Chapter 3: Running Wild (Mort)

I don't know how long I ran, for I just wanted to get as far away as possible. Eventually a combination of fatigue, and probably blood loss, brought me to a stop. I found a small wooded area in a small park, and hid in the bushes, and I must have passed out.

I woke up in the dark, with a horrible pain in what remained of my left hand. I looked at the bloody stump in horror. I knew it needed at the very least, bandaging, if not surgery, but I could not get help in the village. Dr Benson might have helped me, but he was surely being watched now.

I remembered I still had the gloves I had earlier used to hide my hands. I used one as a rudimentary bandage. The pain was unimaginable, I almost fainted, but managed to hold on as I pulled the bandage tight. I slipped the other glove on to hide my other hand. I checked my face, but the cut seemed to have sealed itself, as no more wet blood flowed when I tentatively touched it.

I decided I had to get further away before they began searching for me in earnest. I pulled my blood splattered hood up and ran on. I kept going as long as I could, keeping hidden as much as possible. I have no idea what time it was when I had to stop again, but by this point, I had no idea where I was. I managed to find another bush to hide in behind a bench, and collapsed.

I woke to the sound of voices, two teenage girls were sitting on the bench eating burgers.

I suddenly realised how hungry I was. I couldn't let them discover me, so I kept as still as possible, fighting the pain surging through me from a combination of my ruined hand and my awkward position. They chattered away for a while about their boyfriends, and school. I felt more of the odd sensations. Though they faded in and out, the pain I was in made it hard to focus. The smell of their food was making my stomach growl, and I was sure they would hear it. Eventually they got up, threw their rubbish in a nearby bin, and moved off.

When I was sure they had gone, I sneaked out of my hiding place. I hesitated a moment, then swallowing my pride, had a look to see if there were any leftovers. One of the girls must have been on a diet or something, as there was over half a burger left. I nabbed it and ate greedily, too hungry to care about the fact I was eating stuff from the rubbish.

After finishing my meal I continued on my run. As I ran, I tried to think of a destination, but I couldn't think of anywhere to go. In the end, I decided to make for the nearest big town and try and find one of the post-MORFS centres. Maybe they would be able to help. It was a long shot, but I had no where else to go.

I stopped for the night in an abandoned barn, hiding as best I could in some old boxes. Despite the cold, and uncomfortable floor, I passed out almost immediately. Nightmares of mobs with pitch forks led by my father wielding a shotgun, haunted me during the night. I awoke stiff and cold, my missing hand throbbing. I decided to check the wound.

After a painful few minutes easing my make shift bandage off, I found my stump seemed to have completely healed over, with a layer of what looked like skin. This surprised me a bit, it couldn't have been more than 12 hours since it was raw bloody flesh. Surely it took longer than that to heal over. It didn't look infected as far as I could tell, so I refitted my bandage, and then was on my way.

The next few days followed a similar pattern, days of dodging through shadows trying to remain unseen, grabbing food where and when I could find it, then sleeping wherever I thought I would be safe for the night. I was terrified that some one would see me and hurt me. Fear of capture and loathing at my grotesque twisted body gnawed at me, driving me into deep despair. I spent many nights crying myself to sleep, and when sleep did come, it was filled with nightmares of what might happen if I was found.

My first close call came the next Saturday, when I was on the outskirts of a small town. I was trying to find somewhere to sleep for the night, and didn't notice the man approaching.

The first I knew, was a voice behind me. "What yer doing out here at this time little girl.", a deep voice slurred drunkenly.

I spun round, seeing a large man standing behind me, holding a bottle of something. On seeing me head on, his eyes went wide. I got a fleeting burst of the odd sensations again, a strange pulse, then a weird series waves of heat, different from the heat I had felt before.

"Ur one of dem freaks!" he said. "Still you look pretty good, even if you are one of them animals. I think you'd be pretty good in the sack, wild like the animal you are, and I gets to be the one tames you."

As he leered at me and started towards me, I ran. He was pretty fast, even for a drunk guy. I was managing to get out ahead, when I made a mistake, and ran down a dead end. I franticly searched for a way out but there was no exit, so I tried to hide in a small pile of rubbish. I managed to cover some of my body before I heard my pursuer rounding the corner. I froze, my head and upper body still exposed. I had to hope that he didn't spot me. I focused on keeping still and remaining unseen.

"I know you're in here, girly" he shouted. "Make it easy on your self, give up. It won't be so bad, you'll enjoy it once ur broke in."

He moved into the alleyway, slowly getting closer, I stopped breathing. He walked past me and up to the end of the alley. My heart was racing. After searching around for a bit he turned back, and began walking back out. I felt a surge of relief, until he suddenly turned and looked right at me. My heart felt like it was going to explode, I was frozen in terror.

He took a step towards me then stopped, muttered something, then ran out of the alleyway.

I couldn't believe it! How had he missed me? I waited a bit till I was sure he was gone, then took a few calming breaths, and my heart rate began slowing. I pondered how he had missed me, even given the relatively low light.

Then I spotted a reflection of the wall where I was hiding, in a window opposite, I did a double take. I could see the wall, the rubbish, but there was no sign of me at all. I shifted to get a better look. Suddenly a section of the wall and pavement in the reflection shimmered, and rubbish moved seemingly on its own. The section was vaguely girl shaped. I looked down at myself. My body was not there. I moved my hand up to look at it and saw the same shimmery outline of an arm move up. It looked like whatever was behind it, I could only see it due to the movement, and even then it was like glass, or water.

I moved closer to the window to get a better look, seeing a shimmery outline of a girl approach the reflection. She almost looked transparent. When I stopped moving, the shimmery effect vanished, and so did the girl. Slowly my mind pieced together what was going on.