Running. Her one true escape. Her only solitude. Her only freedom.
Pounding. Rhythmically against the asphalt. One stride after another. Pondering unanswerable questions.
She ran in the dark, the early hours of the morning being the only ones in her control. She decided how fast. She decided where to. It was bliss.
It was the winding roads of the countryside she chose. Everytime, without fail. She loved the crisp, clean air. She loved the desolate, lonely fields. She loved the safe, secluded scenery. Only the animals bore witness to her crime, only the animals knew of her nocturnal adventures, only the animals could be trusted to remain silent.
She knew what she was doing was wrong. She knew that, if she was caught, she would have to face the consequences. But she didn't care. She would have never given this up for anything. Without this, she would be nothing. Her life would be consumed, becoming nothing but a void of pain, fear and anguish. She couldn't survive without her run. It was the only thing keeping her from losing herself, her sanity and her freedom. And it would be all because of Him.
It was Him who had done this to her. It was Him who had taken away everything that she was. It was Him who had tested her inner-strength more than anyone else had ever managed to. And, in a way, doing this was her own way of getting back at him. Her own form of revenge.
The midnight blue sky hung low over her, freckled with the correlations of distant worlds. The moon was absent, though this went unnoticed since the the landscape below was breathtaking enough to distract the rare passerby from the neglected sky.
She travelled down a familiar path, slowing down to a walk. Eerie silence echoed through the scene, but she was not afraid. She had no reason to be. There was nothing that could happen to her now that could be worse than that that happened at home. Her home was once a safe place, a protected spot that would keep out anything that could hurt her. But now, the thought of home brought a pang of terror within her, bringing frightened tears to her eyes at its very mention.
It had all changed when her mother had died. Leaving the young girl alone with him. Her father. He didn't deserve the title. Her father had brought her world spiraling down. From the very moment her mother's heart ceased to beat, their small, six year-old daughter had taken her place as her father's punching bag. And so was her life for the next nine years.
The girl walked through the dense of the trees, staring blankly ahead of her. She absentmindedly picked at the array of scabs on her arms, not caring whether she drew blood or not. They would become freash cuts before her run would come again.
Just as she emerged out from under the arch of darkened shrubbery, a gasp escaped her trembling lips. Before her, she could see the amber hue of the morning and the sun peaking above the horizon. She was late.
An involuntary cry fell from her lips as she realised what she had done. She had been too careless, and now she was going to pay the price for it. Leaping away from the scene, she darted away, hoping that she would be lucky, preying that her father would still be asleep. She sprinted down the dozing streets, pushing herself to run faster, to move quicker.
She could imagine his hand, his menacing hand, that would come down on her again and again. Never stopping, never relenting, no matter how much she screamed or how hard she cried. Her fear seemed to fuel it, making it hit harder and harder.
She had to get home.
Relief entered her system as the ivy-ridden walls came into view. The lights were off. She crept past the front door, holding her breath in case her panting would wake him. The back door remained ajar, as she had left it. She slunk inside.
He was there. Smirk reigning over his face, as he leaned casually against the kitchen table. A short, belittling sentence exited his mouth. Eyes widened she stood shaking, trembling. His hand came down so fast she didn't have time to react. Her body hit the floor as it struck again, and she uttered a small cry. The hand kept coming, bringing tears streaming down her face as she begged for it to stop. He smiled with satisfaction as the girl continued to shriek. She attempted to escape, only to be held in place by a foot across her arm. She let out a yelp of pain, only to have the sound drowned by a ruthless roar of laughter.
A snap of brittle bones brought silence to the room, and the girl's vision faded into darkness. She was free.
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