Shifted: Legacy Born Series, #1

By Adrienne Woods and Carlyle Labuschagne

Pointy ears-check, third-eye induced headaches-check, fighting against a Dark Phoenix Griffin who wants to turn you into the Ultimate Weapon to kill the king... not happening.

 

At Seventeen, Sophie Emerson discovers her identity as a Spirit fae at the prestigious Earwyn Academy of Concordia. It is an identity she welcomes. She can do without the skull-splitting headaches induced by learning to control her clairvoyant powers, though. She'll also love it if someone can tell her why she sees herself in a dream surrounded by nine children who are channeling their powers into her to become a monster that will destroy Concordia.

 

When three kids disappear from the village, Sophie learns that the Dark Griffin abducted six other children two years ago. The dream shows her she is the last piece to become the Dark Griffin's Ultimate Weapon, and he will abduct her next.

 

Sophie needs a plan when she wakes up in a cell with the nine other children. One that will stop herself from becoming this weapon, save the abducted children, and stop an undefeated Griffin.

 

Being magical shouldn't be this stressful! She would have preferred to remain human, thank you very much.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing
• Release date: Jan 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9781947649781

Adrienne Woods

Adrienne Woods resides with her family on the East side of Joburg, Gauteng. If she isn't writing, she is reading and love to spend time with her two beautiful little girls. You can find out more about Adrienne Woods at www.authoradriennewoods.com   

Book preview

1

SOPHIE

Inever really thought much of my death. I was a teenager for crying out loud. We were infallible.

The iPad dangled between my legs as Dad said, I love you, Sophie. The crack of a quasi-smile from the opposite side of the video call failed. Brown slants of hair was another poor attempt at covering his worry-lines and the dark circles underneath his eyes, another giveaway. You are in excellent hands.

A chuckle escaped my lips as the tears rimmed Dad’s blue eyes. My fingers brushed the screen of my tablet. When was the last time you hit the sack?

Don’t worry about me, just focus on the surgery. When you wake up, there’ll be no more headaches. You can go back to school. Lyla will love that.

My lips trawled up into a smile. Lyla, yeah right! She hasn’t answered any of my texts for the past couple of weeks. Let’s hope. Love you, Dad.

Love you more. Don’t let your mom yell at the doctors.

Hey! Mom sat in the worn-out visitor’s chair, paging through a magazine. I only yell when they deserve it.

Laughter sprinkled the air as I drew an x with my finger over my chest and touched my lips before our chat ended. Laying back on the soft pillow, I stared thoughtlessly at the TV in my hospital room.

Doctors getting paged over the intercom, the constant whooshing of slippers, and rattling IVs attached to walking patients, combined with the unyielding headache, kept me out of sleep again.

My stomach twisted into knots as a tightness clasped around my chest. The heaviness became a constant companion, even in the very capable hands of Dr. Bryanston.

My gaze flickered to my mother, scanning through a magazine. Wavy blond hair—the opposite of mine—caressed her shoulders. She ripped a page from the magazine. The noise echoing through the room.

Mom?

What? Her green eyes grew, and she flipped over the torn page, revealing a crochet pattern for her collection.

A huff escaped my lips as I shook my head. She slipped the page in her handbag and gasped. Today marks a year, Soph.

Hmm. I tried to play it down. But the truth was, this day a year ago, my life changed.

The change had started with a dream of a flaming bird. Just a bird on fire, standing majestically in front of me. Then it became so vivid I could feel the heat radiate from its wings and with the heat came a song that stemmed from the life force of the phoenix. It was like a siren’s song.

It felt so real that when my eyes flew open, the pain still lingered.

It was the first time I’d woken up in the hospital and discovered that an intractable migraine had caused this pain. The killer headaches had visited regularly after that, giving a reason for my endless days in bed. The last part of the change...

The door swung open, and Nurse Colby ferried herself into my room. Her curvy hips moved side to side with each step and her furious red hair was a few flickers away from glowing. She had a sleek, black tail, swaying behind her. A tail that only I could see.

She’d become a dear friend the past four days. Colby grabbed the chart in front of my bed and attached the result of my latest scan for Dr. Bryanston.

My gaze kept lingering on her tail and I had the urge to touch it, but knew I shouldn’t.

You know what is taking so long? Mom asked.

I’m sure it’s prepping the OR, Mrs. Emerson, Colby said. Nothing to worry about. Dr. Bryanston will be here shortly.

