break free though, to snap the ropes that bound me like a caged animal.
In the distance, I could faintly hear heavy footsteps over my soft ones; he was not far behind me. With a newly found determination I ran even faster, starting to feel exhaustion slowing my bones. But no, giving up would mean an almost guaranteed death.
My head snapped to the left as I heard an owl hooting; false alarm. I slowly turned my head forward to find a wire fence blocking my way. The metal rattled as I crashed into it, shaking it in desperation. Screaming hysterically, I turned around with slow jerky movements, my blood-stained fingers tangled in the fence. He was there; watching me with his cruel, black eyes. As he came closer whimpers built up in my throat. He had a disgusting, animalistic sneer on his greasy face, blood matted in his hair; my kidnapper.
"You thought you could get away." He leered at me, just centimetres away. If this weren't a life and death situation I would surely cringe in disgust at the tangy smell of blood that tangled in with his rotting breath. "No one gets away from me."
Frantically, my eyes moved to the left. There was a small opening in the fence, it was as if someone had ripped a patch clean off. It was my only chance of escape; of life. With a strangled cry, I swung my fist into his jaw, causing a sickening crack to ring throughout the otherwise silent forest. A slight pain spread in my knuckles, but I couldn't wait for it to register. I ran towards the hole and started to crawl through. Behind me I heard an angry grunt coming from the man. I felt rough hands wrap around my ankles, pulling me back through the hole. Loud screams came from me as the wires dug into my skin, leaving red lines of blood running down my back.
The kidnapper picked me up painfully by the elbows and abruptly turned me to face him.
"What did I say?" He breathed in my face, a strong stench prominent in his breath. In response I only whimpered, my throat closed up; I couldn't speak even if I wanted to. With a small grunt, he started to drag me by my wrists, back in the direction I had ran from. Desperately, I tried to break free of his viper-like grip, screams escaped from my split lips. My kidnapper let out an angry groan and moved one of his hands so that it covered my mouth, muffling my frantic screams for help. As a last resort, I scratched at his hand, trying to pry it roughly off my face, rendering unsuccessful.
After seemingly a lifetime of struggling, he dragged me into a small clearing. Stars could be seen above, teasing me with their freedom. In front of us was a small, wooden cabin with rusty windows and chipped siding. This is where I had escaped from, where he had tortured me. A new sense of dread and regret filled me; I could virtually feel my heart sinking deep within my chest. Giving up would be the best choice.
My kidnapper dragged me up to the door and pushed me in violently, without a second thought. I could see knives glinting on a small steel table, mocking me with their sharpness, just one wrong move and they could kill me. They were stained; with my own deep red blood still dripping from their razor-sharp tips. Even more screams bubbled in my throat as he shoved me to the floor. My voice was turning hoarse from the endless screaming.
"No, no, no, please don't!" My croaky voice pleaded as he reached for a large, serrated knife, the biggest of them all. The man just looked at me with a nauseating grin, a wicked glint in his cold, beady eyes. He approached me slowly, like a lion stalking its prey, delaying my inevitable death. Scared moans came from me as I backed up into the corner nearest to me, a lone rusty nail sticking up from the wooden floor. Without warning, he leaped forward and plunged the knife into my flesh. Nothing could have prepared me for the immense pain that I was in. I could feel the steel of the knife within my stomach. Blood spurted from my mouth, trickling down my chin leaving a metallic taste on my tongue.
My vision turned white as he slowly turned the knife around, making the wound throb with pain as it widened further. The blood poured out, seeming to flow in a never ending stream of maroon liquid, down my stomach and pooling around me in a puddle.
I gagged as I felt the blinding pain, until I finally vomited. The vomit was red, the blood trickling even faster down my mouth and onto my chest. My captor took out the knife and wiped it on his checked shirt, staining it with no remorse for me. He stabbed me again. The blade was right in the middle of my chest; right in the heart. My eyes flickered as black spots dotted my vision, the pain was too much. With one last breath I joined my parents. I died; with no one to hear my screams.