Flashback
My footsteps echoed on the floor of the clearing like a macabre pulse, while the barking of dogs and the howling of men pierced the oppressive atmosphere of the night.
-CATCH UP THIS BITCH!
-YES SIR
-HURRY UP YOU INCAPABLE !
The sound of rifle fire sporadically tore the silence, like moans of an indescribable threat.
I rushed forward, my lungs on fire, my muscles screaming their agony under the relentless effort of flight. Hunger was gnawing at me, my strength was diminishing, but I persisted in moving forward, refusing to give up in the face of the exhaustion that awaited me.
Yet even immersed in the abysmal darkness, I felt their presence, their malevolent silhouettes drawing inexorably closer. Suddenly, a beast appeared from the shadows, its hungry fangs seeking to tear my flesh. A scream of terror tore through the air as I fell from the force of the attack.
-CHEF WE CATCHED HER !
They had captured me, their merciless hunt bringing my desperate escape to a screeching halt. In this nameless hell, I found myself trapped, swallowed up by darkness itself, confronted with my most primal fears, with no hope of salvation.
Suddenly, in a flash of cruelty, one of the men appeared from the shadows, his strong arms grabbing me like a common sack of potatoes, lifting me effortlessly onto his back. My limp limbs hung helplessly as he resumed his frantic run across the clearing, carrying his precious catch with him.
-If you hadn't tried to escape maybe the boss would have been more lenient with you, mocked one of the men who followed us
The world passed around me, a hellish dance of shadows and muffled noises. The branches of the trees seemed to twist to hold me, the winding roots stretching to trap me in their tortuous embrace.
Terror gripped me, muffling my screams in my dry throat. I knew that each step brought us inexorably closer to my doom, in the hands of these merciless predators.
As night swallowed up all light, I felt doomed to wander eternally in the abyss of fear, carried away by forces I could neither understand nor fight.
The frantic race across the clearing came to an abrupt end as we reached a car, its headlights illuminating the scene with a cold, unforgiving glow. The man placed me roughly on the hard ground, like a worthless object, before rushing towards the vehicle where a man got out.
-WHO GAVE YOU THE COURAGE TO FLEE!, the furious boss yelled at me
He approached me before looking at me as if I was just a dead thing.
-What did you think?, I replied in an ironic tone, that I was going to stay locked up very quietly.
He gave me a huge slap which made me fall to the ground. My ears were ringing even from the intensity of his slap.
-Boss, she's bleeding from the ear, warns one of his men
-SHUT UP!, replied his boss aggressively
He suddenly grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up.
-Are we less clever?!, he mocked
-Never, I replied in an arrogant tone, spitting in his face.
He stared at me with a disturbing look filled with hatred before starting to laugh completely madly.
-Release the dog, he suddenly ordered his men in a cold tone.
-B…but sir, hesitated a man, if she is injured she will no longer be of any use
-Execute you or I'll shoot you!, he shouted furiously, pulling out his firearm.
Rare are the times in my life when I have been afraid and rare are the times when I have regretted having opened my mouth. But in that very moment I understood that I was going to suffer.
And not just a little.
And I started crying and begging him not to do this.
-I…I…will…do…whatever…you…want, I begged him
But he just released his grip on my hair and violently pushed me back to the ground using his boots filled with dirt.
-You should be happy bitch!, sneered the boss, we only feed the dog human flesh
That's why I was afraid, a dog fed only human flesh will make short work of me.
End of Flashback