Colby’s eyes flickered to me, flashed her grin—only for her favorite patients—and winked before she turned and flounced out of the room with her tail.

The worry lines my mother desperately tried to hide crinkled around her eyes.

Relax, look for a cheesecake recipe, something that your family can actually enjoy.

You’re hilarious. Mom’s tone was dusty.

I fluttered my eyelashes. I know.

Colby wasn’t the only one with a tail. There were others, too. Some had cat-ears, others owned a mean pair of ram horns. One guy even had an eagle beak, but they were scarce. These human-creatures walked among the ordinary folk of Tacoma, Washington and now Atlanta. Not a single word escaped my lips about what I could see, especially to Francis and Daniel Emerson, also known as Mom and Dad.

Faint bells chimed. I closed my eyes for a brief second before opening them. Oh, yeah, I forgot about the orbs of silver bright light that had appeared with the tails and ears. The faint ringing of the bells followed whenever these specks of lights soared above me. Their brightness enhanced the headaches, so I’d made it my mission to ignore them.

The tiny speck flew past Dr. Bryanston, trailing into the room. You ready, Sophie?

I nodded. Dr. Bryanston’s golden eyes penetrated my soul. They’d used to freak me out. Not anymore. Now they made me forget about the operation.

He whispered to Mom. Her hand rubbed her collarbone and her thin, shapely eyebrows knitted together as she listened to the words leaving the doctor’s mouth.

Colby swaggered back into the room—her tail flicking behind her—and lifted the side rails of the cot. She rolled my bed toward the door and stopped.

Mom leaned over and pressed her lips against my forehead. Her hand clasped mine as she lifted her head. The bud of a smile didn’t reach her tear-filled eyes. I’ll be here, waiting for you, baby.

You can try out that crochet pattern you tore out earlier from the magazine, I said in a flat tone. Mom closed her eyes as red dusted her cheeks. Chuckles came from the nurses and Dr. Bryanston as my eyes closed before entering the hallway with its bright lights.

Colby pushed me out of the room.

Love you, Sophie Emerson, Mom said.

Love you too, you crazy woman.

My heart hammered with every step and jostle of the bed. Please, God, let this be a success. It’s been 365 days since normal.

Goosebumps bristled my arms and my body shivered as the strong draught of sanitizer stung my nose. I opened my eyes. Light bounced off the white tiles against the walls and invisible cords strung tight through my center.

Two giant round lights—still off—announced our stop. My bed came to a halt next to the operating table and the medical staff transferred me. My heart pounded the dreadful timpani beat as nerves danced in my stomach.

Colby hooked the saline bag she carried on the silver frame next to the operating table. She slid a smirk up one half of her face as she worked fast, attaching wires to the gel pads on my chest.

Heat radiated from my cheeks, and I couldn’t hold eye contact with Colby and the other staff. What seventeen-year-old flashed her boobs? Except for the Playboy Bunnies, but I had no fluffy tail.

The LED monitor next to me mimicked the beats of my heart as Colby lowered the hospital gown.

Hi, Sophie, I’m Dr. Blunt. I’ll be your anesthesiologist and party director on this fun cruise, said a deep voice, coming from the top end of the bed.

Only the laughing lines at the corner of his eyes were visible as the rest of his face hid behind a mask. White hair protruded from the bouffant-style cap. He squirted liquid into my IV and placed a mask on my face.

Sophie, time to count backwards from ten, please, Dr. Bryanston said.

10, 9. My lips couldn’t finish the word eight, but I was still awake. Soft laughter filled the operating room as my mind got to 5.

Dr. Bryanston stared at me when I reached 3, 2, and 1.

My body was asleep, but the murmuring and soft chattering still reached my ears.

Dr. Bryanston’s figure remained next to my bed. His smile disappeared as shoulders sank into a bowed heap. Call Dr. Dent.

Who is Dr. Dent?

The door opened.

You are free to leave! An unfamiliar, deep voice barked.

Everyone got up. Even Dr. Blunt.

The shuffle of footsteps moved toward the exit. The swinging sound of doors followed, and soft chatter left the room.

It was quiet for a moment, and then the door swung open, and footsteps pelted into the room.

"Make sure you do the electroencephalography correctly this time, the deep voice said. We need the recording of her brain activity, especially what it shows right before she dies. Don’t mess up like last time!"

What? Dies?

She has the gene, doesn’t she? Dr. Bryanston asked.

Gene? Cancer, followed by an alien growing inside my head, jumped through my thoughts.

