Page 2 of Captive Heart

It wasn't quick enough. Her limbs were stiff and lethargic, her feet so cold and numb that it felt like she was dragging lumps of ice on the end of her legs. She almost had to will them into movement with sheer determination.

But determination she suddenly had plenty of.

Fuelled by a sudden rush of adrenaline, she momentarily forgot the cold and the pain, her mind focussed on the next small step of her plan.

She tugged on the tarpaulin, trying to dislodge it from the edges of the wood pile where it was tethered to stop it from blowing away. One of the logs toppled and the noise sounded magnified in the quiet of the frosty night. She didn't dare stop to see if it had caught Master's attention. She had limited time to break free of the boundary line. Minutes, maybe even less, so every single second counted. If he decided to switch on the lights or check on her or, God forbid, if he had an attack of conscience and decided to bring her in before she froze to death, then all would be lost.

The tarp was still caught under more logs. Moving them would take longer but it would be quieter. Right now, she decided less noise was the better option, but only until she had dislodged enough to allow her to easily pull it free of its confines.

The plastic material was stiff from the cold and the crinkling sound it made sounded almost as loud as when the log had toppled. Plus, it was freezing against her already chilled skin as she pulled it around her, but at least it cut out the wind and provided a little protection.

She tried to scramble over the wood pile, but her legs didn't want to cooperate.

“Come on!”, she beseeched her leaden, frozen feet. She hadn't come this far just to fall at the first hurdle.

Sheer force of will had her moving her numbed limbs in the direction she needed them to go.

It was taking too long.

She was too slow.

Panic started to set in.

“Oh, God! Oh, God!” she chanted under her breath like a prayer.

She needed to be quicker; she needed to hurry. He might come out at any second. She had to clear the boundary, or there would be no chance at all.

There were sharp splinters sticking out from the wood; she knew that, logically, even though she couldn't feel them. Maybe that was a blessing; she wasn't sure.

Sheer willpower alone got her to the edge of the hedge line where it appeared the thinnest, and winding the tarp close around her slight frame, she pushed through the thorny thicket. Vicious spikes still skewered through the plastic, scoring her skin, but it was no match for some of the things she had endured at the hands of her Master, so she simply ignored them and continued to shove through.

A particularly sharp barb flicked dangerously close to her eye, and she pulled her head back in the nick of time, feeling it lacerate her cheek instead. She drew in a sharp breath, but she didn't allow it to slow her down. She was nearly there; just a few more inches, and the worst of the underbrush would give out.

As she finally cleared the other side, the prickles seemed to claw at her as if they were trying to draw her back or prevent her from leaving. A product of her overwrought, fanciful mind, no doubt, but the very idea filled her with enough anger to shake herself free and set off running across the barren expanse of the field.

She had no idea what to expect from here on in.

The horizon spread before her in shades of dark grey and deeper black and a haze of freezing fog. At least that would provide another layer of cover if nothing else.

She decided to head straight for the far hedge line of the next field rather than left or right, where she knew the neighbouring houses stood. There wasn't enough trust for her to approach anybody this close to Master's property. She didn’t doubt he would surround himself with like minds. She needed to get as far away as she could manage under the cover of darkness, then, maybe, when the first streaks of daylight dawned, she could find a shed or a barn to shelter in and maybe get a little sleep…if the freezing temperatures didn't kill her first.

Her body had started to warm from the physical exertion of running, an exercise she wasn't used to. Her legs cramped, and she could feel a fine sheen of sweat starting to cover her skin.

She knew when the sweat cooled, it could be just as much of a killer. Still, there was no choice right now, just the lesser of two evils, and at least this was one of her own choosing.

Now that the circulation to her feet and hands had started to be restored, she was plagued with the most agonisingly painful pins and needles. But she had known discomfort for as long as she could remember—she couldn't recall when there had ever been anything else—so she just powered through it to the best of her ability.

She was about three quarters of the way across the generously sized field when she became aware of the light behind her. As she whirled around, she stumbled and lost her balance, falling into a heap on the frozen ground and jarring her knees painfully. But the sob that was ripped from her throat was one of frustration rather than pain. No! It was too soon; he couldn't have found her yet!

Scrabbling to look around, she finally realised that Master had simply switched the outside lights of the property back on. He wasn't coming after her—yet!

The temptation was strong to stay on the ground and shroud herself with the green coloured tarpaulin, which might offer a small amount of camouflage in the expanse of the field, but she didn't dare stop, not yet.

As she climbed back to her feet, the renewed bolt of adrenaline was exactly what she needed to speed her to the tree line that was looming on the horizon.

If she could just put one more boundary between them, she would have a decent chance of obscurity. He wouldn't know which way she had gone if he didn't catch sight of her movement.

As much as she thought she felt his eyes upon her, harsh, evil and threatening, she knew that was just an unfounded, irrational fear. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

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