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GRACE WOKE UP AND FOUND herself bathed in darkness. Light emerged from the far off distance, but it was faint. It steadily moved closer and became brighter.
Grace felt the sensation of flying, as if she was being transported. She became aware of the sound of water flowing freely until it crashed along the bank. A gentle breeze blew through the trees along the bank. It lifted her hair and caressed her skin. Suddenly she was freezing cold. Then her world went dark once more. She was left shivering in the dark. Her throat hurt, and it was hard to breathe.
“Please, don’t hurt me anymore.” She cried out in her mind, “You don’t have to do this.”
There was no fight left in her. She had no spirit or faith left in her soul. She was empty.
She felt herself being lifted into the air once more. The sudden movement caused an excruciating biting pain throughout her body, and she tried to scream. There was no voice to carry out the scream.
Thrown into the water backward, she felt the rocks on the bottom of the bayou floor as they cut into her back. An explosion went off inside of her head. Fireworks burst before her eyes and then there was nothing but darkness once more. Her mouth was forced open, and instantly white hot pain filled her body. The coppery metallic taste of blood filled the back of her throat. It was so hard to breath now. With every gasp of breath, she drew in fire.
Bony fingers tangled themselves in her hair and yanked. Cold water gently swayed across her body. Her eye sockets felt like red hot embers had replaced her eyeballs.
She looked up and saw the shadow of a man. She saw the lunacy in his eyes. Even in the water, she felt the feverish heat radiating from him. His eyes were black, soulless orbs.
The man yelled into the night, “You made me do this. You made me who I am. You were an evil bitch!” He slashed at the night air with his knife. He was shouting, muttering, chanting and enraged. The air was charged with his hatred. His muscles bulged, testing the very limits of his shirt.
If only she could get out of this murky water, she wouldn’t be alone. No one would find her here. She would die all alone. She wanted to go home, but home was far away. Home was a distant memory.
She was exhausted. Maybe, if she laid here a short while, she would gather her strength. Little did she know her body was already lifeless. Her blood ebbed out of her body and mixed with the murky water of the bayou.
Grace walked over to the water’s edge and looked down. The woman lay in the bayou amongst the branches and debris. As Grace stared at the body, the woman suddenly opened her eyelids stared at her with nothing more than hollow eye sockets. Grace bit back a scream. Sadness, pain, and despair surrounded this woman.
Her flesh was already graying, tinged white. Her lips were blue. As she continued to stare at Grace, her mouth formed a silent “O” as she lifted her right arm to point towards the road. She tried to speak, but couldn’t form the words.