“You can't outrun me forever, little one,” Terry called out, far too close for her liking. But at least he sounded winded, soshe wasn't the only one exhausted from running through the shipping yard.
Weak as she’d already been before she snuck out of that shipping container, now she was teetering on the edge of utter exhaustion. Changing direction once again, Whitney eyed the stack of containers beside her.
What if she could climb up them?
Not only would Terry not be looking for her up there, instead assuming she was still running, but it would also give her a better view of the yard. Maybe then she’d be able to find a way out, because if she kept trying to outrun Terry, she was going to wind up collapsing from exhaustion.
Once that happened, it would all be over.
She’d be found, he’d take her away someplace else, or put her back in that shipping container, but wherever he put her, she knew he would never allow her another opportunity to escape.
If she wanted to live, find her way back to Blade, then she had to try this.
Taking another couple of turns, the sounds of Terry’s heavy breathing and pounding footsteps dulling a little as she put a bit of distance between them, she stopped. It felt wrong not to be moving, even as her shaking body thanked her for the reprieve, but Whitney knew she had to play this smart.
So she reached up for the shipping container before her and started to climb. It wasn't easy, it felt like working her way up the side of a mountain. There weren't many places to grab onto, and she had no experience with rock climbing, any sort of climbing, or even something as simple as hiking. As a kid, she’d been made to study all the time, extracurricular activities like dance, t-ball, or soccer weren't on the table, so her muscles were weak, and she had been shaky to begin with.
Somehow, determination proved to be what she needed, and an excruciating however many minutes later, she pulled herself up onto the roof of the top container.
For several minutes, all she could do was lie there, panting, tears burning her eyes and spilling down her cheeks, leaving icy trails in their wake. Shaking from cold, fear, and exhaustion, Whitney knew she still needed to keep moving, she was far from safe even if she’d bought herself a little bit of time.
When she knew she couldn’t afford to waste another second, she rolled over onto her front, planted her palms against the cold metal, and pushed up onto her hands and knees. The world swirled around her, and she had to pause before shoving up to her feet.
Again, the world did a sickening spin, and she threw out a hand to catch herself on something, only there was nothing to catch herself on, and she staggered sideways, coming precariously close to the edge.
The last thing she needed was to fall.
She was twenty-five odd feet high on top of the three container stack. While she could survive that fall, even with the concrete ground below, she wouldn't be surviving it intact. Broken bones, internal injuries, spinal cord damage, brain damage, any or all of those could occur, and since she and Terry were the only ones out there, he’d be the one to find her. He’d either finish her off, or if Dr. Gardner was determined to keep her, she’d be taken to a doctor first, then returned to work when she was healed enough.
Righting herself, Whitney looked around, trying to make sense of the maze of containers to find a way out.
Something caught her eye.
Movement.
But not one person, it looked like several, three at least, moving together, closing in on her location.
Had Terry called in help?
Heart hammering in her chest, she tried to breathe through the panic threatening to render her useless.
The figures started moving faster. Heading right for her.
Had they spotted her?
A small whimper escaped even though she did her best to hold it inside. It had been stupid to think she stood a chance at escaping. Of course she didn't.
“Whitney!”
That voice. It was Blade’s.
Snapping her gaze back to the three figures she could see approaching her, she tried to look closer, see if she recognized them. It was Blade’s voice, so he had to be one of them. Maybe they really had been there all this time, trying to find her.
Hope soared until she heard Blade call out again.
“Behind you!”
Spinning around, she saw her worst nightmare coming to life right before her very eyes, and she was powerless to do anything to stop it from happening. Terry Richards was running toward her. There was a manic glint in his eyes that she could see even in the thin moonlight.
