Page 46 of A Ryan Recollection

I edge closer to them, looking around me and half expecting something to pop out or spring up from the ground like a cheesy haunted house trick, but nothing happens.

“Hey, guys,” I say with a grin and a wave but they don’t respond.

Suddenly, an outside light comes on, temporarily blinding me. Holding my hand over my eyes, I blink, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. I’m frozen to the spot now. What the hell are these guys up to?

Then one of them speaks, in a creepy voice that I don’t recognize. He says only one word and it sends a shiver of fear skittering along my spine.

“Run!”

I will my legs to do that very thing, but my body betrays me as my feet don’t seem to get the signal from my brain that I need to move. And so for a few seconds, I stand there as though my feet have taken root like the trees around us. Then I hear a loud grunt as the four dark figures start to move and finally my feet remember what to do.

Turning in the opposite direction, I pump my arms and start to run as fast as I can for the cover of the trees. My little purse flapping wildly against my hipbone reminds me that I have my cell with me if I need it.

I’ll be fine.

I got this.

Right?

Adrenaline courses through my veins as I propel myself forward, but my feet slide in the wet mud, costing me vital seconds. I feel them closing in behind me. I hear their heavy breathing. Their heavy footfall as they chase me down. One of them is laughing and the sound sends a chill through my bones.

My heart pounds. Blood rushes in my ears. My brain screams at me to look back to see how close they are, but logic and experience remind me that I can’t. It will lose me vital time that I can’t afford. Instead, I dart into the trees. I know these woods and they’re my best chance of evading my masked pursuers.

As I head into the trees, I see a faint glow of white light darting off to my left. The clown. Then a green light to my right. The demon. So where the hell are the devil and the vampire? I listen intently as I keep moving, dodging the trees as I make my way through the undergrowth. The light from the moon grows dimmer as the branches thicken, and my heart starts to race a little faster as my breathing grows heavier. I suck in a breath, reminding myself that the darkness will work in my favor because the light of their masks makes them more visible to me. I listen for their footsteps but they seem to have faded. Allowing myself a moment, I take a glance backward, feeling a surge of relief when I don’t see any of them.

I slow my pace slightly. Now that I’m in the cover of the woods, I can take a minute to think about my best move. Maybe I should circle back to the house? Or would one of them be waiting there for me? Climb a tree and watch them run around looking for me? I press a hand to my mouth and stifle a giggle. Now that would be funny. Looking up at one of the huge trunks, I consider how easy – or not – they are to scale and decide against that option. No doubt those crafty fuckers have night vision goggles in those fancy masks of theirs.

Soft droplets of rain fall onto my face as I stare up and I close my eyes and enjoy the sensation, forgetting for a second that I’m being chased through the woods by four masked men. I love the rain. I love the fall. It’s my favorite season.

The snapping of a twig pulls me back to the present and I take a deep breath and start moving again, feeling my way through the trees. My hands brush over the wet bark as I move past each one and I imagine some animal tracing me by my scent. If they were I would lead them straight to me and the thought makes me shudder.

I glance around again but I see no light. What if they turned off the light from their masks though? I mean they’re not stupid. They would know how visible that makes them in the darkness. Damn! I hadn’t thought of that.

Where the hell are they?

My foot catches on a branch and it snaps — loudly. I freeze, wondering if that is going to draw them closer to me. Listening intently I wait for some signal that one of them is near but all I hear is the sound of my own heavy breathing and my heartbeat in my ears.

I keep moving and the light from the moon grows a little brighter as the trees thin out. My face breaks into a smile because I know this spot near the lake. There is a huge fallen oak somewhere nearby that I like to sit on when we go for walks.

The thought of that is comforting in the darkness, and maybe I am feeling a little too comfortable because I don’t hear him approaching until it’s too late. The sound of his breathing right behind me shocks my heart like a defibrillator and I start to run again, but I’m not fast enough. My feet slip in the damp leaves as he reaches me, taking me down until I’m lying beneath him.

“Fuck!” I hiss as the breath leaves my lungs and he chuckles softly.

“Got you,” he says in that eerie computerized voice and I wonder if the voice changer is a part of the mask too.

My face is inches from the mud as the weight of his body presses me into the damp ground. My heart beats so fast it feels like it’s going to hammer straight through my ribcage. I try to shake him off but he is far too heavy to move.

I glance behind me to see that it’s the demon who’s caught me first. The light from his mask is softer now but it glows faintly in the darkness, bathing us in a soft green glow. I suppose it might even be slightly romantic if he didn’t have me pinned in the mud after chasing me down. I struggle beneath him, reaching back to pull his mask off, but he takes my wrists and pins both of them behind my back with one large hand. I feel his hot breath against my ear and it makes me shiver.

His hand glides down the side of my body until he finds the edge of my tiny cheerleader skirt. “I love your outfit by the way,” he says as he slips his hand beneath while he forces my thighs apart with one of his knees.

His hand feels warm against my cold skin as it skates up the inside of my thigh until he reaches my panties. Tugging them roughly to one side, he gives himself easy access to my pussy.

Icy tendrils of fear curl around my spine, making my entire body freeze. I stop breathing and close my eyes tightly.What if this is real?

He freezes too. His breathing less steady than before and I wonder what’s going through his mind. Then he lets go of my wrists, but he keeps them pinned against my back with the weight of his body. I feel him tugging at his mask and then his lips dust over the shell of my ear.

“You should have run faster,” he growls and the deep timbre of his real voice rolls through my body, warming my core and turning the ice cold fear into pulse throbbing heat. “I think you wanted me to catch you.”

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