Page 1

Chapter 1

Lost And Found

Starla

PRESENT: AGED 25

The moon was the only light shining down onto me. The roads were inked with black, fog descending down like a downpour of rain. My eyes squinted in the dark, struggling to navigate my way through the haze of black.

Around me, fields and dead weeds were spread out on each side of the road, with the occasional house that looked too battered to have anybody living inside of it.

Fear latched onto every bone in my body, being alone in the dark was something that struck me with a deep-rooted terror. Maybe I shouldn’t have left Brandon. Maybe I should have put up with his abuse. Maybe he could have changed. Maybe if I stuck around long enough, I’d finally be enough for him.

At least I wouldn’t be alone.

Chills ran up and down my skin when I thought about the horrific things Brandon did to me, all the things he said which cycled through my head.

No, I made the right decision. I had to leave. Staying with that man was a death sentence.

The road in front of me was unknown. My father was in prison, and my mother was dead. Where was I to go? Everything I owned was shoved into my car in a haste. Though, it wasn’t much. I didn’t have many things from childhood. I didn’t have any items of sentiment. Just clothes and necessities. No plan, just emotional baggage and all the money I saved up.

“It’s okay, keep it together,” I told myself, desperately trying to remember why I left in the first place. “You’ll survive, that’s what you do. You keep going. You’ve survived worse.”

Flashes of my childhood whirled in my vision. My father’s sinister acts. The bones I found in the basement. The blood stained into the floorboards. My mother’s fury when I turned my dad in.

Her only crime was loving him too much, and never wanting to see the monster within him. It killed her in the end. She couldn’t live life knowing he was spending the rest of his life in prison.

I still remember the day I found her dead body. She drowned herself in the lake behind the house. Long hair floating in the waves. Her body had gone completely still, face down.

Sighing, I reached forward to turn the music up on the radio. A few lyrics poured through, but it was drowned out by static. My gaze went back towards the road, but something on the dash caught my eye.

The gas tank was almost empty. The line was just barely at the E.

I knew it was running low a few miles back, but there were no gas stations around. If I were in my right mind and not in flight or fight mode, I would’ve planned better and filled up my tank responsibly. But my mind was moving too fast, I hadn’t slept properly in days, and I was just trying to drive as far away as possible without stopping.

“No, no, no! This cannot be happening,” I whispered. Another ripple of terror coursed through me. I was in the dead zone of a rural town. Not even a town, really, just barren fields and empty houses.

Within minutes, my car began to slow down. I was at the end of the line. Turning the wheel, I steered the car towards the side of the road. It rumbled on for a few more seconds, until it came to a stop on the shoulder.

Fuck.

Here I was, in the middle of nowhere, in the pitch-black night, with a dead car. For a few moments, I sat in my seat. I was frozen in place. What the fuck was I supposed to do?

C’mon, Starla, think.

Suddenly, a memory of passing the entrance to a private road came to me. It was a few miles back. It could be a waste of time, or somebody could live there. I could have a bed for the night. There was no way I could sit in my car all night. Not with the shadows closing in.

I should just stay in my car. But, the thought of sitting out here in the dark scared me more than a stranger’s house. I couldn’t just sit and wait for Brandon to catch up. I had to run.

What could go wrong?

With a sigh, I pushed the door open and stepped out into the night. The moon was barely visible through the clouds. My eyes strained to see anything in front of me.

Yanking my trunk open, I fished around for a flashlight. I know I packed one. Within a few minutes, I found it. The flashlight clicked on. It lit up the world just enough for me to see what’s ahead of me.

The shadow crept closer, like infectious bugs with the intent on tormenting me. There was no noise except for my footsteps on gravel, and the heaviness of my breath. My eyes darted back and forth, watching for any movement.

I wondered if there was someone in the woods. Visions of blood and a glistening knife spun around in my head. I heard my own screams, and saw the dark eyes of a monster.