Catherine's POV:
Moon light cast a pale glow over the few objects I had in my room: the battered dresser, wardrobe, my back pack and me sprawled over the blow-up mattress in the middle of the bare floor. I sat up, still groggy, and shone my torch over the clock I'd found on the dresser. 1:42 am. If I didn't leave soon, the police would find me. I got dressed in my spare outfit: black skinny jeans, converse sneakers, a black thermal tee and my favourite black hoodie. In my haste, I managed to put my shirt on back-to-front.
Turning the light on, I turned my shirt the right way and peered into the cracked mirror next to the wardrobe. I brushed my long brunette hair back into a ponytail and pinned loose strands out of the way. Sighing, I stuffed my few belongings into my backpack, my gaze lingering on the picture of me and Jared. I remember meeting him, seeing his face for the first time. I remember sitting in the coffee shop downtown, the place packed. I'd been doing homework alone in the corner. The row of bulbs above me had gone, so he hadn't realised the table was taken. We'd ended up talking until closing time that day, when I wasn't one of the most wanted criminals in the country…..
The distant wail of sirens jolted me from my day-dream. Time to run, I thought bitterly to myself. I grabbed my bag up off the floor as I ran through the abandoned house and into the surrounding forest. I'd been out the day before and almost missed the hidden den I'd found. Thinking forward, I'd used tree sap to mark trees on the way and now, I found myself making a bee-line for safety. Just as I dived through the hidden entrance to the den, a helicopter's search light swept over the space I'd just been. My heart pounding, my throat dry, I took a long gulp of water from the bottle in my bag and poured some of the remaining onto the soil beneath me. Grabbing a close stick, I mixed it into a dark paste and layered it thick onto my face. With nothing else to do but lie and wait, I took out a digitalis pill and swallowed it with a mouthful of water. My heart-rate slowed and I found myself able to breathe a lot deeper. I closed my eyes, hoping that if the police found me, they'd think I was dead.
Jared's POV:
The first thing I registered was the smell: anti-bacterial hand wash, masking the smell of death and decay. Around me it was all pristine white. It was eerily quiet, except the constant, rhythmic bleeps from the monitors beside me. I lifted an arm, only to find myself being electrocuted. As the lights faded and my mind started to go blank, I imagined Catherine. My Catherine. My heart would always belong to her, now and forever.