Blood Slave: In the Woods (Chapter 2)

I continued to run through the woods, until an extremely bright light struck my eyes and I tripped and fell to the ground. I shielded my face from the radiance. Never had I seen such brilliance. All my life I had only ever seen the simple glow of the moon. That was the first and last time I ever saw the sun. After I had stopped running, my thoughts caught up to me. (You need to get rid of your scent.) I told myself. I knew how acute vampire's senses were. Once John had put the wrong type of perfume on me. Lord Smith noticed the second I walked into his room and, he was not happy. I immediately began trying ripping off my clothes. I did not in any way understand the fundamentals of clothing.

I never did anything for myself. So I clumsily tore at the garments. I managed to take off the dress. The rest was not as simple. It took a very long amount of time to remove the rest, but soon I was naked. The next thing I thought of doing was washing my face and hair. I had chemicals on my skin that I had to cleanse myself of. I started walking in search of water. The ground hurt my soft, bare, and bleeding feet. I winced every step I took. I felt a cold breeze hit me, and I began to shiver. I folded my arms over my chest for warmth, and it worked quite well. The whole front of my body slowly became warm, as if a blanket had been placed over me. I walked for hours in the light. I did not know this world. A world of bright colors and loud noises.

The noises I heard sounded alien to me. Chirps, barks, and squeaks. I jumped at every sound. I was always ready for thing to jump out and grab me. I was such a scared child. I soon slowed to a stop as I heard rushing water. How wonderful that sound was to me. A smile light my face as I sprinted toward it. It was a river. The water was a deep brown, and I could not see the bottom. When I finally reached the bank I cautiously dipped in my toe. The cold shot straight up my leg, and I jerked back with a yelp. I stood there for a moment in shock as I looked at my foot. One, because the cold was not expected. I had only ever been subjected to hot water, and two because my foot was slick with blood. (Why is my foot covered in blood?) I thought.

I saw that the blood on my foot traveled all the way up my leg, along my stomach, and onto my arms and chest. I screamed and threw up my arms! The blood was everywhere! It covered the whole front of my body. I felt a warm liquid splattered my face. I ran one of my hands a crossed my cheek. The liquid on my face was also blood. I could see now, as I looked at my hand, that all the blood had come from my wrist. It was pouring out all over! I then came to a horrifying realization. The reason my body had been so warm, was because it was blanketed in my own blood! I was bleeding to death! I screamed again. (No, no, no!) I thought. ( I cannot die now.) I felt tears in my eyes, and I knew I had to be calm. I then thought. (Even if I do die, I will not let him have me.) I knew I had to get into the water. I just had to! I had to wash myself.

I would not give up my newfound freedom so easily. (If I can get clean now, maybe later I can figure out a way to stop the blood.) I thought. I knew the water was freezing. I had learned that it was easier to be quickly dropped into uncomfortable water than to be slowly settled in. So I took a deep breath, stepped back a few feet, and then ran at the water. It was as if time stood still. I was in the air, my red hair billowing around me, then suddenly I plummeted into the icy water. Nothing but darkness. Cold, unyielding, darkness. It was all pushing past me. I could not hear. I could not breath. I could not see. Lost in time under the water. I did not think the water to be so deep, and I had never had need to swim before.

The water quickly pulled me down stream. I could feel my arms and legs being ravaged by rocks and twigs. I could finally feel the swirling vortex of the hell I was in. My lungs caught on fire from the lack of air. I thrashed in the water. I could feel the surface with my fingers, but I could not reach safety. There was a tug on my neck, and I suddenly came to an abrupt stop. My mind went blank for a second. I could not understand why I had suddenly stopped. (My collar!) I thought. It had snagged on a branch. I reached up and grabbed the piece of wood. I tried to pull myself up, but my collar would not give. My head was stuck submerged under water. I felt this was the end. I was about to let go. I was going to stop fighting, when a miracle happened. The tether of my collar snapped! I was nearly swept back into the vortex, but I quickly grabbed the branch and pulled myself up onto the bank.

Breathing heavily and nearly blacking out, I crawled away from the merciless river. I fell on my back and look at the darkening sky. I could see the moon, and I knew my Master would be coming to collect me soon. I sucked in one last labored breath before everything went black.