This chapter contains foul language and references to rape, verbal abuse, and others. I will leave a ~~~ to let you know when the worst part starts. Just scroll until you see the *** which means it's over. Thank you.

I walked around to the front of the house to avoid Mark, but he still heard me coming in. "What are you doing home so late?!" he shouted, angry. I tried to ignore him as I inched myself towards the staircase, but sadly he noticed. "Where do you think you're going?!" he shouted, now even angrier than before. I stepped back as I realized how angry he really was. "You're so worthless! You don't deserve to be alive!" he claimed, so angry now that his face was flushed red with anger.

"Go to hell." I whispered defiantly to him trying to be silent all the while. Clearly not silently enough though as he began to fume. "WhAt dId YoU jUsT sAy tO mE?!" he shouted in fury, sounding like an insane man. I quickly turned and ran out the door, but even though he was drunk, Mark was still fast. I ran into the forest, hoping to lose him in the trees but he still followed behind me.

I peered behind my shoulder to see how far behind he was but in doing so I tripped over a large tree root. Mark quickly caught up and before I knew it I was being dragged in the other direction. I quickly regained my senses and kicked him where it mattered most. Mark kneeled over in pain as I got up and raced off, leaving small footprints in the dirt. Marks form became smaller and smaller as I ran to my safe-haven.

When I arrived, I quickly climbed up and in my second home. My ankle throbbed and I realized that the root had done more damage than I'd originally thought. I grabbed the first-aid kit and go to work on getting it treated and properly wrapped. Then, I laid down right there on the old, worn out couch and fell into a dreamless sleep.

I awoke around midnight to the sound of splashing water and I immediately shot up and made my way to the window. There outside my shelter was Mark. He appeared to be washing a cut on his face but that wasn't important right now. Next to him appeared to be a can of- was that gasoline?! I squinted through the darkness and my fear was only confirmed. What did he need gasoline for?

"How did he find us?" I asked Shadow, worriedly. "Are you really that dumb?" she replied. "I really don't know!" I whisper-shouted, peering out the window at Mark. "You're dumb self left footprints in the dirt." She said, irritated. I suppose it made sense, if I'd left footprints he could've easily followed them here. But if that's the case, why does he have gasoline and why isn't he in here?

"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot." Shadow whispered, most likely face-palming. "What?" I asked. "HeS gOnNa sEt tHe pLaCe oN fIrE aNd KILL uS!" Shadow screamed, irritated. "Oh." I replied after a few seconds. I glanced out the window again and observed Mark. How did he go from hanging out with me all the time to trying to kill me? I peered at the clock and the bright numbers flashed 1:03am. It was way too early for all this.

"What are we going to do?" Shadow questioned. "I don't know. We can't stay here though. He'll hurt us." I replied, unsure. There was one thing I was sure of though, I wasn't going down without a fight. With this I began to form a plan.

I had several ideas. Leave and run, push him in the pond, wait it out, even attempt to take the gasoline. None of these ideas seemed good enough though. They had too many flaws. I couldn't abandon my shelter, else he may burn it. But I couldn't stay inside it or he'd burn me and the shelter. I'd have to leave at some point.

I didn't have very much time to plan. Mark was going to attack soon and I had to be ready. Then, an idea struck. I opened a drawer and pulled out a small object. "This will work." I said calmly.

I went over to the window and located Mark. "Only three shots." I whispered. At this point, Shadow was asleep and she probably wasn't waking up for a long time. I pulled the rubber band back, put my pebble on it, and let go, holding tightly to the sling-shot.

The pebble soared towards Mark but a splash of water told me I missed. "Two more." I whispered. Mark looked around confused as I got ready to fire again. I released the second pebble and watched. It zipped towards him and hit him right in the chest. It was then he looked up and saw me.

"YOU!" he shouted. "Me." I whispered, scared. He jumped up enraged and I quickly retreated and grabbed a baseball bat. I couldn't stay inside so I ran out the door. He ran towards me and I swung with all the strength I could muster. "Stupid kid." He said. He held the bat in his hand and tossed it behind him. "Did you really thing a stupid sling-shot or a bat could save you?" he questioned sinisterly.

The weight of the world fell on my shoulders. My stomach dropped and my hands fell to my side. Of course. This wasn't a movie. This wasn't a book or a play. This was real life. I felt like I had just been punched in the gut. A tear rolled down my face followed by another and another. The tears kept coming, but not a sound left my mouth.

I'd spent too much time crying to see it coming. The bat hit me in the face and I fell over. Again and again, the bat came down and yet no sound left, only tears. By the time he'd finished, bruises covered my body, blood seeped from several cuts and an unbearable pain came from my left leg.

"You deserve this." He told me. I looked up at him and with all the air I had left said "Fuck you." He balled his hands in anger and punched me. But then his face lit up and a sick smirk fell over him. "As you wish" he said sweetly. But the angry glint in his eyes and the smirk on his face told me he wasn't being sweet.

~~~

"You should feel honored. Not many people get this opportunity." He said. "You're sick! I'm your sister!" I yelled. "I don't have a sister." He gritted out. "You're lucky, it's not often a slut like you gets to fuck someone as great as me." He claimed. "Go to hell." I sneered.

This continued on until finally he got tired of "chatting" and that's when I realized how dire this situation was. "Life isn't a movie. There are no fairy tales. I don't get to live happily ever after." I thought.

He began peeling off my clothes as I struggled to fight him off, but he hit me every time I moved. Bruises and cuts littered my body. Finally my will to fight diminished and he had his way with me. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I realized I wasn't getting out of this alive.

***

He grabbed the gasoline ad drenched me in it. I coughed some up, and one last time said "Go. To. Hell." As another tear slipped out of my eye. I couldn't move. The pain was agonizing. Shadow was awake now, but even she couldn't do anything.

He lit the match. "Now you'll know what it feels like in Hell." He said, throwing the fiery match at my beaten and unmoving body, already drenched in gasoline. It was at this moment I began to wonder what events had lead me here: beaten on the forest floor, covered in gasoline and about to be set on fire. How was I not dead already?

The pain was unbearable. Red flames licked at my skin and the heat seemed to melt off my face. I screamed out in pain. "I'm sorry." Shadow whispered. "It's okay." I said back softly, a tear making its way down my face, yet again.

My eyes fluttered shut as I took one last look at the forest I'd loved so much. Mark spat on my still body and kicked me one last time. "You deserved this." He scoffed, picking me up and throwing me in the pond. Water filled my lungs as I sank deeper and deeper into the dark water.

"I guess this is where it ends." I thought. "I guess so." Shadow replied. I sunk deeper and the surface grew further and further from my reach. "It's over now." I said sadly. "This is the end." Shadow cried. But where every story ends there is a new beginning.

A/N Thank you for reading! Chapter 4 is already done and I'll be uploading it next week!