Yes. Her ability is causing her headaches. Be glad that she has no idea that she has something powerful trying to wake up.

My ability to do what and what is he talking about, something powerful?

So, what do you think she is? Dr. Bryanston asked.

What I am? I’m Sophie, who loves life and wants to carry on living without these skull-splitting headaches. Thank you very much.

No idea, but I don’t want to be here when it shows itself. These creatures are uncontrollable. Believe me, we’ve tried everything.

Itself and these creatures? Do I have a creature burrowed into my brain?

The heart monitor mimicked the increase in sound that pounded behind my ribcage.

Damn it. She’s not asleep! The man with the deep voice came into my view. Deep wrinkles outlined the corners of his nose to lips. A stern, unforgiving expression fogged his cold, brown eyes as he tapped the screen. He didn’t even wear a mask.

No, we had put her to sleep, Dr. Bryanston replied.

Asleep? No, this wasn’t happening. Wake up, stupid body! I tried to wiggle my toes and fingers, but nothing. I don’t want to die. Please, please, please. Mom!

Dr. Dent, or rather Dr. Death, squinted at the HRM and pressed a few buttons more before he turned his gaze to me. It’s as if she can hear us.

I knew it. I was experiencing some sort of out-of-body experience. The only difference was my soul didn’t leave my body. It was still very stuck to it.

So what do I tell her mother when I give her the news that she didn’t make it? Dr. Bryanston asked.

It’s the brain, Bryanston. Plenty of things can go wrong.

She’s going to demand to see her daughter’s body! We shouldn’t be doing this. Dr. Bryanston was sort of losing it.

Daughter’s body printed itself into my mind. Today was my last day!

Dr. Death grabbed a hold of Dr. Bryanston’s shoulder. Get a hold of yourself! I already took care of that.

I tried to move my arms and legs again. In my mind, I jumped off the operating table and sprinted down the hallway. I didn’t want to die. I was too young to die. My attempts were without success as squeaking wheels rolled into the room.

Dr. Bryanston left my side as Dr. Death turned back to the heart monitor. The beeping of fingers pressing buttons and a zipping sound reached my ears.

It looks so much like her. Dr. Bryanston’s voice came from my left.

What? Like me? A clone? No, human clones didn’t exist. The information gunned my heart into overdrive. Mom, help! God, please, please help! I don’t want to die. Mom!

To be cautious, put her in straps. Dr. Death eyed me.

The beat on the heart monitor flared up. A headache formed, pounding against my temples. Black spots danced in my sight.

The door crashed open.

You shouldn’t be here! Dr. Death said, as chairs scraped against the floor.

A ruckus exploded.

Grunts, shrieks, and dull sounds filled the room, mixed with the clinking of metal connecting with the tiles. Punches and groans with the harsh, high-pitched beeps radiated from the HRM murdered my ears.

Dr. Death worked fast. The desperate shuffling of objects moved around on the silver tray. He turned back to me and pulled the glass vial’s content into a syringe. A silver scalpel flew past and jabbed into his chest.

A grunt escaped his lips as crimson seeped through his scrubs. He didn’t stop and aimed the needle at my neck. A silver tray zoomed inches above my nose and hit Dr. Death straight on the corner of his temple, followed by the dull sound of him plummeting to the floor.

Another doctor, wearing a face mask, appeared. He stood over me, breathing hard. A white surgical style cap covered dark blonde hair. He killed the constant beeping of the monitor with a few buttons and removed the IV attached to my arm. He pressed his finger over the entry point before covering it with cotton and a plaster.

He was a lot younger than Dr. Bryanston and Dr. Dent.

His gaze met mine, and the green and brown of his heterochromatic eyes beseeched my heart to calm. He tapped my cheek. I didn’t feel a thing. Can you hear me?

Hard pounding came from the door. Open this door!

Colby!

The doctor lifted his hand to his left ear. I found her, but they sedated her. Her vitals are reading like a corpse.

Open this door! A voice came from behind the door.

Who is he speaking to? There is no one here.

Of course, I tried to wake her up. I’m not an idiot.

The hammering on the door became more demanding. It’s security! Open this door, now!

Help! My scream echoed against the walls of my mind, refusing to give up. My heart pounded as I tried to move my still body.

I had no choice! the strange doctor said and pulled out an earbud, one of those you see in the movies the FBI wears.

Drake! A faint, tiny voice blurred from the bud.

More hammering came from the door. Stand back! The security guard yelled.

