Page 4 of Rusty

The grip on her wire cutters tightened, her knuckles turning white with determination. Janice knew there was no turning back now. She couldn't go back to living under her father's thumb, constantly feeling worthless and stupid. Littlecreek Ranch was her last hope, her one chance at freedom from the emotional abuse that had plagued her life.

"Let's do this," she murmured, steeling herself for the task ahead.

With wire cutters poised and ready, Janice took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing in concentration. The moonlight provided just enough illumination as she began to snip through the fence, each metallic crunch sounding harshly in the still night air. She moved quickly but cautiously, driven by a relentless determination that coursed through her veins.

"Almost there," she whispered, her voice strained with effort.

As the final strands of wire gave way, Janice gripped the fence with care. She needed to bend it open, but the edges were so sharp that she could easily cut herself. She strained and pulled, as fiercely as she dared, managing to bend the fence back to create an opening. Her heart raced with anticipation, knowing that freedom was just a crawl away. She pushed her backpack through the gap. It got caught on the wire for a moment, so she gave it an extra hard shove and it rolled a couple of yards along the ground, well and truly inside the ranch.

Clutching her stuffie tightly, she got down on her hands and knees and followed her bag through the jagged gap.

"Easy does it, Little Miss Giggles," she murmured, hoping her soft words would ease the tension building within her.

Just when she thought she had made it through unscathed, a sharp edge of the wire caught her forearm, slicing through her skin like a hot knife through butter. A pained gasp escaped her lips as warmth seeped from the fresh wound.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, biting her lip to stifle a cry. "Stupid fence."

But Janice refused to let the setback deter her. Gritting her teeth, she continued to push forward, crawling through the remainder of the opening despite the pain radiating from her arm. Sweat dotted her brow as she finally emerged on the other side, taking a moment to catch her breath and assess the damage.

"Okay, I survived," she told herself, trying to ignore the throbbing sensation in her arm. "We made it, Little Miss Giggles. We're in. And I've still got all my limbs. Barely."

She allowed herself a small, triumphant smile. She knew that the real challenge lay ahead, as she navigated the unknown territory of the ranch. But for now, she could revel in the small victory of overcoming this first obstacle on her journey toward freedom.

“Ow,” she said again, wincing. A shudder of pain raced through Janice's body as she examined her arm, the dark blood glistening in the moonlight. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she hissed, under her breath. "Can't even crawl right." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She had packed a lot of things for this secret mission, but a first aid kit was not one of them.

“Never mind,” she said to her stuffie. “Band-Aids are for sissies, right?”

But as the blood continued to flow, she knew that it was more than just a scratch. Desperation clawed at her insides, threatening to spill out in a torrent of sobs. She couldn't break down now, not when she had come so far.

"Okay, we can do this," she declared, taking a deep breath to steady herself. Her voice trembled with emotion, but she refused to let it break. With each step toward the ranch buildings, she repeated those words like a mantra.

We can do this. We can do this. We can do this.

"This place is my only chance, Little Miss Giggles," she confided, clutching the stuffed animal tighter to her chest. "I need to find a place where I can be me without being judged."

Determination burned within her, guiding her steps as her body threatened to give out from exhaustion and pain. Every stride forward was a small victory against the life she had left behind, and a testament to her unwavering resolve to create a better future.

"Almost there," she encouraged herself, her eyes fixed on the silhouette of the ranch buildings. "We're almost safe."

The moonlight cast eerie shadows on the ground, giving the ranch an almost ethereal quality. It was much bigger than she’d imagined. She hadn’t seen any photographs of it, because the ranch staff were careful about giving too much information about the place online. This place was a refuge for people who needed to live in anonymity. But from what she’d gathered from speaking to the manager of the place, Chuck North, there were around twenty Littles living here at the moment, and a similar number of Daddy Doms.

Speaking to Chuck had been a scary experience. He had seemed very stern at first, even a little distrustful. Maybe he was wary in case she was a prying neighbor or a journalist. But once she’s explained who she was and her situation, he’d warmed to her and even seemed quite kind. The problem was, he said, the ranch was at full capacity. There were no more rooms left for Littles to take shelter. Looking at the place now, it seemed hard to believe somewhere as vast as this could ever fill up.

Obviously, Janice didn’t enjoy going against Chuck’s wishes. If he said there were no rooms left, she trusted him on that. But her situation was dire, and she didn’t know what else to do. Hiding at Littlecreek Ranch was her best chance at safety, even if it meant taking risks. Big ones.

As she moved through the night, Little Miss Giggles held tightly to her chest, Janice reminded herself of the plan: find a discreet place to hide, wait out the night, and then plead her case to Chuck first thing in the morning. She’d tell him that she’d live in a tent if she had to. Heck, she’d even sleep in a tree or a hayloft for the rest of her life. She’d do any work that needed doing, she’d help out in any way she could—she just needed the ranch’s protection.

But before all that, it was important that she passed through the grounds undetected. If she got chased off the land before she had pleaded her case—well, then this whole thing had been in vain.

"Stay low, stay quiet," she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible. "We need to find a good hiding spot, Little Miss Giggles."

A large old barn loomed before her, its darkened windows resembling watchful eyes. The pain from her cut was momentarily forgotten as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She ducked behind a large water trough, using the shadows to her advantage.

"Got to be stealthy. We don't want them to see us and think we're intruders," she murmured, then winced at her own stupidity for talking out loud. "I mean, I guess we technicallyareintruders, but we're the desperate kind, not the harmful kind."

As she reached the barn, Janice carefully peered around its corner, scanning the area for any signs of movement. Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out all other sounds.

Suddenly, there was a loud growl followed by a sharp metal clang.

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