The Night's Air

The sound of her feet smaking the ground mirrored the pumping sound in her ears of her heart as she ran along the banks of the river. The night's air caught in her throwt and she could feel the excitement flow through her as she escaped the confines of the horrible place that held her captive for so long. she ran until, she came face to face with...
Chapter ONE

The night air was known around these here parts for its uncanny ability to steal your breath right out of your lungs.
Old man Grawford whispered to young Jimmy Mulligan as they sat outside the store. Jimmy's eyes betrayed him as he tried to keep the mounting fear hidden from the old man. "Wa, what do you mean?" his voice quiverd. Old man Grawford smiled and said nothing, just starred at Jimmy for a bit then turned and spit his tobbacco onto the dusty side step.

"Whatever you do , Jimmy boy do not go to the south bank of the river. Not during the day or the night , ya Hear?"
Nodding his head Jimmy gave his reply. Secretly holding in his curiosity about it all, he knew that one day he would have to check it out for himself. Not today of course but one day.

She could feel the scream in her throught yet there was an awful absence of sound. Face to face with the horrible creature
who had kept her captive in the cellar below the ground for god knows how long, she had lost count of the days. she remebered being hungry at one point but that soon disappeared as the raw meat had been dropped into her hole. Was she expected to eat this? Mad she whispered to herself this man is raving mad. She could hear him up there walking around saying things, at first she thought he was talking to someone else but soon she discoverd there was no one else, just him.

It had been a beautiful day she had thought, as she detoured along the river on her way home from the University. She had walked along the south bank something she had never done because of the ghost tales she had grown up with. Well school had rid her of the fables and she was confident now that what she was listening to were urban legends.
I mean really, Caroline,"she had said to herself and half to the river itself ,urban legends are meant to scare you about nothing.

This night, all that was a distant memory. caroline could feel his cold hand grasp her neck then her hair as he proceeded to drag her back along the river bank and back to the cellar. Caroline knew she had nothing to loose and she had to do something and do it now or she was dead for sure. Caroline reached up and grabbed his groin and squeezed for all the strenght she had left in her, it was enough. He went down, hard.

Caroline stunned for a moment at the site of him, greasey, matted hair and overalls with no shirt and a pale skrawny frame under it, she shiverd. Something inside Caroline made her jump out of her stare and she dove for the murky waters of the river. The water was cold, but she managed to come up for air and she swam to the middle of the river before she dared look back to see if he was following her. She looked hard but couldn't see a thing.
Continuing on she made it to the north bank and scrambled up the loose dirt of the side of the bank. Her fingers found the grassey edge and she pulled herself up onto the grass. Her breath labored under the exurtion she tried to orient herslef to where she was.

Caroline froze. She turned as she heard a splash.
He was coming, swimming in the water. Furiously she ran straight ahead through the field, her mind was running faster than her feet.
Tree branches scraped at her face and shins as she ducked and jumped to miss them. Lights, she could see lights ahead,she must make it to them. the sound of cars in the distance made her believe she would make it. The highway came up fast on her, she had been runnig so hard, she almost ran out into the road. And that is when the car stopped for her, only as she got in did she realize how she was dressed. Her school clothes were long gone, replaced by a smock full of holes that stunk like the rottten meat she had been forced to live with. Caroline looked at the driver and to her utter relief she was looking at Mrs.Forsyth her grade school teacher.

"Caroline!, you have been missing for weeks! We have everyone out looking for you! My goodness if i hadn't stopped ,i can't bear to think that I would have passed you by! Wwe must get you to the hospital" Mrs.Forsyth drove off down the highway as the greasey creature limped up to the side of the highway. Glaring eyes stared at the back of the car only seeing tail lights grow dim into the distance.

Muttering and grumbling to himself Jimmy he said you must find her, you must.

END OF Chapter ONE for now. :)