The doors crashed open, and I saw the figure explode into a creature with a beak. Feathers overshadowed everything in the room. I had no time to investigate the transformed state of this man as darkness finally claimed me.

DRAKE

My mission: to infiltrate the facility, neutralize the threat and retrieve the asset, unharmed.

I wished I could say it started as smoothly as many a mission before.

Sure, grabbing her clothes from her room was as easy as plucking my feathers. But it looked a bit suspicious when you do it in scrubs. What doctor walks around with a patient’s clothes to the O. R?

I piled her clothes under my shirt looking like I had a dad bod, and knew Alex would never let me forget about this, but I had no choice. Alpheus just didn’t foresee events fast enough.

I was kitted out in full scrubs from head to toe, including a surgical mask to hair dusk—even the stupid booties. The staff in the hallway let me pass with ease, as I looked the part. But when I burst through the O. R doors, security immediately came . Being the creature I was, and owning the abilities I have, I knew from that moment the quest was in peril.

I kicked a chair in the way of an advancing guard, immobilizing him for a moment, while I threw a second chair at an oncoming guard with his baton, knocking him off his feet. The rod in his hand skidded over the tiles toward me.

I picked it up, ran back toward the doors and placed the baton horizontally through the bars—a trick Alex taught me that saved his ass on this side of Mavis’ shield.

More guards advanced, but I quickly knocked the short one out with a knuckled fist to his temple and swung around to grab the other guard in a chokehold till he passed out. But it was when I saw the girl, lying helpless, so still on the bed, that I lost focus for a moment and nearly got punched in the jaw by guard one. I ducked just in time and delivered a short but powerful jab to his jaw, rendering him unconscious. I gave the girl a second glance. It was definitely the girl that plagued my dreams.

My creed is to never let someone of our kind die. A creed that seemed to follow by life risking events.

You shouldn’t be here, the doctor standing right beside her commanded as I noticed a second doctor advance toward me with a scalpel. I bent down, snatching a metallic kidney shaped bowl. Ducked his jab and struck him in his windpipe with the sweet satisfaction of hearing cartilage crack in this throat.

The man refused to go down. The bowl hit him against his shoulder, and the scalpel came flying toward me. I ducked, and it cluttered against the tiles.

He swung a fist at me, but missed. This man was really slow. I grabbed his punching arm, twisted it around his back and held him to the ground and smashed his head against the floor until he, too, was flat out cold.

When I looked up, the doctor who stood beside the girl had a syringe and was busy extracting liquid from the vial. I grabbed the scalpel that laid on the floor, and threw it at him, hitting him square in the chest. But even as the blood spread on his ice-blue scrubs, he wouldn’t go down. He was guild one hundred percent.

I grabbed hold of the silver tray, threw it at an angle and it hit him right on his temple. The tray clung to the floor as the doctor followed.

More hammering sounded at the door as I stood over the girl and side-eyed the corpse beside her—they almost looked identical.

I tapped the girl’s cheek. Can you hear me?

Open this door! A voice came from behind the door.

My earbud came alive with Alex, yelling, Drake, is the girl alive? What is happening?

I grunted, tapping her cheek one more time, hoping she would stir or open her eyes.

Drake, talk to me?

I pressed the hearing device tighter into my ear. I found her, but they sedated her. Her vitals are reading like a corpse.

Have you tried to wake her?

Of course I tried to wake her. I’m not an idiot.

You should’ve waited. We are not done speaking about this…

The hammering on the door became more demanding. It’s security! Open this door, now!

I had no choice! I removed my earbud. There was no time for protocol and, to be honest, this wasn’t a normal mission either.

Drake! Alex’s voice vibrated over the tiny telecom device.

The hammering on the door became more demanding. Stand back!

This was my cue. Feathers rippled from my skin, and big black paws replaced strong human legs. My tail coursed down the middle of my spine, feathered out toward my coccyx, and swept in deep dark blue feathers over the floor—strong, bold, and robust. Enough to knock any opponent off their feet. Massive talons replaced my hands, sharp enough to rip through metal, and my mouth transformed into a beak that could snap an arm in two. My wings spanned the entire room, the color of a dangerous storm. My instinct immediately kicked in.

I snatched up the unconscious girl, gently curled my talons around her, and tucked her in under one of my wings. Monitoring the door, knowing that those any minute they would burst open and more guards or Guild would storm in.

The window was our only escape. I used my other talons to hook the frame and rip it out of the hinges.

