Hours in the crushing cold was nothing compared to pushing through the darkness toward the unknown. As I trek through the silhouettes of towering trees, what I was leaving behind blazed in the back of my mind. No matter how I tried I couldn't stop the tears from flowing for dear Ethan.

I fought back images of the torturous flames licking at his body and finally engulfing him in their heat, slowly turning him into a pile of smoldering embers along with the rotting wood of the shack. For as long as I could remember, Ethan has been my rock, my strength, my sanity. 

And now he was gone.

His security was nothing but a memory that would forever be linked with the stench of burning wood in the air.

"Ethan," I sobbed as I wandered through the snow, dropping the hatchet somewhere along the way. "Oh, Ethan."

I adjusted the torn fabric I had tied around my hand, allowing the pain from my absent fingers and the ache in my heart to generate tears until I could no longer produce them.

My whining quickly turned into incoherent mumbling as the icy chill of the wind caused shudders to tear through me. Hours of walking was beginning to take its toll on my legs. And the lack of water, warmth, and rest made me a mumbling fool. The only word that escaped my lips had a way of keeping me going. "Ethan."

The howling of the wind through the trees grew louder ahead. And it wasn't until the double lights blinded me that I realized the wind wasn't responsible for the sound, but a vehicle. It slowly curved down the wide street, flooding me in its headlights.

I leaned against a nearby tree, taking the rest my body craved. The sight of the old, beat up truck filled me with a sense of awe as I hadn't seen one in years. A bit of familiarity hit me as I realized the truck would provide the warmth and rest I needed, and a sense of relief replaced every other emotion when the truck stopped in front of me.

"Hey, miss?" the male driver called from the open passenger side window. "You okay? You need help?"

The man was nothing more than a disembodied voice in shadow. Using my vivid imagination, I envisioned him being short, stocky and foreign judging by the accent.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the dryness made my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth. So, I nodded instead, knowing the lights from the truck lit up the area well enough for him to see me.

The door to the driver's side opened and he moved around the front of the car toward me. He was nothing like my imagination intended. Tall, dark, and wearing jeans, a large jacket and a baseball cap, he approached me and pointed to my hand and the bloody fabric I held against my chest. "Were you hurt?" My hand ached and throbbed. I nodded and he took a step forward and reached toward me with one hand. "Here. Let me get you to a hospital?"

I moved forward, staring at his palm before studying his face. His face matched mine as his mocha tinted complexion held very little age spots. His handsome and friendly smile seemed to force its way through his worried gaze as I moved closer.

Kindly, he maintained a comfortable distance while exuding compassion and safety in his demeanor. "Here, get in and make yourself comfortable." He gently escorted me into the truck and quickly entered the driver side. Once in, he adjusted the air vents so the heat was directly on me.

I slumped against my door and sighed from the welcoming warmth. 

"I'm going to help you with your seat belt," he announced before reaching over to grab the strap and secure it. "I have some water. You thirsty?"

I nodded and a half empty bottle slid onto my lap. I drank the entire contents before dropping the plastic to the foot of the seat. "Where ... are you going?" I managed.

"Me? I'm headed to San Diego for work." He put the truck in drive and we began to move. "But you're going to a hospital."

I cleared my throat. "Is Arizona near San Diego?"

"Arizona?" His voice was soft. "You're trying to go to Arizona and not a hospital?"

That was the only place that could provide safety and shelter. The only family I knew about resided in the thriving desert of Arizona. "Yes, please. My family's there."

"I'm going through Arizona, but I would feel better knowing a licensed doctor took a look at you first."

I peeked over my shoulder at him. He seemed like a caring person that wouldn't take me refusing medical treatment lightly. "A doctor is a good, but one in Arizona."

"I don't think you can make it all the way to Arizona, miss." He glanced at my hand and quickly scanned the rest of me with his eyes before briefly locking onto my own. "That's about seven or eight hundred miles from here. Another eight-hour drive or so."

"That's fine."

