Dawn's Darkest Hour

John had the weapon aimed for the back of Nicole’s head so when she fell forward, he couldn’t stop the momentum of his downward plunge. The edge of the steel blade whistled by her head dangerously close to her right temple but it sank harmlessly into the log that had tripped her. It threw him completely off balance and he fell heavily to the ground beside her, but before she could scramble away from him, his groping fingers crawled over her arms until they came to rest on her chest. He grabbed her breasts maliciously with strong fingers digging painfully into the tender skin. “Girlie, you feel so good! It’d be a shame to waste you before I can sample the goods!” Nicole squirmed, trying her best to get away from the man’s bruising arms, but his grip was so strong across her chest that she couldn’t catch her breath. He was so close she could feel his putrid breath against her cheek so she jerked her head back trying to breathe in fresh air. “Want to feel me inside you, girlie?” he asked gruffly as he tried to press her back against the ground with his whole body covering hers; she fought wildly, desperately trying to free herself. “No,” she screamed as she swung the heavy shoulder bag at him with all her weight, hitting him soundly across the face, then she rammed her knee up against his groin, rolling him over on the ground with a groan. In that brief instant she was up and running again. She had not gone more than a dozen feet when she heard him panting behind her once more but she could see he was almost bent over double. She knew she had to do something quick…there was no way she was going to be his willing victim. She reached one arm above her head in a frantic appeal for help as the clinging branches of the trees clawed tenaciously back at her. Then she had a brilliant idea! Some of the trees had low heavy limbs. If she could just hide in the tree’s shadow and hold one limb back long enough, maybe she could let it go at just the right time to knock him off his feet. That would give her a few minutes reprieve anyway; regardless of the outcome it was worth a chance and the only one she had left now. She ran until she found a limb substantial enough. Luckily, the trees were thick and heavy there so he couldn’t see her standing beneath the tree. She waited until she could almost touch him then released the tightly held limb. Miraculously, it worked! The full force of the branch caught him across the bridge of his nose with a hard crunch, breaking the bone. He sprawled heavily to the ground with only one grunt of surprised, outraged pain! “Hello, John; meet Mr. Tree!” She muttered between clenched teeth. She didn’t stay to see if he moved after hitting the ground. She ran on, unmindful of the pain in the bottoms of her bare feet as she stepped on rocks and hard roots. She ran until she could run no more, heading downhill the entire way. Her breath began to lag as her feet grew heavy; her mind whirled dizzily. She stopped to draw in a tight, ragged breath. She realized that the drug she’d been given had finally hit her. She knew that she was supposed to have blacked out before John caught up with her, but their plan hadn’t worked. Either the medicine hadn’t hit her fast enough or she had run faster than they thought she could in the dark. She only wished she could hit John just one more time for Leslie! The night around her swirled and dimmed alternately as her head reeled and her senses grew numb. She knew she was going to black out and fought it wildly, but soon it took complete possession of her. She saw the swirling dark waters of the mountain creek then slumped forward, rolling helplessly from the bank with a splash. As she hit the icy water she fought to pull her head above the surface before everything turned black and she sank into peaceful oblivion.