| Chapter One |
| Six years earlier Crystal McKay ran for her life. She could still hear the squealing of his tires behind her. He couldn?t let him catch her. He would kill her this time for sure. By now he was more than likely in over his head. This had been going on for too long, and she knew he was now realizing she really wasn?t worth all this trouble of trying to keep her with him. He could find someone else. Hell, Crystal knew she wasn?t the first. She had been running for over an hour down the long stretch of deserted road. She was drained of almost all of her energy and wasn?t sure how much longer she could keep going before she would have to recharge. But what choice did she have, she didn?t even know where the hell she was, it was either run or be killed. But she had to rest, that was something that she wasn?t going to be able to get around. Quickly she ran into the thick woods to the left of her, hoping that Todd didn?t see which way she went. It was so dark. Crystal glanced in all directions listening for any sign of danger. She heard Todd?s pickup speed by her and she breathed in a sigh of relief. He had missed her. He wasn?t going to find her, not tonight at least. She quietly walked over to the nearest tree and sat down, leaning her back against it. Within seconds she was fast asleep. ************************** Todd Langstone tapped the steering wheel with his fist nervously. Where the hell had she disappeared to? He wondered. The only place she could be was the woods. He smiled to himself evilly. It was dark outside. There was no way that Crystal was going to be able to find her way around in the darkness, especially in the woods. He would look for her in the morning, when she was stupid enough to emerge from wherever she was hiding. He would find her, rape her, and then kill her. Then he would be done with her and move onto the next town and the next victim. He started laughing. A laugh so eerie it would make anyone?s blood turn into ice. He loved getting his way. Especially when it came to women. ***************** The sunlight poured through the trees waking Crystal out of her restless sleep. Every muscle in her body ached and she was starving. She slowly and painfully stood up, wrapping her arms around herself. There had to be a way out of here besides the way she came in. She couldn?t go back that way. She knew he would be waiting for her. Waiting to kill her. It had been a year since her ex-boyfriend had kidnapped her. A year since Todd had murdered her brother Brad. A year since she had seen her family and friends. By now, she thought, everyone must have thought she was dead. She didn?t even want to think about what this was doing to Justin. He must have felt ten times as worse because he was in Germany at the time that everything happened. She knew how Justin was. Please don?t give up looking for me. I?m here. I just don?t know where here is. Crystal thought. Tiredly she began to trudge through the thick forest, hoping that somebody or something would come along and save her and take her away from this nightmare. All the time praying that Todd wasn?t right behind her, stalking her every move. After what seemed like hours, she came to a small stream. Water! She thought frantically and raced over to it. She was so dehydrated she didn?t even stop to think about how sick the water would make her if she drank it. She stopped herself when it was halfway to her mouth. God why did this happen to me? Because you?re stupid that?s why. Because you refused to listen to your friends when they told you Todd was no good. This is your punishment. You deserve this, she thought. But the stream had to be coming from somewhere. Maybe if I follow it, she thought, it will lead me out of here. I hope so?I really hope so. She trudged along, losing more hope every second. The heat of the morning sun was getting more intense and she knew if she didn?t get help soon, she would surely die. ***************** Crystal stumbled along exhausted. The stream had led to another section of the woods. But it didn?t seem any closer to civilization. For all she knew, it could be hundreds of miles to the nearest town. She walked for what seemed like years. Then like out of a dream, she saw what looked like a clearing in the trees. It can?t be, she thought, Maybe it?s the same way I came in. No, I walked too far to have gone in a complete circle right? What if he?s out there waiting for me? What if this leads to somewhere safe? It was the chance she was going to have to take if she wanted to survive. She approached the opening and slowly peered her head out. It was another road, like the one she had been on before. She thought about turning back, thinking she had gone in a circle. Then the exhaustion began to settle in. She began to feel dizzy, and everything began to spin. She didn?t even feel her body hit the ground. She was already unconscious. |