The gentle sway of the car on the snow-covered road and my exhaustion had me on the brink of sleep. I tried to fight the call to go under as we approached the highway under the moon lit sky. I blinked and images formed in my mind and blended with my most major fears and fantasies.

Thoughts of Owen touching the edge of my mouth with gentle fingers and replacing them with the soft flesh of his moist lips. Pressing his warm body against mine and causing electric shudders to race through me. His lips parting to allow his velvety wet muscle to slide forward and part my lips, meeting my tongue. Our tongues gliding alongside one another's while our bodies do the same. His mouth separating from mine to trail down the slope of my neck and leave a trail of wet kisses down, down, down...

I witness his kisses, staring down into familiar almond shaped brown eyes in the midst of long jet-black hair. Ethan's strands finds its way tangled around my fingers as he brings his lips forward. His voice rattles in the back of my mind. "I love you, Allison..."

"Now touch her there..." Mr. Bryson's words make my teeth ground together. And Ethan's hands are sweaty and rough against my belly. Tears hover on the rim of Ethan's eyelids as Mr. Bryson shouts and startles us. "What the hell's stopping you? Do as you're told, damn it!" I pout and whimper, feeling tension from my clenched teeth in the back of my skull...

"It's ok." Owen's golden gaze replaces Ethan's stare as Owen's slender fingers travel below my navel and disappears beneath the rim of my shorts. "This is love." He smiles and it quickly shifts and transforms into something demonic and mischievous. "Now do as you're told."

Then a sharp pain... I cry out...

I search my mind for a way to stop the searing, throbbing heat.

I spot the shiny steel hatchet above the fireplace mantel.

The hatchet...

Suddenly, the voice of the truck driver rings in my ear. "Do as you're told. Do as you're told. Do as you're told." 

My eyes snapped open.

Sunlight blinded me and I squint, trying to get my bearings.

"Hey, miss." The driver tapped my shoulder.

I jumped, hitting my other shoulder against the inside of the passenger door. "Don't. Stay away!"

"Miss, we're here." He shook his head. "You're at the hospital. You scared the hell out of me, crying in your sleep most of the ride. Now these people can help you. I can't help you anymore."

I adjusted myself in the seat and looked around. The double doors of the hospital's emergency entrance were a few feet away, but I didn't want to enter. I didn't want to face doctors, police, or more strangers with questionable intentions.

All I wanted was my true knight and defender, Ethan. He was the only person I could put my full trust in, the only person who instills me with enough strength to help myself, but he was no longer with me. Tears quickly blurred my vision.

"Miss?" The driver waved his hand to get my attention. "This is as far as I can take you."

Refusing to leave, I shifted in my seat and the sogginess beneath me took my attention as did the strong smell of urine.

When did this happen?

The awareness of the situation brought on a panic that made my heart race. I no longer had control of my bodily functions, my imagination, or my thoughts, and even the driver was trying to influence my actions.

"Did you-?" He stared at my lap and a flash of shock and anger flushed his face.

"Stop staring at me," I demanded, seeing the look in his eyes.

"Miss, you just pissed yourself in my car. In my seat." He reached toward me.

"Stop! Don't touch me."

"I'm unbuckling your seat belt." He leaned closer.

"No, no, no!" I swung my fists at him, pounding him repeatedly in his shoulder, head, and any body part in my space.

"Stop. Stop it." He unfastened my seat belt. "Get out of my truck. You need serious help." He stepped out of the driver side and rushed to the passenger door. I screamed when he opened the door and grabbed my arm. "I'm trying to help you!"

"No." I screamed, seeing Mr. Bryson's angry scowl as he ripped me from the truck.

Others quickly emerged from the hospital's double doors to assist. So many faces, all unknown and unfamiliar, and they were coming for me. My body shook and a high-pitched scream sounded from the pit of my gut.

"Ethan!"

This chapter has been split into two parts. The conclusion continues in the next part. But for now, what's on your mind? Any questions or thoughts before the final chapter?