Page 137 of I Promise You
I hear footsteps thunder after me, leaves and rocks crunching underneath someone’s boots.
“You’re going to die now, bitch!” Ms. Salem screams after me.
I look around frantically through the dark and hear a river flowing. I stop running and try to listen closely to it. Maybe I cancross the river, and they won’t follow me. It has to be freezing, but I’m a good swimmer.
“When we get our hands on you, we’re going to gut you!” her father roars from behind me.
I take off running when I get a good idea of where the river is. My feet ache, and the cold air burns every time I inhale. I can’t feel my toes or fingers, but I must keep going.
Then I hear a gunshot ring loud. It hits the tree next to me, and I turn around to find them all after me… just a few feet away.
I whip around again and hide behind a tree. I watch the river; it looks peaceful, but the current is strong, and I hesitate to jump in.
They keep shooting at me from behind, and I'm shaking, trembling, and I silence my own whimpers with my hands. My fight-or-flight response kicks in, but I can’t jump in the water. Instead, I try to curl up against myself, hoping I’ll vanish into thin air.
I palm my mouth, biting down hard. I can’t let them know where I am.
Then, another shot rings out, but it sounds different, like it came from a different weapon at a different angle.
I put my hands to my ears as more gunshots ring out, and I scream as if it’s the last one I’ll make. I feel like they're right behind the tree. I'm hiding behind it as more fire keeps going. It sounds like fireworks on steroids. Like small bombs going off, over and over again.
I’m going to die.
I’m going to die.
I’m going to die.
If the cold weather doesn't kill me, I’m going to get hit by the crossfire, or worse, they’ll find me now that I’ve gone into shock, and I can’t stop screaming.
Then it goes silent. No more gunshots…just the river. Keeping my hands on my ears, I’m praying to God I’ll somehow walk out of this, unscarred.
Then a body drops next to me by the tree. It’s the man who’s been chasing me. A pistol drops from his lifeless hand, covering him in blood. Blood drops from his nose and into the snow.
The crimson coloration stands out against the white ice under the moonlight. The snow glimmers like glitter as I blink.
This is my chance to run again, but I need to take the gun from his hands. Danny taught me to use these weapons for self-defense.
I lean over, still crying and quivering with shock. I grab the metal gun. I’m hovering over the dead body and sneak a peek to my left.
I hear someone’s voice, but my breathing over shadows their words but. I swear I hear Omar and Danny.
Immediately, I'm taken aback by what’s unfolding in the middle of the woods. Danny towers over Omar and has the man restrained by his arms. Then he slits my captor’s throat.
My eyes widen. I just watched him kill someone.
He’s wearing his mask. But I’d know those ocean eyes anywhere.
Blood splatters all over Omar and onto the Snow White floor. Danny notices me watching, and he stiffens completely, letting Omar fall to the floor and choke on his own blood.
I whimper when I see him, biting my lip, and I'm tempted to start running toward him, but I can’t move.
I feel intense pain in my chest, like my heart will stop from all the mayhem. No matter how much I breathe or cry, I’m devoured by terror, and it makes me lose any sense of movement.
Danny strides over the snow and dead bodies, and all I want to do is run, but my legs don’t respond.
Then I see a shadowy figure pop up behind him, raising a gun to his back, and... I act.
I hold up my pistol like I learned from my safety training and pull the trigger.
