Page 8 of Corpse Roads

Yanking handfuls of my brown, ragged hair, I scream again. I’m not strong enough to throw another. Grabbing an old candle holder instead, I tuck Laura’s bone under my arm for safe keeping.

The altar is the last piece of furniture to remain standing. It barely registers my weight as I climb up, agonised tears soaking my cheeks. I can just reach the nearby arched window.

Smash it.

What have you got to lose?

“Everything,” I reply to myself.

Or nothing.

Hit it, Harlow.

Crashing the candle holder into the window with everything I have left, satisfying cracks spread like cobwebs in the glass. Over and over, I scream and smash, letting the glass slice my exposed skin.

The pain doesn’t stop me.

Fresh air does, though.

The freezing blast hits me straight in the face. I almost stumble backwards from the weight of it... pure, fresh air. So clean, it physically burns my lungs.

Dark, oppressive woodland stretches out in all directions I can see. The church is buried in trees, thick vines of ivy and dense shrubbery. Moonlight barely pierces the smothering sarcophagus.

Only someone who knows exactly where this is could find it. We’re in the middle of no man’s land. I could be the last human alive out here; reality is so removed.

Run, Harlow.

Run and don't look back.

“I… c-can’t,” I stutter.

This is your only chance.

“What if they catch me?”

What if you stay?

They will punish you for this.

Biting my lip, I excavate the truth. “I’m scared.”

That’s why you have to run.

You’ve survived much worse.

I tighten my grip on Laura and manoeuvre myself into the window frame. More shards of glass rip into my skin, but the splash of warm blood doesn’t slow me down.

Taking a final deep breath, I launch myself into the dark. I’m airless for a brief, beautiful moment before my body smacks into the ground so hard, something inside me snaps. I scream myself hoarse.

Just a broken bone.

Run, Harlow.

I ignore the worsening pain that’s flooding every inch of me, using Laura’s leg to push myself up. My bare feet sink into the grass. It’s wet, earthy, and feels like absolute heaven.

This is it.

With no time to waste, I begin limping away from the church. I’m so unsteady, I have to use the bone for balance. Sheer adrenaline pushes me forward.

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