Author's Note: From this point on I'm bringing Lilly's subconscious into the story. That section will be in italics. Just to let you know so that you're not confused.
Title: The Forest
Chapter: 5
Her feet hurt. She was running through the rough ground of the woods. Her feet slowly becoming blistered and bloody with every step she took. She could feel his breath tagging her. The scent was assaulting her. Raping her of all the dignity she had left.
She continued running and tripped over a log. "Ahh!" she cried out, her face contorting in pain as she landed on her hands. She tried to get up but stumbled again. Clutching her arm to her chest she began to sob hysterically as she heard his footsteps coming.
Almost immediately she regained her senses and forced herself onto her feet. Cradling what she was sure was a broken wrist she kept running.
She kept hearing his voice coming from behind her, "I told you a long time ago you I would go hunting together. In the watds."
She wanted him to shoot her. Her leg felt like fire was ripping through every nerve ending in her body. It hurt to walk on it. Her wrist was numb and her breathing was rapid. But she kept going.
As she ran she began to cry. Her tears were in part because of the humiliation of being naked and part because of the pain. She kept running looking over her shoulder every few minutes. She could feel his eyes on her. The cold goggle-adorned eyes he was using to track he with. She was the prey and she knew it.
Her foot accidentally stepped in water and she gasped. As she continued her frantic sprint she tripped into another large puddle. She lifted her head up, it was now embellished with the dirty brown mud that composed the bottom of the puddle. She began to breakdown. Her body was racked with sobs. She wanted him to come and kill her. To put her out of the misery that she was feeling, but at the same time she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of beating her. She picked herself up and continued running.
She ran until she saw the end of the woods and heart the blissful sound of cars going by on a road. She climbed up the hill and started running along the road, where she kept running and running until she couldn't run anymore. She fell onto the pavement and sobbed.
"Help," she said through her sobs. "Somebody help me!" she wailed.
Suddenly a pair of headlights appeared from down the street and the driver slammed on the breaks. The driver got out of the car and ran towards her. "Are you okay?" asked the friendly male voice. Lilly shook her head no. "It's alright." He took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders before picking her up. "I'm going to take you to the hospital."
"Thank you," Lilly sobbed into the man's shoulder.
She'd been like this for a week. Scotty sat by her side, holding her hand for a week. A few times he had gone to the chapel to pray for her and spend the rest of the day silently asking god to help her come back. He wanted her to come back to him. Her wanted to see her at work and ask her if she wanted some coffee.
He remembered her order clearly. A Starbucks Triple Americano and he could see her face the time Vera had handed her a cup in the squad room. She'd looked at Vera with a smile and said, "Rocket fuel, thanks!" Scotty smiled at the memory as he looked at her face. She appeared to be sleeping, like she was in a dream but wouldn't wake up.
Her chest still rose and fell with the rhythm of the ventilator. IT was the only sign that she was alive. Up…down. Up…down. Up…down. Up…down. Her chest continued in the rhythmic pattern.
Scotty bearly noticed when her neurologist came into the room. "How are you doing Mr. Valens?"
His answer was always the same, "It depends. How's Lilly?"
The doctor began the reflex exam by shining a pen light into Lilly's eyes. "Her pupils are fixed and dilated." He moved a hand over to her arm and pinched the inside of her forearm. Lilly just laid there. "She's not responding to noxious stimuli." The doctor then proceeded to pick up Lilly's chart and began flipping through it. He surveyed the monitor and made several notes before turning back to Scotty. "Her heartbeat and respiration is normal but her brain activity appears to be dropping."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't believe that she's going to get better. I believe that she is falling down a slop into brain death," said the doctor.
"But what does that mean?"
"Do you know if Lilly has a living will?"
Scotty looked at him in disbelief, "No…I can't. I won't!"
"Detective Valens, I'm just suggesting."
"I know what you're suggesting. You want me to euthanasize her! To kill her! I can't! I won't do that to her!
"But if she's brain dead her mind isn't there," the doctor argued.
"No," Scotty said. He could feel the knife in his heart twisting. He couldn't believe that the doctors were suggesting this. They didn't know her. They didn't know her resilience when she was down. They didn't know a damn thing about Lilly Rush! "I can't do this to her."
That's all for now, let me know what you think. Especially about the subconsious part.