Page 1 of Please Remember

Prologue

Run. Just keep running. They can't get you if you keep running.

I duck my head, narrowly avoiding a hanging tree branch as I run barefoot through the woods.

Sharp stones and twigs cut the bottoms of my feet, dirt and leaves digging into the open wounds, but I can't slow down. If I do, they'll catch me and drag me back into the basement.

Are those footsteps?

Did they see you?

What is that thumping?

“It's just my heart,” I whisper before veering left.

I have to stop for a moment to catch my breath. My head feels dizzy, and I can’t breathe. Leaning against a tree trunk, hidden by the shadows of the large branches above me, I try to focus.

I have to keep going. There’s no other option.

The only light to help guide me through the woods comes from the moon shining through the branches. After being kept in that dark place for so long, it seems so bright. My concept of time is completely skewed, but there are leaves on the branches that look to be orange or redin color, so it must be fall. It's also warm, and considering it’s night, maybe it’s early September?

My heart jumps as I hear branches cracking behind me, and I lurch forward blindly.

Keep going. Get out of here before they realize you’re gone.

My T-shirt, which may as well be a billowing sack, hangs off me, catching on every low branch and slowing me turn after turn. I take a right, my feet moving quickly again despite how tired I feel, and I duck to avoid another branch. My sweatpants refuse to stay in place, forcing me to hold them up with one hand. The clothes they gave me used to fit, but a diet of tomato broth soup and stale bread has left me merely skin and bones.

My foot smashes into a large rock, and I cry out in pain as I stumble forward, falling onto my hands. Gasping as white-hot pain radiates from my foot, I feel the scrapes of the rocks on my palms I can’t quite see in the shadows. I pause for a few moments and take deep breaths, letting the pain wash over me as I calm my racing heart. With my pulse thudding in my ears, I can't hear anything else around me. I can't sense if someone's following me. Hunting me.

After a few moments, the sharp pain becomes little more than a dull ache, and I shift as quietly as possible into a sitting position. Examining my toe, I heave a sigh.

It isn’t broken, just sprained maybe. There's definite swelling, but thankfully the bone feels intact.

My heart rate steadies, and I hear nothing besides the wind rustling the branches overhead and a few birds calling out into the darkness. Owls, I think. I know what an owl looks like, even though I can't remember ever seeing one. My memory is a fickle beast, and at times,frustratingly selective. No amount of effort seems to bring back that which is hidden in the recesses of my own mind.

Standing, I limp ahead, conscious I’m wasting valuable time. If they catch up to me, they’ll kill me. At least while I’m out here, I’m alive.

How long have you been running? Minutes? Hours?

I’ve paid no attention to the position of the moon, which should give me some inclination of time. It’s still high in the sky, so that should be relatively early, right? Or maybe I’m wrong and it’s late. These are the simple things I should know but don’t.

I wonder if I ever did.

Picking up my speed, I move instinctively. With no idea where these woods lead or whether there are animals out here looking for prey, I reason the unknown is better than the alternative. What awaits me back in that basement. Instinct has gotten me this far. When I saw my chance to escape, I grabbed it and ran. I had to. I’ve been waiting for what I think is years for this opportunity. All I’ve got to do now is keep moving and not look back.

I keep running, taking a sharp right and pressing forward, ignoring the stabbing pain along the bottoms of my feet. As long as I keep going, it will all be worth it.

Stumbling into a clearing, the moon comes into full view, and I shield my eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the bright light before looking around.

Heat prickles behind my eyes as I take in my surroundings.

I’ve made it.

Chapter One

Jax

Two thousand six hundred and forty-eight days. Seven years, three months, and two days. Am I really doing this?

---