Page 11 of Kentucky Nights
I slam my fist into his crotch, then grip and twist.
It was the closest part of him to me and the easiest. I wasn’t sure if it would hurt since he is a “vampire” but with the roar that is coming from his chest and ringing in my ears, I’d say it does.
“Fuck you and what you’re thinking.”
He falls to his knees, cupping himself, and then I rear my arm back, punching the middle of his throat.
Louis’s eyes widen as he struggles to gasp for air.
I don’t know how much time I have, but I use my free hand to untie my other wrist. When I stand, I stumble, catching myself on the chair that’s held me all these hours.
With newfound anger, I flip the chair over, kicking one of the wooden legs off. Taking the stake in my hand, I use all the might I have left and shove it into the middle of his throat.
His blood spills onto the floor, mixing with mine, and I don’t wait another second to see if he dies, lives, or pulls the stake free.
I run.
My vision darkens around the edges, but I can’t pass out now. I have to keep going. No one is going to save me but myself. That’s how it has always been, and that’s how it will always be, because depending on others has gotten me nowhere in life.
Ripping the front door open, the sun shining through the trees blinds me, and I fall down the rickety porch steps. The cool earth cushions the hit of my shoulder. My knee hits the grass. Dirt flies into my mouth when my chin smacks the ground.
Pushing myself up, I stagger and stumble for a few seconds. My legs are finally under me, and I sprint, my life depending on my will to live.
The air is humid, causing my skin to become hot and sweaty. Twigs break and stab the bottoms of my feet with every stride. I bite through the stings, but a pain-filled whimper falls from my lips.
I don’t know how much strength I have left.
I slip on the debris and leaves on the ground, catching myself on a nearby tree. The bark is harsh and rough against my sensitive, wounded skin, but at least I know it doesn’t mean to harm me. That alone brings me peace.
After inhaling a few deep breaths and not bothering to wipe the tears from my cheeks, with weak legs, I run again.
The deeper I go into the woods, the more my path darkens. The sun’s rays are eaten as the canopies of the trees become thicker. Shadows win against the bright light of the sun, encompassing me in cool, much-needed shade.
The further away I get from Louis, the more my memory pieces together. I’m still missing large gaps that he says he took from me on purpose. I don’t know how or why. I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully understand the power he claims to have.
What if I can’t remember because I drank too much? What if he slipped something in my drink? What if the blood I saw him drinking was a scheme, somehow?
I sway again, my foot twisting in an awkward position, and this time, when I fall, I stay on the ground. I stare up at the sky, the blue peeking through the small breaks in the branches, wondering if this will be my last day here on earth.
Choking for breath, my stomach rolls from running, from having not nearly enough blood in my system, from pushing myself when Death was already knocking on my door.
The last light stops peeking through the fingers of the trees from a quickening of clouds. Each gasp of air I struggle to inhale reminds me of five years ago, when I watched my dad die. He had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, and we had no idea he was allergic. It was terrible. I don’t think I had ever been so afraid in my entire life. The way he desperately gasped for air, croaking, needy for the smallest amount of hope.
There was none.
It was only him and me for the first twenty-three years of my life. Every picture and every memory I had was with my father. My mom died when I was a baby in a car accident.
It’s just me now.
I do have my best friend, Carmen. She comes from a huge family and always has me involved in all their get-togethers. When I didn’t come home last night, I can bet she called the cops. It isn’t like me to stay out all night or not text or call.
I’ll miss her.
Thunder rolls up above, and the cool touch of rain begins to hush around me, a soft drop against the ground. My naked bodybegins to shiver from the sudden decrease in temperature paired with the rain. I have to get up. I have to keep moving.
The ground becomes mud, and it slickens against my body. My palms and feet can’t get traction. I’m still so weak from whatever has happened, my head swims, and my soul has finally reached its brink.
I slip down to the edge of a small cliff…and gravity wins. The rain must be pouring harder than I thought because I slide down through the mud with ease. I spin, slamming into a tree trunk, and fire spreads up my side from the agony. The incline is too much, and I fall into the rushing river below.
