Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Thud.
They moved with predatory grace, their sleek bodies gleaming in the moonlight as they came to stand at Adrian’s feet.
Their dark eyes fixed on me with unnerving intensity.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, my voice shaking so badly I could barely form the words. I scrambled backward on my hands and knees, putting distance between myself and these beasts. My bare foot scraped against the rough ground but the pain didn’t even register this time. “Adrian, please. You can’t do this.”
He watched me with that same empty expression, his head tilting slightly to the side as if studying a particularly interesting insect.
“A Doberman’s bite force is approximately 305 pounds per square inch,” he said, his voice flat and emotionless. “Thay have what is called a scissor bite, where their teeth align closely to create a slicing action, making their bite highly effective for damage. They can reach speeds of up to 32 miles per hour. Faster than you, certainly.”
What… what…
My stomach dipped with horror.
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
How could he be so calm?
How could he just stand there… and be so… inhuman? So heartless?
I shook my head, disbelief and panic mingling in my chest. “You’re lying. This is just another one of your games. You can’t do this… I’m your wife. Please, Adrian. Please.”
Adrian’s lips twitched, the only sign that he’d heard me. “You beg very prettily,” he said, his tone devoid of any warmth. “Now I want to hear you scream. Run as far and as fast as you can.”
A sick sense of dread clawed at my throat as I continued to back away, distress gripping my chest. “Why are you doing this? I’m s-sorry for what I said in the car. You… you just made me so angry and I spoke without thinking. Adrian, are you listening to me?”
He made a sharp tsking sound, and all three dogs took a step toward me, their hackles rising. I scrambled backward, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.
“These dogs don’t stop. They won’t until they get what they want. But I’ll give you a head start.”
“Adrian…” Tears streamed down my face.
“Run, wife,” he said and the coldness in his voice sent another wave of panic through me.
I looked around wildly, searching for an escape. The house was behind Adrian and the dogs…there was no way I could get past them. The only option was the dark woods that bordered the property, dense and foreboding in the night.
The dogs took another step, their barks echoing in the quiet night.
Something primal took over me. The need to live. To survive.
I turned and ran.
My bare feet pounded against the grass, then hit the rougher terrain at the edge of the woods. Branches and twigs cut into my soles, but I didn’t stop, didn’t slow down.
I couldn’t stop.
Behind me, I could hear the dogs giving chase, their barks growing louder as they closed the distance.
I ran blindly, crashing through underbrush, my dress snagging on branches and tearing as I pushed forward.
My lungs burned with each ragged breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. The darkness of the woods swallowed me, the moonlight barely penetrating the dense canopy above.
A root caught my foot, and I went down hard, pain exploding through my knee and hands as they scraped against the forest floor.
Don’t stop.
I pushed myself up immediately, ignoring the blood I could feel trickling down my leg, and kept running.
I can’t stop.
The barking was closer now, the sound of their paws pounding against the earth. I could hear their panting, could almost feel their hot breath on my heels.
Tears streamed down my face as I pushed myself harder, branches whipping against my arms and face, leaving stinging welts. My chest heaved with each desperate gasp for air, my vision beginning to blur at the edges.
I sobbed and sobbed.
I screamed and screamed.
I stumbled blindly through the darkness, tripping over roots and fallen branches.
“Please,” I cried as I fell, my hands scraping against the rough forest floor. I pushed myself up immediately, ignoring the pain, and ran again. ‘Please… stop.”
My lungs burned, and black spots danced before my eyes.
The world spun around me, darkness creeping in from the edges of my vision. I tried to push myself forward, but my legs wouldn’t obey anymore. Dizziness overwhelmed me.
I fell again and this time, I was unable to rise.
My body had reached its limit.
I couldn’t… breathe.
I couldn’t run anymore.
I couldn’t escape my death.
I tried… I really did.
I tried to survive… I really did.
I tried…
But it wasn’t enough.
It was never enough.
The barking was right behind me now and I lifted my hand to see them coming toward me, their eyes gleaming in the darkness.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Please don’t.”
I never thought what my death would look like.
But I didn’t want to die here.