PREFACE

Twenty years ago.

I ran, my bruised feet leaving bloody prints on the ground. Darting between the trees that loom over me in the limited moonlight , my teeth pierce into my lower lip as the ravaging branches, hungry to devour me, tore into my velvet soft skin. Wine red blood trickles down my arms and legs the same way it did that night between my inner thighs.

That night ...

My eyelids clash together. A miserable attempt to erase the memories. The near miss of running right into another damned tree forces me to open my eyes. My left arm burns from grazing the tree, but I must scuttle on.

Run ... run ... run ... RUN! RUN!

I repeat the words in my head, commanding, demanding my body to push on. I can feel the tears and pearly sweat cross paths on my ruddy cheeks. My breathing becomes more laboured, and the ache in every tissue in me magnifies.

That's when I hear it. Steps, it's a canter, meaning it's animals. They surround, leading me to come to a standstill. Their growls echo through the woods, the very same woods that surround where my demons were formed. They're wild dogs, and the mere realisation of this drowns every cell in me with pure horror.

My pupils largen in terror wide enough to reflect the impending feeling of certain death that was growing in me every minute, taking control of me. Fear claws at all of me, my heart, my stomach to my very bowels. I bend over clumping my belly as I try to control the pain and my breathing.

Choosing to war with fate, I tear through the woods once more. The silhouettes of the wild dogs appearing and disappearing around me. There are three matching each one directly involved that night.

The pain is a constant reminder that I can't think of revenge just yet. I must survive first. The whistle warns me barely a second before the bullet, which seemingly split through the dancing shadows, embedded itself in my calf.

My screams ... I hear them as though they are someone else's. They tear through the night, causing the sleeping creatures to temporarily shift in their sleep and the nocturnal creatures to be alert as they were now alarmed. The silhouettes of the wild dogs now dash, directed towards me, but none attacks. They must have been ordered not to attack me on the spot. It can only mean one thing, they want more fun before I die. The only way I can survive this cursed night is if someone saves me from this hunt.

~♤~

Adira Jordan, an upcoming advocate and influencer at the young age of twenty-six has been reported as missing. As one who is admired by all and loved by many, this falls as a shock on the nation. No struggle was observed at her home, as stated by the police and neighbours claim to have heard nor seen nothing. This is the third woman to have gone missing with a matching six month period between. Is this the beginning of a trend set by a serial killer. This theory that has begun to form in citizens' minds is resulting in discomfort and insecurity that stirs among them. Keep safe everyone, and may Adira be soon found.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***