Chapter 75: 75

NADINE’S P.O.V

My head was pounding. It felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to my skull.

I tried to grab it, hoping it would help with the pounding, but I soon realized that I couldn’t move my arms. My entire body was sore. Everywhere hurt. My skin felt slimy and I felt something on my leg.

I forced my eyes open only to met with darkness. I blinked twice, wondering if I was imagining things but the darkness didn’t disappear.

My eyes adjusted and I realized it wasn’t just dark, I was outside. I bit back a curse as I realized the severity of the situation. Someone had tied me to a tree outside. I glanced down at my leg where a small hare was nibbling at my shoes.

The smell hit me next and the slimy feeling on my skin suddenly made sense. I was covered in some kind of bloody meat mixture. I could see the chunks that the hare was nibbling on.

“No, no, no,” I mumbled trying to free my hands but all it did was make the ropes bite in tighter. “Fuck!”

I couldn’t remember how the hell I got here. The last thing I remembered was talking with Amy. Everything else was a blur. I wanted to scream, but I knew it wouldn’t help. It’d only make matters worse for me.

I tried to think.

I couldn’t undo my ropes with my hands and I didn’t carry my knife when I left the room earlier. Tears gathered at the back of my eyes as I realized I’d probably die in these woods and no one would ever find me.

The hare was still at my feet, nibbling away and I couldn’t kick it off because my ankles were strapped together as well.

I let out a groan, sliding down until I was seated on the floor. Tears were falling freely down my cheeks at this point and the hare scurried off. I couldn’t remember when last I’d cried out of pure frustration.

I fumbled blindly on the ground, looking for something that could help when I felt near my hands. I wrapped my fingers around it and winced sharply when it cut through my fingers

A knife.

. I wasn’t sure what kind of game was being played, if the knife was dropped there on purpose or by accident, but I couldn’t stop to worry about it.

I was so relieved that I didn’t care that I’d sliced open my own fingers. I immediately got to work on the ropes, doing my best to cut through it. I couldn’t tell exactly what time it was, but it seemed to be just before dawn. I’d spent so many nights awake staring at a sky just as dark as this.

When the ropes finally gave way, I sobbed with relief. I cut off the ones at my ankles too and dragged myself to my feet. My entire body protested as I forced myself to move, my limbs hurt, my head was still pounding. I had no idea what had happened and on another day, I’d have stopped to figure out what was wrong but I needed to move.

I had no idea where I was going, no idea where I was. If I was moving further away from the bunker or closer. I heard birds above me and decided to follow their path of flight hoping to get to a river where I’d wash the blood off me.

With the knife in my hands, I stumbled through the dense woods, forcing one foot in front of the other. As I walked, I reminded myself of everything I had to live for: Rowan, my baby. I wasn’t sure how or if the baby would survive after this but that didn’t stop me from praying to whoever would listen. I just needed to get out of this alive.

I wasn’t sure how far I walked but I got to a very small river. I rushed over to it, wincing when I saw myself in the mirror. Someone had taken their time with me before leaving me out here. My face was swollen and my arms covered in bruises. I didn’t want to see what the rest of my body looked like.

I tried to wash off as much of the blood as I could without getting out of my clothes. The cold water felt like balm over my bruised skin and I was so focused on getting clean that I didn’t realize the whole forest had gone quiet. By the time I did notice, I knew it was too late.

The hair at the back of my neck stood on edge and I stood slowly. I couldn’t see or hear anything, but that didn’t mean that the monster couldn’t see me. Chances were that it was looking for the best way to attack.

I stepped back slowly, getting into the water and keeping the knife in my hands. I was almost on the other side when I heard it- a small growl. A twig snapped somewhere ahead and I resisted the urge to blindly throw my knife or run. I couldn’t outrun it and this was the only weapon I had.

The smell of rotten flesh filled my nostrils as the monster stepped out of the trees. It was so dark that I could barely make out its features, all I could see were the bloodshot eyes and sharp teeth. It snarled at me and my entire body told me to run but I couldn’t turn my back on it.

“Come at me, you fucking bastard,” I hissed. “I’m not dying today, and if I do, you’re dying with me.”

I knew it was insane to speak to but I didn’t care. I was past the point of sanity right now. All I cared about was survival.

It moved so fast that I barely had time to blink. One second, it was on the other side of the forest and the next, it was in front of me, its large paw throwing me to the side. My back slammed hard against a tree and a groan left my lips. The knife slipped from my hands.

A loud snarl filled the air and I saw it running. I didn’t have time to think, I grabbed the knife from the ground and threw it. It hit its mark, earning a whine from the monster. It lay on the ground, my knife protruding from its chest, but it wasn’t dead.

A lone branch lay next to me and before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed it, making my way over to the monster and I stabbed it over and over again. It didn’t sound like a monster as I killed it, it sounded helpless and in pain and that sound spark something inside of me.

I remembered a tank and a monster inside making the same sounds.

I stumbled back with a gasp. “No, I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t look at my own bloody hands or the blood that pooled out of the monster. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest as the reality of my actions sat in front of me.

I couldn’t bear to stay a second longer. I pulled out the knife and the branch, ignoring the squelching sound it made and I kept going.

I had to get back to the bunker. If not for anything, then to warn Rowan about the General because if I was gone, then Rowan would be the next target and I couldn’t let him suffer for my actions.

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