A/N: Hey, Wow, I reread the last chapter and apparently there was a formatting error! I am so so sorry! I hope this update turns out okay! Also Happiness! I am uploading chapter 8! :)

Ch. 7- Racing Against Time

I awake with a jerk. Jeez, it's just a leaf. My heart thumps wildly, erratic in fear. I scan my horizon, searching for him. I am in the same position as I was in last night, so he kept his promise... Now it's morning, dang it, how long has it been sunup? My eyes spot a shadow in the window of his house. It's him. He's watching me, and he knows I see him too. But that doesn't faze him in the least. No, the smug smirk on his face tells me I better get moving. So I do.

Leaping into the air, my bones feel so stiff, but my adrenaline will have none of that impeding my escape. I just want out!

I dash out of his sight, only slowing my pace to a jog. I pant like a dog, sweat dripping down my brow and spine. But it's like I'm running in circles, chasing my tail. Every place I go looks the same as before. I'm in a straight path maze that goes on forever. Despair creeps into my soul, he was right. There is no way out of this prison. I slump down by the nearest tree, sobs wracking my body.

The sun's heat, rids my body of its necessary water. My cheeks flush, half from my emotional state, and the other from the harsh sun rays beating on my flesh. My salt lake tears sting my sunburned face, my whole body is consumed with pain.

I begin to debate surrendering or aimlessly wondering around the empty country side until he takes me again. Would he take mercy on me? I laugh at that thought. A sick scum like him would never, stupid. He would just do the same thing anyway...

My feet smooth the cool pebbles beneath my toes, caressing them, almost smiling while they thrust into the spaces in between my toes. The warm grain coats my burning feet, but I am too lost to notice the ointment. My stomach growls harshly, I try commanding it to shut up, but it persists.

Deciding to savor the outdoors while I can, I continue to walk on. The sand burns my feet as I stumble to move. My eyes dip shut, I feel a mind grain coming on. I wipe my brow listening to the sounds my feet make while they scrape across the ground. They are dulled, but my ears still hear them. I glance up, mentally picturing the sky full of fluffy clouds. One's shaped like a carrot, I smile. The world seems to spin around me, my head tips to the side as I fight to stay alert. My body is trembling like an elderly person does. I feel so lethargic, like every action I commit, the world acts ten times faster. Time is too fast for me to understand. I glide my forearm over my temple, my bangs sticking to the clammy skin that is burning due to the extreme humidity. I feel like I'm in the desert. Alone and stranded with no one to keep me company besides Me, Myself, and I. Bullets of sweat snake across my crown.

Midday evolves into evening, and with every second that passes, is another sign that I'm losing precious time. Then I see something fuzzy and hear it echoing in my ear. It's some sort of UFO, my mushy brain reasons. The logical part of my brain disagrees though. Maybe it's a plane? I try to squint the sun rays from blocking my vision. At any rate I yell, even if it doesn't matter. Even if it wouldn't make any difference. "Help! Down Here!"

But it keeps on flying, oblivious to the ant like dot below. As quick as it appears, it disappears soon it soars out of my line of vision.

"Please, come back! Come back please!" I whimper weakly, boarder line tearfully. I sink to the ground, hope lost and with it my will to go on. "It doesn't matter anymore. No one will miss me. Maybe my colleagues, but they'll go on and live their lives. Certainly Elliot will miss me, but he still has his family. Cragen will, but he'll be strong. He's lost his wife and any chances of raising kids, but eventually he too moved on. Then there's Fin. I can't imagine him as the type who breaks down and cries. And Munch, poor guy. He's just given up, but what's one more loss? I scavenge for something sharp in the woods.

Finally, I find a stone sharp enough to kill. I clench it in my fist my hand shaking like a chilly hairless dog. I shed tears, they flow out like a fountain. Clutching the smooth end, I smile wearily. I close my eyes, a heavy set of tiredness consumes me. But I force them open again. One second, that's all it takes to die...

I hear a rumble in the near distance. The familiar sound of an engine coming my way... I loosen my grip on the jagged edge flushed against my nape. Wondering if I should risk it all to see if it's a lost traveller, my whole body trembles. What if it's him coming to collect me? And even if it's not him, why would that person want to help me? I have nothing to offer, no incentives to bargain with. What are the chances that the person is a good Samaritan? 1 in 100? Everybody wants something in return for their "selfless" deed. Fame, fortune, or notoriety? I guess if I had a choice, I'd accept whatever consequence just to go back to my old life.

Not much time, the car is nearing faster now. Faster now. Faster now. Faster now.

Decision time is thinning, thin as a stick it is.

Do I risk it? YOLO? Or do I end it, the only chance I'll have to rescue myself from inevitable pain? What if I fail? The realization consumes me. What if I fail? All of it will be in vain. Death is a risk as is life...

What the heck can I do? I wish time would stall enough for me to rationalize the "right" choice.

I hear the engine cut off. Someone's here. Damn it! What do I do? I raise my hand to my neck, and feet are racing to me. The sound drills in my temple beating over and over like a drum.

One second depletes my freedom forever...