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Escaping the forest

“ H ow could he betray me like this?” Sage whispered as the tears streamed down her face.

Her breaths were staggered and her chest burned, sending her back to the last time she needed to utilize an inhaler, sixteen years ago.

With each step she took, she dodged fiery debris and leaves crunched beneath her feet. Suddenly she was fifteen again.

“Hans!” Gretta cried out, the darkness swallowing her whole.

She could barely see three inches in front of her.

“Hans, where are you?” Gretta was scared, the only sound she could hear off in the distance was the fire crackling as it continued to destroy the old hag’s cottage.

She was gone. No more torturing the souls of innocent children.

No more- and then a familiar voice broke through the deadly silence.

Ha ns.

“ I’m over here!” Hans yelled out. Gretta found the confidence in his voice attractive.

He had taken it upon himself to watch over her since she was twelve years old.

With each passing day their friendship grew, the love and admiration they had for one another continued to blossom into something that neither could explain.

“ I’m going to marry that boy one day.” Gretta smiled and took a deep breath, ready to run and push through the pain that she was feeling due to the tightness in her chest and constricted breathing.

She started running in the direction his voice was echoing from, both of them calling for each other, caught in a desperate game of Marco Polo.

Gretta stopped to catch her breath once more, unable to understand why Hans had wandered so far away from her.

Chills ran down Gretta’s spine, something wasn’t right.

“ Gotcha!” Gretta screamed as the giant ogre of a man wrapped his hands around her arms. He squeezed tighter the more she tried to wriggle free, but it was no use.

She was trapped. The man turned her around, forcing Gretta to look into his eyes which were filled with evil.

With the help of Hans, Gretta knew she would have had a fighting chance to break free from the trauma that their torture had induced, but now, looking at this beast and taking in whiffs of his rotting teeth, Gretta came to accept that there was no way out.

A car horn in the distance brought Sage back to the present, letting her know that she was headed in the direction of the main road.

She had hoped she would be able to find someone to give her a ride far away from this place she once called home.

This was the second time that Sage and Hans had been separated, only this time she was the witch - though with a little less hocus pocus - that he was running from.

Sage stopped and attempted to catch her breath before continuing forward at a snail's pace.

She was unsure of how long she had been running.

Her chest burned with the inhale and exhale of each breath in the cool night air and she found herself wishing she could magically pull an inhaler from out of thin air.

As she edged closer to the dark pavement, Sage glanced up and down the road in hopes that she would see a car coming.

Nothing.

The air was still, Sage could feel herself losing hope when suddenly she could hear the sound of a car getting closer.

Picking up her pace to reach the pavement, she lost sight of where she was placing her feet, her foot getting caught in the tree roots and causing her to fall face first into a pile of dirt.

Caw. Caw. Caw.

Sage caught a glimpse of her raven friend sitting in the tree directly across from her.

Its caws sounded more like laughter, making fun of her for the predicament that she found herself in.

Sage made her way back to her feet, brushing off the leaves and debris that stuck to her skin as headlights slowly crept up behind her.

The brakes squealed as the car came to a stop. “Is everything okay, miss?” The gentleman driving stuck his head outside the driver’s side window.

“ Yeah, I’m fine.” Sage lied, unsure if this was the ride she wanted to take.

“ You shouldn’t be out here alone,” at least he appeared to be concerned, “Do you need a ride?”

Sage hesitated a moment, but she knew that if she was going to accomplish any of the goals she had, she needed to take him up on his offer.

“Sure, thanks.” She walked over to the passenger side, peering in and taking note of the car being unkempt; full of fast food bags, empty beer cans, and empty cigarette packs.

Fuck, what have I gotten myself into? Sage questioned if it would have been better to turn around and run back into the forest.

When she opened the door a cloud of cigarette smoke slapped her harshly across the face, catching her off-guard. She was frustrated, she had already inhaled enough smoke this evening and now this asshole was just adding to it.

The man grabbed a notebook and began fanning it back and forth, apologizing while making an attempt to clear the rest of the smoke from the car. It would have been a kind gesture had the car not fought to hold onto at least ten years worth of smoke within the fabric of its soul.

