Entrapment: A Short Story

            She’s running. Panting and breathing hard with tiny whimpers escaping her as she does her best to jump over roots and tree stumps. The moonlight streams through the canopy of trees above and shows bits of the ground in front of her as she desperately tries to find her way through the darkness.

            She’s not alone. She can hear his breathing and heavy footsteps fallow closely behind her. He won’t leave her alone, won’t let her out of his sights.

            “Shiloh!” He screams her name as she frantically makes her way up the steep hill to get to the road just on the other side.

            “No!” She cries continuing to climb.

            “Don’t you run away from me!”

            She breaks through the trees and runs into the street. To just her luck…it’s empty, lifeless.

            Letting out a frustrated whimper she sprints down the road. Her muscles scream in pain as she forces them to move, to take another step and widen the distance between her and her chaser. She needs to get away.

             Thoughts race through her as she tries to think of a way out of her situation. Run back into the woods and hope to God she ends up in a neighborhood? Or keep running down the never-ending highway in hopes that a car will drive by and notice her in distress?

            ‘Keep running,’ she thought. ‘Keep running or risk putting yourself back in his hands.’

            “GET BACK HERE!”

            His voice echoes around her. Like a cold wind it sends chills through her body leaving her more frightened, more scared.

            She takes a quick glance behind and tumbles over a crack in the road. She skids across the pavement leaving her hands bloody. Needing to do something quick, she forces her hands and knees up and off the ground. With an immense effort, she jumps back into the woods and makes a dash to find someplace to hide.

            A tree? Climb in it and hide? No! He’ll find you then you’re stuck in a damn tree! A big bush? No, too many leaves and branches to be heard moving or breaking!

            ‘Why is this happening to me?’ She thinks frantically. ‘How did I get here?’

            “SHILOH!,” he screams wildly.

            “Fuck!” She hisses under her breath and resorts to hiding behind a tree and some brush to catch her breath and better assess the possibility of surviving this night.

            Determined not to be heard, she fights the urge to breathe loudly and cough out the sticky feeling in her throat. She listens intently for her stalker, waiting for a moment to spring back up and run if she needs to.

            It’s quiet. No more than an owls hoot in the night. The stillness of the wind allows no move to go unheard. She has no chance. She’ll lose any hope she has left if she’s found crouching in the dirt. What she needs is help that won’t come.

            She strains to listen for any movement, any cracking of twigs or any rustling of leaves to indicate where the man is. Her body shakes as she crouches, mud seeping into her sneakers.  Sweat trickles down her brow and she wipes away at it with the back of her hand.

            ‘Where is he?! Where the fuck is he!?’ It’s only been seconds but it feels like hours have passed since she stopped running and crouched beside the tree. She looks about frantically, in search of him. Did he not notice she went back into the woods? Impossible, she heard him call for her within the trees. He knows she’s here. Then why can’t she tell where he is?

            She whips her head around wildly and creeps up to look over the bushes. Still she sees nothing and brings herself to stand tall behind the tree and listen. If she doesn’t hear him, she’ll make a mad dash back to the road. If she does hear him, then she prays that her faint legs will stay strong enough to keep her quiet.

            She waits. There’s no sound that she can distinctly make out in the night. Digging her heels into the dirt and pushing off against the tree, she jumps over the brush and runs to the edge of the trees to the road.

            “There you are!” The man tries to reach out for her. Shiloh cries as his fingers graze her arm but fail to take hold. She runs once more.

            As she gets close to the trees a strange light fills the road. Could they be headlights? She stumbles out onto the pavement and runs towards the source of the light.

            “HELP!! HELP ME!” She screams as she waves her arms wildly above her. A car comes to a screeching halt before her and she runs to the driver side window.

            “What’s going on?!” Staring back at her through the window was a man. Possibly in his mid-twenties, he looked tall and lean.

            “Oh thank God! A man’s after me! Call the po-” She was cut off as the man opened the door and got out of the car.

            “What happened?” He took hold of her shoulders trying to steady her as she hysterically screamed at him.

            “Call the police!! Please DO something! He’s after me!” She tried desperately to get out of his grip and get to the car but he wouldn't let her go. His hands gripped her shoulders like metal bands keeping her in place. He stares at her. Shiloh began to throw herself around to get herself free from him but his grip just wouldn't budge.

            “What the fuck! Let go! He’s coming! What don’t you understand!? You need to help me!!” She kicks and throws her fists wildly but still he won’t let go.

            “Calm down,” he says as he tightens his grip on her shoulders and pulls her to the car.

            “What are you doing!?” He slams her against the car door and pulls her arms behind her. She cries out in pain and struggles to breathe as a cold hand clasps itself over her mouth. He tilts her head to the side, leaving her to stare into the face of the man that was following her in the woods. She screams and struggles against the car as the tears spill down her cheeks.

            The man sighs behind her and whispers into her ear, “…you weren't supposed to escape.”