She was running, but she had a sinking realization when she looked behind her. This fucking snow. It was leading Doug right to her.
She bit her lip, thinking quickly and walking backwards, wondering what on earth she could do in this moment.
No matter what Doug had said, she knew he was capable of killing her, and she knew she had to do...something.
She stared grimly at the pole in her hand, knowing she'd have to use this again, because she knew it was very unlikely she could run far enough out of his reach.
She panted, looking up at the sky above her. Chimney was gone.
Her heartbeat seemed to slow down, unwilling to beat at that knowledge.
Her beautiful, pure Chimney. Howard Han. She would never see him smile again.
She wanted to cry, now. She wanted to break down and die, but she couldn't. She had to fight on, she had to make it through. Doug couldn't win. She'd always known, in the back of her head, that he was a little bit violent, a little bit unpredictable. At first, that had been part of the attraction. Maddie, ever the good child, had rebelled, picking the opposite of what her parents had wanted.
God. Every day she wished she'd listened to their carefully chosen words of warning, of caution.
And now it was too late. Too fucking late.
A voice in the back of her head said that it was her fault that Chimney was dead, and that she shouldn't have gotten close to him. Her heart shut that down, though, in a second.
It wasn't her fault. It was Doug's. He was an insane psychopath, and she hadn't realized that extreme measures he'd go through to keep her alone.
It wasn't her fault.
She forced herself to listen to those words, forced herself to believe them.
She could see Doug again now, trying to find her.
She could barely breathe, for the pain in her side, for the pain in her head, for the pain in her heart at the knowledge that Chimney was dead, and she'd never be able to talk to him again. They'd never have a movie night. They'd never laugh together, and he'd never hold her hand, or kiss her cheek.
He'd never hold her in his arms, through the long and lonely night.
Maddie felt her heart shatter into little pieces, but she knew what she had to do. She was going to make it out of this alive. One way or the other.
Doug was speaking, but she couldn't hear what he was saying over the pounding of her heart. She stepped out from behind the trees, arms raised.
And she struck.
The next few minutes were a blur, and Maddie only recognized pain. Lots of it. She knew that she was fighting a battle that she was losing, and she could feel the panic set in. She refused to let it.
She was going to make it through.
And then there was more pain, and blood. He'd stabbed her.
She wasn't going to make it through, was she?
She set her lips, wanting to cry, wanting to give up.
She wanted to give in to the rush of the blood, and let herself bleed out. She wanted merciful death, to be free of this nightmare. She wanted to be done.
But...if she gave up now…
What was the point of leaving in the first place? She may as well have stayed, if Doug was the reason she'd die.
Her hand fought for the knife, and she got it. And she stabbed, almost without looking, but she knew where she was hitting. She knew which stab victims made it out of the ER, and which didn't.
And Doug was still above her, unmoving, and she shoved him off. She looked up at the sky and her breathing slowed. The fight was over. She could be done now.
She was done.
The world faded out, and she was brought back to one memory, of a cop coming to the house to speak to her. Of Doug's words, that they'd live and die together.
Her eyes snapped back open, painfully, but she was alert now. There was no way in hell that she'd die next to her husband. She couldn't guarantee she would get through this alive, but she was going to get as far away from him as possible.
She followed her own footsteps back, as much as her pained, blurred vision would allow. She could feel herself beginning to give up, and that's when she saw him.
Her brother.
God, she had to be imagining this, but her voice took up the cry anyway. "Buck?"
And she heard his voice call in reply, panic evident. "Maddie!"
It was him. He was real.
Her little brother had reached her, and he caught her before she fell, and she sobbed on his shoulder, aware of the gift she'd been given to see him one last time.
"I didn't give up," she sobbed, and he held her tighter. Athena emerged from the woods behind him, and Maddie saw her radio in that Maddie had been found.
She wondered if she'd make it through this. "I didn't give up," she repeated, and she knew that she'd still fight this battle, and she'd win.
Even if...Chimney was gone.
The ambulance ride was slow and painful, and Buck had to talk to her to keep her alert. He was right; she did know the drill. Sleeping was dangerous right now; sleep could be death in disguise. Although...if she died...she'd get to see Chimney again.
Buck could see her drifting again, and he called her back, with words that made her heart beat again, in double, triple time.
"Chimney's alive?" She echoed, hearing his reply, but also only feeling her heart break anew. He was alive. He was there. She had no idea if he'd still be waiting for her after this nightmare, but she could find out.
Her heart thrummed, ready and eager to keep beating.
Chimney was alive. She'd make it back to him. And that was a promise.