Page 68 of Hidden in Memories
Was there something wrong with him?
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Aada stands rooted to the spot as the man comes toward her in the darkness.
Her greatest fear has come true, the nightmare is real.
He has found her.
He is going to murder her too.
Then her survival instinct kicks in; she has to get away from this stranger who is already reaching for her. He is tall and well built, she is small and skinny, but the conviction that she is going to die lends wings to her heels.
She ducks beneath his arm and flees into the night.
There is no chance of making it back to the hotel before he catches up with her. The staff accommodation is out of the question—he is blocking her way—and she wouldn’t be able to get out her key card in time.
In her despair she runs toward the forest instead. Maybe she can escape among the dense fir trees, hide behind the trunks until the complex wakes up in the morning.
Aada is running for her life.
When she casts a terrified glance over her shoulder, she sees that he is no more than ten yards away. It is difficult to negotiate the deepsnow, and her footsteps are becoming slow and clumsy. Time and time again her boots get stuck, and she has to pull herself free.
The fear is making it hard to breathe. She already has a stitch; she doesn’t know how long she is going to be able to keep running from the man who is chasing her.
He is so close now that she can hear his panting breath right behind her.
She must increase her speed, force her legs to move faster even though he is catching up.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpses the snow-covered road. During the day lots of cars travel along this stretch between the hotel and the E14, but tonight there isn’t a single vehicle in sight.
No one is coming to her rescue.
Aada screams as she hurls herself in the direction of the dark forest. She is almost there, maybe she will be able to get away.
The swirling snow makes it hard to see properly, and tears are blinding her.
Just as she reaches the first trees, the man grabs a hold of her jacket and pulls hard.
Aada loses her balance and falls, taking him with her. She lands on her stomach, the impact knocks the breath out of her. She remains motionless for a few seconds, vaguely conscious of the icy snow against her cheek.
It smells salty.
Then she comes to her senses, rolls over, and begins to drag herself along on her elbows, pushing with her feet, desperately trying to stand up so she can run.
This is her last chance.
It has to work.
But in seconds he has grabbed her again.
This time Aada fights back, hitting out at his face, attempting to scratch him with her nails, punching and kicking as hard as she can with her hands and feet.
Somehow he gets a hold of her scarf and pulls.
His grip is so strong that Aada feels her neck being squeezed. A burning pain stabs the back of her neck and at the same time, in a second, all the air disappears.
She can’t breathe.
