Stories by D: Lost and Afraid

Jason's SUV vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. It just disappeared into thin air. I rubbed my eyes in shock - as if that was going to help me see better. I felt like a stupid character in a cartoon; like when the coyote was always bested by that smarmy roadrunner. In this case, I was the foolish coyote with Acme dynamite in my hands - and it was getting ready to explode. I was so enraged that Jason would just leave like that. The audacity to show up and just leave like he did was enough to make me want to get in my vehicle and leave Bridget behind. After all, I wasn't responsible for her. I was paid to do a job, and I did it. I was not paid to continue on this ridiculous romp. I forgot for a second that Bridget had become provoked a few minutes ago, for some unknown reason (unknown to me), and attacked me. I had my back to her. I quickly turned around, but it was too late; she had run at me again, this time, she was wielding a large pointed stick. By the time Bridget got close enough to me, I couldn't move. I felt a pain in the side of my belly. I looked down and saw nothing, but the pain was present. I ran away as fast as I could - even as the pain was bearing down on me and causing me to get dizzy. I was running in a meandering manner, remembering from active shooter training that running in a zig-zag, random manner makes a target less easy to hit. I figured it also applied when running from a crazed person. I got to a place that appeared dense in foliage; in other words . . .  more trees. So, I headed in that direction hoping to be protected by the thick tree coverage. I was still zig-zagging when I saw a huge tree with a large opening in its trunk, like a goosepen. I quickly decided to seek refuge in the bore. I grabbed my stomach and noticed blood on my hands. The "crazy bitch" had stabbed me hard enough to penetrate my skin. It was too dark to notice how large the stab wound was. The hint of glimmer from the crescent moon was barely enough to allow me to notice the red of my blood, but the light was not enough for me to scan the damage done to my belly. I was getting sleepy, not from being tired but more likely from the blood loss. I knew I was going to pass out. I was scared that Bridget would end up finding me, and I would be too fatigued or unconscious to fight her off. Deep, unabated fear set in, and I had no plan-of-action - or knowledge that I would even survive this maniacal event.