I've always been a fast runner. And as I run for my life, I'm grateful that my feet are able to fly across the pavement and carry me away from danger. Even though I'm panting for air, I don't slow down. All I can think about is putting as much distance between me and that house. And that man.
I don't know how far I've run but I know I lost the truck that had been roaring after me. I continue to turn down different streets and alleys with no destination in mind. Just away from him. I slow down to a jog and try to get my bearings. I haven't been in this town long and don't know the lay out too good and in my wild dash I hadn't paid attention to where I was going. Now I was really lost. The street I was on had a few restaurants, a thrift store and a gas station. All of them were closed at this time of night. A pay phone stands near the gas station. I have a dime to call to someone but I don't have any one to call. I can't call the police, one of the men at the house is a cop. And the thought of calling my social worker makes my skin crawl. I don't have anyone in this world who cares about me. I turn away from the pay phone and start walking, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any noises of unwelcome visitors.
As my feet blindly lead me into a neighborhood of modest houses, it starts to rain. I have nothing on me except for my t shirt and jeans. My adrenaline had been keeping me warm but now the rain and cold December air send goose bumps up and down my arms. I cross my arms tight over my chest to try and keep myself a bit warmer but I know it's going to be no use as the rain falls harder. My eye start to burn at the whole situation. Normally I would never let anyone see me cry, but I'm alone and it's almost midnight and my tears blend in with rain running down my face. I think back to that man, his hands gripping me tight as I fought against him. The things I saw him do in that house. I shiver, but I don't know if it's from the cold or my memories.
While lost in my thoughts I had wandered deeper into the neighborhood. I was completely soaked by this point and wanted to get out of this rain. I saw a house on the corner of the street I was on that appeared to be under construction. The walls weren't fully up yet and the bones of the house only supported half of a roof. Figuring half of a roof was better than no roof I climbed through the mess of lumber and supplies to the far corner of the house where it was dry. There was a tarp on the floor and I pulled it over my legs as a makeshift blanket. With my back pressed into the corner, I felt a little safer. I looked around and saw a thermos and tool belt laying a few inches beside me. I was desperately thirsty but I didn't know what was in that thermos and it didn't feel right to try and take it. I settled back into the corner. I wasn't going to go to sleep. I couldn't, not with him still out there. But I tried to get myself to relax a bit and calm the pounding in my chest. I never use my head because I must have dozed off. I wasn't fully asleep, I was in that weird area between awake and asleep because I heard what sounded like heavy footsteps. They got louder and they came closer to me. I sat straight up and my eyes snapped open and the first thing I saw was a pair of heavy work boots making their way through the house. My breath caught in my throat as a giant shadow came towards me.