Here's chapter 7 for you!

It's a quite short one, but I wanted to be a bitch and end it where I end it. :)

Thank you so much for the reviews, I love them and you :)

Not mine, not making money

Stephanie/Charlotte POV

The next morning I woke up early. I hadn't had much sleep, with the worrying for Carl and worrying about feeling guilty were so heavy on me that I had to take a drink in the evening and it had numbed me enough that I could fall asleep.I had a massive headache and my mouth was dry. I sighed and decided to stay there, covered with heaps of covers and pillows, laying on my back, staring at the ceiling. The room was partially illuminated by the light seeping from under the door. It was still very early, 4.12 AM. This was too early even when I had learned the art of getting up early. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. With no luck in that I rolled off the bed and decided that I should go for a run. I opened the curtains and saw that there was a slight fog on the yard, but that didn't stop me as I headed for the closet to change into my running clothes : a pair of black shorts and a white top. I pulled my sports-bra on and got dressed. I laced my shoes ans streched slightly. I would take a shower after the run, before I would eat breakfast. Then I headed for the gun closet but after standing there for an eternity I decided not to take a gun with me. It was too unpractical, bumping in the pocket or bruising my body. I silently jogged down the stairs, not wanting anyone to wake up or accompany me. I needed alone time to clear my thoughts. I didn't usually run alone, Adam was almost always with me urging me to run faster. He was my own personal trainer. I was in better condition than ever because of him. The other reason was that I had taken my anger out in the gym. I was angry with the world and especially with Ranger.

I started to run as I hit the back yard. I decided to take the usual route, two times around the lake. I ran as hard as I could, trying to push away the worry about everything and the worry about the thickening fog. I ran the first round with out any problem but as I headed for the second a feeling of dread started to rise it's ugly head. I could swear that somebody was watching me but shrugged away that feeling. Almost the whole route was monitored, there was just a distance of about 50 meters (164 ') that wasn't. I trusted whoever was sitting by the monitors and jogged forwards. The feeling of horror didn't go away but I decided that I'll finish the route, then head back to the house. I noticed that I was nearing the unwatched area and as soon as I was out of sight for the cameras I tripped on something.

Before I could say or do anything my face was pressed against the sand of the path and somebody was holding a gun at my head. Heavy breathing could be heard and someone was pressing it's knee at the small of my back. Hands grabbed me and threw me against a tree. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I could feel blood sipping from a nasty cut on my head. My vision was cloudy as I tried to move.

"Don't move or I'll shoot you." a man's voice was heard. I could recognize the voice even in my death. It was the voice that haunted me in my nightmares and terrified me more than anything. It was the voice of the man who had shot me. Petrucha.

I could see a blurry image of a man standing in front of me. He had something black on him and long sleeves. My head throbbed violently. The world was spinning around.

"What do you want?" I croaked out and tried to hold on to the strong Charlotte, but the insecure and very afraid Stephanie was surfacing. I tried to sit up but couldn't, the pain was too intense.

"I love to hear the fear in your voice." he chuckled and sent shivers through me. "I love to see you crawl at my feet, like the bitch you are."

I felt hopelessly alone in the woods with this maniac and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to survive this mess. My sight became a bit clearer and I could see that he had a huge gun in his hand, pointing it at me. My stomach turned and I felt sick. The brave Charlotte was gone, the small, gray Stephanie was holding me in it's grip. Ranger had broken me and I hadn't got my courage back. I was terrified.

"They'll come for me." I said, trying to ignore the massive pain in my head and back. The pain raided through me making it hard for me to breath.

"Yes, but I'll be long gone then. They'll come for you soon and I have to go but I'll be back to play with you soon." he said and without warning shoot me in the stomach. The pain from my head was nothing now, an excruciating pain spread from my stomach and I saw that the white t-shirt was becoming red. Instinctively my hands flew to the wound and a cry escaped my lips. He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Don't worry, you'll bleed out slowly." he whispered in my ear and then he was gone.

The pain was horrible, and I focused hard on breathing. My vision became blurrier and blurrier but the pain only got worse. I tried to crawl towards the house but as soon as I moved a sharp shooting pain shot through my spine and neck. I groaned and laid back down on the grass. My right hand grasped the shirt and the other grasped the grass beside me. I could feel salty tears run down my cheeks. I was going to die. I would die before I could tell Ranger about my feelings and that I loved him even though he didn't love me. I moved slightly so that I could feel sand under my hand. The pain shot through me.

I wanted to see my family again, Lula, Connie and Mary-Lou. The tears became floods running down my face. My life, it was over with out me living it. The horror of dying was numbing me, but it was too late. The pain had broken me already. With the numbness came the darkness.

"This was it. I was going to die." was my last thought as I drew a long breath of air and closed my eyes. The darkness took me and I smiled. The pain was over. Finally, I was at peace.

Reviews? Hate me for the ending? :)