Darkness was taking over the world quickly as Emma ran through the dense forest. Fear was etched on her face as she pushed herself harder. Her heart was racing and her breath was coming out in short, ragged gasps. The men were getting closer to her. She leaped over fallen logs, tripped over sticks, and dodged the branches hanging low from above. When she glanced back, she saw that the men were closing the distance. She tried to think of a way out but running was the only option.
Emma felt relieved when she saw the main highway up ahead. When she looked back, she saw that the men were nowhere to be seen. She increased her speed and was almost there when the two men emerged from the shadows.
“Running won’t help you, beautiful.” The pervert from earlier said with a menacing smile. “You cannot outrun us.”
Emma tried to continue running but she stumbled over a tree trunk she had not seen. She looked up and her wide eyes darted between the two strong men.
“Please let me go,” she begged, despite knowing it was going to be fruitless.
“Oh dear,” the older man said. “If it were up to us, we’d just have a good time and let you go. But we work for Axel White and that man doesn’t like having his prey messed with. Besides, he’s going to pay us a lot of money. Stand up and lets go.”
“What if I was your daughter?” Emma asked.
“Good thing you’re not. No daughter of mine would let herself get into such a position. Emotionally blackmailing me won’t work.”
Defeated, Emma stood up and tried to beg the men one last time but they just shook their heads.
“Let’s go back,” the pervert said. “Alpha Axel just told me that we have to return her alive or he’ll kill us.”
“We either do this the hard way or the easy way,” the younger man said. “It’s your choice.”
Emma stood up but refused to walk. The younger man reached out to grab her wrist but she defiantly slapped his hand away. When she looked at his face, she noticed his eyes darkening. He lunged at her but she swiftly moved out of the way. Although there was very little chance of her outrunning the men, she was not going to make it easy for them. Her eyes darted around as she looked for means to escape.
The older man glared at her, looking annoyed. “Let’s go. I do not feel like carrying you.”
Emma started to move. They waded their way through the undergrowth. Now that she was not running, it seemed harder to move through the thick forest. In addition to the problems caused by the landscape, Emma’s was feeling tired from running so much.
One of the men was walking in front of her while another was behind. As she walked, Emma memorised the route very well in mind. She didn’t intend to get back to Axel while conscious. She didn’t even want to imagine what he would do to her since he was still very angry. Emma was not ready to die by the hands of that tyrant. She had to get away by any means possible.
As they walked, Emma spotted the entrance of a small cave hidden amongst some trees in a distance. With a surge of energy, she suddenly ran towards it, her heart thumping fast. She entered through the narrow opening just as the two men caught up with her.
“What the hell,” the older one said. “I didn’t sign up for this nonsense. This girl is totally crazy.”
The younger man wanted to go inside but Emma quickly pushed a large rock to cover the cave entrance. It became pitch black which scared her but it was better for than getting killed by Axel. She knew the men would be able to push the rock. She looked around the cave and saw water dripping down from one corner. She treaded carefully towards it. When she reached there, she noticed an opening between the rocks. It was where the water was coming in from.
The ground and rocks were slippery around there. Emma carefully climbed up the slippery rock. She used her fingers to grip the swollen irregular surfaces of the rock. When she was up, she stayed there and waited for the men to open the main entrance to the cave. She didn’t have to wait long. A few seconds later, the large rock she had placed on the entrance started rolling in to the cave.
Emma held her breath and waited until the two men entered the cave before exiting from where she was. The place she came out of was on top of a large rock. She didn’t want to jump off it because it would make noise but there was no time to waste. She did it and started running the way they had come. It was now fully dark and she could barely see anything but she was sure the route she had taken would lead her to the highway.
She was nearing the highway when she started to hear the voices of the men as they went after her. Idiots, she thought. If you’re chasing someone in the dark, talking loudly is a stupid thing to do. Emma continued to run but when she reached the highway, a truck passed by. She yelled as loud as she could for the driver to stop but the vehicle kept going.
Disappointed, she started running along the highway. She knew that there was a chance that no one would pick her up but she was going to try anyway. The other option was handing herself to Axel on a silver plate.
Suddenly, a car appeared and Emma continued to run while flagging it down. Just then, she saw that the two men had come out of the forest. Emma ran to the middle of the road, and stood there making signs for the driver of the car to stop.
“Hey!” the pervert yelled as the high speeding car drew closer to Emma.