Disclaimer: I don't own it. Never did, and unfortunately never will…
Chapter 1
Oh the pain. My entire body was aching and head was throbbing as I slowly turned over onto my back. The fading sunlight was just bright enough that it did not hurt my eyes as I started up at the sky. It seemed like the sky itself was lit on fire, a sensation that was only heightened by fact that I could smell something burning. Out of the corner of my eye I could see smoke billowing up from somewhere beyond the line of trees. Somewhere off in that direction, something was burning. Yet I could did not care. While my ears were ringing slightly, I could hear no screams that would indicate that something was wrong. Perhaps it was a large bonfire, perhaps not.
I lay on the ground for what felt like forever, just staring up at the sky. All sense of time escaped me as the pain dulled my senses. I attempted to move a few times, but each time the dizziness discouraged me and the pain seemed less when I lay still. After what seemed like an age, I heard something. A whooshing sound that was shortly followed by voices. I thought of calling for help, but I was unsure if the voices belonged to people who were hostile. Fighting the dizziness, I slowly got up. Once I had managed to get on my knees, I waited for the increased throbbing to subside enough for me to head towards the voices.
My muscles ached as I slowly made my way through the undergrowth of the forest. Ferns almost as tall as I was surrounded me, which was good. This way I could get closer to the voices and still be undetected. As I got closer to the road I could see ahead, I crouched down so that I was covered by the ferns. I could see two people ahead of me as I got closer. Both were men with their backs turned against me, one tall with dreads pulled back from his face and the other with darker hair. There was something familiar with them, but I could not put my finger on it. Slowly creeping closer, I could hear one of them talking. I was still a small distance away from the road when the tall man pulled out a gun, aiming it in my direction. My heart, that had been beating like mad as I had tried to quietly sneak closer, was now beating even harder. A few moments passed before the man lowered his gun, and I let out a breath I had not even been aware I had been holding.
Deciding to approach with more caution, I tried to be careful with my movements, but my muscles were screaming in pain from all the tension. It was then that my body started failing me. The pain I had pushed aside was starting to make itself known again, refusing to be ignored. As I tried to get even closer, I felt a stab of pain rush through my body. I nearly cried out from the intense pain, but holding it back, it came out as a moan instead. But it was loud enough to catch the attention of the men. They were both aiming guns in my general direction. The dark haired man reached into a pocket, taking something out and looking at it. I froze where I stood as the dark haired man silently signalled the tall man to head in the opposite direction that he was going.
My heart was beating so hard that it felt like it would burst from my chest. I was crouched, trying to remain still, but I could feel my legs starting to give in. I closed my eyes and tried to remain some sense of control over my body, but to no avail. I could not help but to yelp as my legs buckled and the pain made my eyes tear. I lay there, tears rolling down my cheeks as I heard the two both head for my position. I had no choice but to pray that they would be good guys and help me. I opened my eyes as I heard one of the men approach me, but my vision was blurred by tears. Even though everything was blurry, I could tell that it was the dark haired one. He called something out to the other man as I felt the pain start to overwhelm me. Everything started to darken as he scooped me up into his arms. The last thing I remembered before passing out was whimpering from the pain.