"Where ya headed, miss?" He smiled big enough that Sage could see he was missing several teeth.

She grasped the sticky seat belt and pulled it across her body, securing herself in while also envisioning herself flying through the windshield if they got into a wreck.

That might actually be a better option. Sage kept her thoughts to herself.

He was an older gentleman looking to be in his late fifties, who reeked of body odor, the aroma telling a story of how he had most likely not showered in weeks.

Sage flung her head backward and stared at the ceiling of the car looking to the universe to give her guidance, there was nothing.

"Anywhere but here." Sage coughed the words out, bringing her attention back down to stare out the windshield, hoping to come up with a destination that would bring her a peace that she hadn't experienced in years.

"Ya hungry? You look like you could use something to eat." The man chuckled.

I guess I missed that joke. Sage attempted a half-assed smile while he continued howling.

As he gathered his composure, she reached into her pocket hoping to find some spare change.

Instead of finding any money, Sage noticed something else had made its way into her pocket that she didn't remember putting there.

The locket . She couldn't believe it, the sign she had been wishing for.

"I'm good, but would you mind stopping at my friend’s house so that I can grab a few of my things before we go wherever it is that we are going?

" Sage was hesitant, part of her hoping he would agree and the other part of her hoping he would say he was on a deadline and needed to get on the road.

With the current conditions of his car she didn't feel like there was anywhere that he needed to be.

"Sure thing, sweetheart." He let out a loud belch as he put his car into gear and started driving down the road. "The name's Troy, what's yours?" Sage quickly went back and forth debating whether or not she was going to give Troy her real name or not, though technically Sage was already an alias.

"Sage." She slipped out reluctantly.

Troy nodded his head back and forth, repeating her name. She assumed he was just trying to make sure he wouldn't forget it, but at the same time it made him appear a little more off kilter and she found herself growing more concerned by the minute.

"So, where's this friend of yours live?"

"The apartments right down the street." Sage wasn't good at answering questions off the top of her head, let alone giving directions.

She couldn't remember the name of the of the streets she needed.

On the bright side, they were the only apartments on this side of Acadia, and only about seven minutes away.

The rest of the drive was silent. Sage spent the last few minutes in the car trying to devise a plan that would help her get out of her current situation, but no matter how hard she thought, there was nothing that made enough sense.

She grasped the locket tighter, changing her mindset to the what if ?

What if Hans had already made it back to his apartment and here she was showing up?

She had to be prepared.

As they pulled into the apartment complex, Sage noticed that the crime scene tape had finally been pulled from around the late Mrs. Jones' patio. "I didn't mean to kill her," she whispered.

"What was that?" a look of concern crossed Troy's face.

"Oh, nothing. " Sage offered up an innocent smile, shocked that he was able to hear her. She looked up towards Hans' apartment and noticed that it was dark inside. Whew, I beat him , she thought, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

Troy parked his car and told her she needed to be quick.

Sage knew that time was precious because Hans would surely return soon.

Deep down her nerves were on fire, much like her home.

She was unsure what was going to happen after she left the apartment.

Sage closed the door of Troy's beater and hoped that she looked confident walking up the stairs, like she was supposed to be there.

Once inside, Sage turned on the living room light, and quickly glanced around, searching for a sign if Hans had been home yet.

Nothing.

She did a quick once over, trying to decide where she was going to leave his gift.

The box on the kitchen counter caught her eye, that was it, she reached in her pocket pulling out the locket.

Sage found a piece of paper and pen in what appeared to be a junk drawer and wrote a quick message to let him know that he hadn't won.

In this moment, Sage hated him, yet, through the hurt she still loved him deeply. "It isn't over. We aren't over." She slammed her fist down onto the countertop.

She kissed the paper, leaving the perfect black lip print on it, placing it on the counter next to the locket.

Before closing the drawer, something caught Sage's eye.

It's perfect . She pulled a pocket knife from the drawer and slipped it into her own pocket hoping she wouldn't have to use it, but it created a sense of security knowing it was there.

"Goodbye, for now, my love." Sage shut off the light and pulled the door closed behind her as she exited the apartment, wishing she could see the look on Hans' face as soon as he got home and realized his plan had failed.

He'd be coming for her, soon enough.