The doors smashed open as I ducked down and crashed through the window, jumping out. Glass exploded onto the sidewalk, leaving screaming humans in my wake as my wings spread and took flight.

My escape became a victory as the icy wind swept through my feathers. I had to use both my claws to envelop her body in the warmth of my claws and prayed that a second group of The Guild wasn’t close by.

2

SOPHIE

Icy wind blasted through my hair, and the cold ripped at my cheeks.

A howling gale swooshed past my ears, threatening to tear them straight from my head. My teeth chattered uncontrollably in the frigid conditions. Forcing my eyes open, the wind pushed them closed again. The tears that streamed over my temples froze as they hit my hairline.

Images of what had happened before I’d passed out flashed through my mind.

Doctors had tried to kill me. A corpse that looked just like me, and then the strange doctor. Blood, so much blood. Feathers, giant wings and last; eyes that reminded me of a kaleidoscope.

Dancing lights flickered through my blurry sight. It made little sense where I was and why it was so damn cold.

What type of air could sear down my windpipe, turning my lungs into a glacier as I breathed, burning like icy fire?

This was a hallucination from the drugs, or it was one of my messed up dreams again.

Still, I never dreamed about anything remotely like this. It was usually fire, loads and loads of fire. Not ice cold air and gigantic claws pressing into my body like a vice grip, threatening to squash the little air I had from my lungs.

Soon, the flapping of wings faded beneath the pounding of my heart. I could feel my heartbeat in my temples.

Logically, being held captive by a giant bird was an insane concept, but I could not deny all the physical assaults done to my body.

I wiggled and bit down hard on the grotesque claw clamping down on my chest.

A high-pitched whistle battered my ears as a similar scream tore from my lungs. I pushed against the tight grip the giant bird had around my body, trying to free myself.

If I could rid myself from this nightmare, I would find myself beside my mother in the hospital room, all warm and cozy.

It must be the drugs messing with my mind and my usual dream, changing it to the complete opposite.

My dreams were always this vivid. So the absence of the medicated numbness didn’t even bother me that much.

I didn’t stop struggling, though. Anything to wake up.

The claws around me pressed tighter. I couldn’t breathe. Instinct forewarned me that fighting my circumstances could mean my death, and so my adrenaline worked against me and put me right back to sleep.

DRAKE

The girl woke up and it was a constant fight. She wiggled so much that my claws around her threatened to slip and therefore, they tightened around her.

She was relentless and very unlike in my dreams. The girl in my dreams, well, was that: a dream girl. Always smiling and kind, so, so kind.

This one, she was bat shit crazy, but then what did you expect waking up, trapping inside the claws of a giant griffin.

Something that Mavis kept telling me was a myth in their world.

The girl didn’t stop and my frustration grew until it slipped from my beak. Even my cry sounded annoyed.

Could one thing just go right with this rescue?

A scream mimicked the cry and for some reason my heart pounded in my chest.

What was it specifically with this girl? Was is because I’d seen her for months, or whether the fact that I knew exactly why I’d dreamt about her.

It wasn’t that hard to figure out.

It was my sight. Something I shouldn’t have. Something that was wrong in our world. King Avery wouldn’t think twice to put me down, even if my father was one of his best generals, and the king vowed with his life to look after me and my brother.

Sight was just not a good domain to have.

The girl belonged to my brother. She was his fae, which tells me that her legacy was spirit. They were rare and the strongest of all the elemental faes.

My brother had never gotten his fire and therefore was a normal griffin. He was strong, well, stronger than most griffins at Earwyn Academy, which automatically told everyone that his fae was going to be very powerful, and that was the reason I’d seen her.

She belonged to my brother. She was his last chance of ever being whole.

The girl had stopped squirming.

Fuck!

I tried to shake her awake, but she was lying like some dead ferret in my grasp.

C’mon, not this, please, I begged, and shook her again.

A grunt rustled from my core and the growl changed halfway up my throat into another ear-piercing eagle’s cry.

Down was the only way now and I had to stop.

We were somewhere in Iowa. The forests all looked the same, but I knew the human world like my remiges feathers.

I touched down and opened my claw to lay the girl on the ground.

I shifted back into my human form and rushed to the girl’s side. My lips touched her extra soft ones, covered in strawberry flavor Chapstick.

I blew in a big breath and compressed her chest a few times. Covered her nose with my fingers, blew in a big breath and compressed her chest again.

