Page 9 of In the Light of Day

I am snow, and I will unleash everything I have.

Chapter 5 - Nova

Hurts - Emeli Sande ?

The weight of the silver handle is comforting as I stab through the open box lid, pushing the tip of the knife into his stomach. The blade is dull, its ultimate design being to cut into soft cake, but this is all I have, all I'll ever have. This is the first chance I've had in five years and I will fight tooth and nail to save myself. With as much force as I can muster I pull the blade out and stab him again. Rough and jagged in my movements as I repeat the action over and over in a matter of seconds that feel as though they're stretched into minutes.

It's unorganised.

It's chaotic.

It's snow.

His face contorts as he processes what is happening, barely trying to struggle against my onslaught. Like he can't quite understand that he will not get the better of me. That I have waited until now to show him I'm not the fragile, meek girl I was when he first tricked me into this place.

My arm starts to tire as I stab him over and over, keeping up with his movements as he stumbles and leans on the kitchen bench grasping for support. Blood smearing across the surface, I feel it coating my hands, the smell cloying, choking me with every breath. I continue the motion over and over until I register his insides are now outside. My skin scraped from his attempts to stop me. The knife chips into the concrete floor he has fallen to. A large bloody hole where his abdomen used to be keeps my focus. I don't want to look at his face. I don't need to. I've seen it every day for years. When I’m awake he haunts me, just as much as when I’m asleep. But I feel no remorse, no regret for taking his life.

How do you like your little doll now,Tom?

I have no sense of time down here, only knowing it was day time when the light shone through the small window in the door.

Fatigue seeps through my muscles and I’m straddled over my uncle's thighs not understanding exactly how I ended up like this. Blood splatters the both of us, my hair and clothes almost saturated in him.How long have I been doing this?The air feels like it's thickening, the tightness in my chest making it difficult to breathe.

Run.

The panic is instant, knowing I need to escape before he can catch me and drag me back. Logically, I know he is dead. Logically, I know he can't get me anymore. But the panic. It's all-consuming. Adrenaline rushing through my body at such a rate I can feel the subtle shift of the air against my skin as I frantically search for the keys attached to his belt.There's so much blood.

Scrambling, I waste no time to look around, nothing here belongs to me anymore and anything that once did is tainted by what happened. Terror chases me as I fumble my way up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. My feet not wanting to move fast enough in my escape.

I have to grab the handrail to stop myself from falling more than once. My fingers are slippery but I can't worry about that now. Every ounce of concentration is going into not dropping the keys through the grate I’m standing on, trying to find the right one for the door to outside.

Please stop shaking, please, please,please.I beg myself as I ease it into the keyhole as gently as I can, turning it with bated breath, expecting it to not work, to find the door won't open forme. Another illusion stopping me from leaving. A small muffled click echoes out in the silence as I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding. Bracing myself, I turn the handle and push against the heavy weight of the cold steel door. My hand subconsciously going to the worn place I touched every day, grateful that this is the last time.

Stepping out into the cool night air, my skin prickles as the breeze brushes all around. The sounds of the night engulf me and it's too much for my senses. There is too much to take in. Birds in the trees, animals roaming around, insects, the wind, and the moon. These are all things I never thought I would wish to hear or see again. For five long years, I have lived with recycled air and had echoes chase me if I moved or made a sound. I lived in low light or sometimes even darkness if the weather damaged the small amount of power we had in the bunker. I feel like a rabbit about to be eaten alive and so I lean into my instincts andrun.

My body is weak but if this is the only chance I have to get away, I will push myself until it gives out. Nothing will stop me, not the pine forest as I run toward it, petrified of the darkness within, but willing to be consumed by it nonetheless. I stumble, cry out and bleed, as my feet get torn and my body is bruised. Cut as I run over the rough, raw, terrain of the forest. My lungs burn like they are on fire and I struggle to take in any of the fresh air I so desperately want.

Run.

It's my only thought. Run. I need to find someone who can get me help. Someone who can tell the police where I am, who can tell my family that I'm okay, that their search is over. My pace has slowed but my determination has not faltered. I will not be defined by this.

I am strong.

I am powerful.

And if no one has found me yet then I will save myself.

I will save myself.

A trickle of light glitters through the tree trunks and I stare in disbelief as I realise I've run toward the highway. The one stretch of road for a hundred miles and I went straight for it. The gods must be on my side today as I battle through the scrublands, desperate to reach the single sign of life I have seen in years. This is the least they can do, they owe me for every piece of myself that was torn from me.

I scream out to nothing but darkness. Surrounded by the monsters who silently lurk in the depths of the shadows.

Watching.

Waiting.

Hoping that I don’t miss my chance to get help. I've waited too long for this, to just let it pass me by now. So with my last surge of energy, my legs unbalanced from exertion, I burst from the forest into the blinding headlights of the passing car. It's so close I feel the wind bash against my body as it fishtails around me. Missing by mere inches as it comes to a stop further down the road. Not wasting a second, I run toward the light, my feet leaving prints of blood in my wake. Floodlights flicker on from the top of the car, which I can now make out is a large truck of some sort. My breath catches as the largest man I've ever seen climbs from the truck and starts toward me. I don't have time to register if he is good or bad, will I be taken by another person I put my trust into?

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