“ you’re safe... “
𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑨 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑹 𝑨𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑨 𝑵𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑴𝑨𝑹𝑬 .
even in death , isaiah looms over her with booze on his breath & a blade in his hand . he has since the day she was able to escape from underneath him & run . run . run . even in her slumber ; cowering under the darkness of his shadow , wandering the woods that hide his house from the rest of the world -- the trees with their reaching branches seem to thicken the farther she moves into them . wooden limbs twist & pulsate like the tentacles of some creature which lurks in the deep sea , they block ethel's path & lead her down ones she swears weren't there before while isaiah's footsteps echo from everywhere at once & yet nowhere at all . she feels like alice losing her head ; surroundings grow bigger & smaller & he's coming , he's coming .
the blanket of leaves & brush on forest floor opens up while the hands of young women -- the hands of isaiah's past victims , caked in dried dirt & blood just like hers -- grab at ethel's bare feet , claw at her ankles . she stumbles & kicks helplessly as thundrous footsteps grow in volume until she hits the thick trunk of an oak tree . ethel looks up , the sight above her tearing a scream from her already raw throat ; the stiff corpses of each & every late cain hang from nooses like ornaments . through a curtain of tears , she spots her grandmother who died when she was seven , her daddy's daddy in every way like his son . that of her father is the most recent .
a warm wetness splashes ethel's cheek & she looks to see her pursuer -- handsome even with blood staining his clothes -- slashing through the army of limbs with his blade to reach her .
❛ there's a spot just for you right beside him , baby . ❜ his blue eyes are icy & ravenous as he soaks up ethel's fear & the sugar coating his tone just as it had when he'd reeled her in with that damn smile of his from the side of the road in texas has begun to melt .
the metal of his knife's blade shoots a sharp brightness into ethel's tearful eyes as he raises it .
❛ please , no ! ❜
she shoots upright , cold & clammy under a layer of sweat , breathing shallow & rapid . elizabeth's voice sounds as though she's underwater at first , & it takes ethel a few moments of panicked confusion before she realizes the other is right beside her . ethel's hands -- sweaty , but clean -- dive into her hair that's come loose from its ponytail in her night terror . she fights with the tightness in her chest until it's eased some , mumbling , ❛ 'm safe . . . 'm safe . . . ❜