The thoughts in my head went crazy. What would happen to Chase if I didn’t bring her home? Worse, what was I going to tell Alex and Maverick, as to why she was dead.

Alex was right. I should’ve waited.

I pinched her nose, blew in breath again, compressed a few times. Repeat.

My mind was now like a robot and the actions that followed mimicked the order.

The girl took a deep breath and it felt as if everything in my body ignited to life.

She didn’t wake up though. Just went back to sleep.

She was really beautiful. With her almost black slants of hair. She could easily pass as Maverick’s niece.

Her lips were extra poofy and the want to touch them, to feel if she was truly breathing overpowered my senses.

I stopped myself mid-air and pulled my hand back. The area was quite sheltered, and this place was as good as any other place to camp out.

I would try to get word to Alex and the others, hoping that they would pick up my signal and come to aid in this rescue. All the signs till now, showed that I couldn’t rescue this one on my own.

SOPHIE

I immediately felt warmer when my senses came to. The first thing I felt was relief that I was not freezing anymore.

The next thing that piqued my attention was the drone of traffic going past in the near distance.

Birds’ twittering flowed in abundance. Crackles and pops sounded in the air as my body protested from sleeping on the hard surface of the ground.

I opened my eyes and found myself burrowed deep into a sleeping bag. The soft cotton material inside caressed my butt cheeks and my eyes grew wider.

Crap, I’m still in my hospital gown, wearing a thong!

Everything hit me at once. Where I was, what had happened. I wasn’t in my bed at the hospital. Mom wasn’t at my side and, for some reason, the only voice in my head belonged to my instructor, Andy Maloney. In dire circumstances, prolong the situation as an unconscious victim and take in the surroundings.

I peeked out of the sleeping bag. Sparkles of light danced through the canopy of trees and a giant figure of a man sat on a log in front of the fire pit with his back to me. The smokey smell irritated my nostrils.

Drake. A voice spoke over a walkie talkie. He lifted his arm in front of his face to speak into the device that curled around his bicep. Not a walkie talkie. What in mother’s name is that?

I’m here, said the man in a hushed tone. He pressed something into his ear and the other voice disappeared. His shoulders turned sideways. I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

We are in Iowa. I had a situation last night. I had to stop.

Iowa? How did we get from Atlanta to... Claws trapping me, squeezing the living daylights out of me, flashed through my mind. That can’t be real. How did I get here?

Yes, I have the girl. She hasn’t woken up yet.

Mom’s biggest fear knotted at my core. Did this guy kidnap me to be sold to human traffickers?

There was already a... His voice faded as my mind went into survival mode.

The tension released in my limbs as Andy recited his mantra: keep calm, survey your surroundings, find a weapon, and remember to SING! Solar plexus, instep, nose, and groin. No, Andy didn’t steal it from the Miss Congeniality movie. It was actually a real defense technique. We had to say it so many times I’d dreamed about it.

I opened my eyes a crack, just enough to peek at the guy. His back faced me again. An image of a 3D map hovered above his watch. The advanced technology fed my paranoia.

My gaze darted around and landed on a flat rock jutting from a carpet of pine needles before it flickered to a clear path right behind it. I unzipped the sleeping bag as silently as I could.

Yeah, that will not happen. We are so off course... The guy’s sentence trailed on as I tucked my knees into my body and rolled onto the balls of my feet.

My heart pounded as a million thoughts reeled through my head while the adrenaline pumped through my veins. I uncoiled from the ground just as the wind slipped through the hospital gown and made a vulgar introduction. My feet reacted before I could find something better than a flaring hospital gown to cover myself. I clutched the hospital gown tight, running with one arm behind my back.

I looked behind me to see if the guy was following.

There was no one. What an idiot.

The sun-dappled leaves flickered shadows on the ground as I rushed past the tall trees. My heart stammered as pine needles jabbed into the soles of my feet and crushed leaves with every step. Ow, ow, ow.

The leaves rustled behind me, and I turned around to look.

Only the wind! Now breathe through the pain, Sophie, otherwise you are going to die.

The noise of the traffic became louder, and it gave me another spurt of hope. I ran and didn’t give a rat’s ass anymore whether mine was showing or how much my feet were getting tortured. My lungs and legs burned as I reached the path dwindling up a hill.

Please, God, I promise to never complain about the things that I’m seeing. I’ll endure the pain. Not that I want that, but I’ll do it if you get me back to Mom and Dad.

I rushed up the incline with bated breath. The forest entrance opened onto a busy road. Cars sped by as I