Sarah collapsed on the cold-as-ice stone floor and caught her breath.
She was okay.
Safe.
Not dead.
A new surge of adrenaline fired her blood.
Someone pushed me.
She rolled to her side. Shot to her feet.
Listen!
She peered through the darkness. Held her breath. Listened beyond the persistent pounding in her chest.
Silence.
Darkness.
Time to get the hell out of here.
Her legs wobbled, weak and seemingly boneless. After straightening her bag so that it no longer dragged at her neck, she crossed the stone floor, careful not to make a sound. She pulled out her cell phone and checked her service. Shit. No service.
Perfect.
As quickly as she dared, she moved down the slope. It wasn’t that far to her car. Whoever had pushed her evidently had taken off.
Probably just someone who wanted to scare her.
Yeah. Enough to kill her.
She stilled. She could have been killed. Dr. Ballantine’s warning about ending up a victim rang in Sarah’s ears.
Okay, but she hadn’t been. She was safe.
Keep walking.
Just get to the car.
Get out of here.
Not far now.
Something rustled to her right.
She darted left. What the hell?
She stilled. Listened.
More rustling. The soft crunch of snow.
Someone was close ... coming in her direction.
Sarah couldn’t see a damned thing. She couldn’t turn on her flashlight. All the hell she could do was move as quickly as possible with her arms extended in front of her so she didn’t collide with a tree.
Faster.
