Her heartbeat seemed to roar in the silent night. Her hands were numb from the snow that she was forced to dig through in order to escape. Her short legs could only carry her so far until they gave out and that is where she found herself. Lost, she was lost in the forest that surrounded the log cabin that housed the monsters. The only trail she could see were blood drops that had fallen and bounced onto the pure white snow. Her body craved warmth, but her mind told everything within her to keep walking. She could hear the hound dogs breathing down her neck. She cursed at the sudden outburst of courage felt before she broke out. She didn’t have a plan, she didn’t have anyone to live with, and she most certainly didn’t know how to make it on her own. She was prepared to die out here.
    She managed to find a cave that had been abandoned by some sort of pack animal. Finally sheltered from the chilling winter air, her stomach rumbled with hunger. Her mind warned her body to stay awake, yet her eyelids seemed to be weighed down too much to listen. Soon she found herself adrift in some dream. He hovered over her bed, red eyes glowing with anger, and teeth bared like a rabid dog. Her screams could be heard in the living room; however, the wife was almost as terrible as her husband. She loved the illusion of control more than she loved her husband. Their marriage was fast, because why would he say no to her with a gun pointed at his temple. The wife often found the young girl in the yard, tending to the garden. The wife’s elastic long arms gripped the girl’s hair, yanking her down to the earth so hard an earthquake would erupt. The girl could taste dirt for weeks after an encounter with the wife. The woman had two heads. One for the delivery man, brave enough to carry the packages through the woods to the haunted house, and the second was for the girl. These people were monsters, and no one even knew how terrible they were.
    She had woken to tears in her eyes. She was terrified that she would have to return home to the monsters. She was hopeful to find her family. She hadn’t always lived with those monsters. The rain poured that day, so her school had moved recess into the gym. There were two new helpers and one of them happened to be the wife. Recently losing her own daughter, the wife ached for someone to have. She saw the young girl and stole her away from the life she knew. The wife didn’t love the original daughter, so she didn’t love this new one. She planned to work the new one to death just like she did to her daughter. The young girl could remember pieces of her old life. She still could hear the sweet musical voice of a woman that would hold her when she cried out about the monsters under her bed. If only she knew then that there were worse monsters in the world than the imaginary ones.
    The night was coming to an end fast, and that meant they would soon find out that she had left in the middle of the night. She was too tired to move, but her heart knew she must get up. She stumbled to the entrance of the cave. She would take this journey one step at a time. Her clothes were torn and tattered, but she imagined the perfect outfit that would be bought once she was safe. Her stomach ached from the beginning stages of starvation, but she concocted the delicious meal that would soon be devoured. Her muscles were sore and her skin was dirty, but her mind went to the warmest bath that would not only clean her but also her soul. She had made it another mile past the cave. She could hear the cars zooming on the highway. She was close to town. She was close to her happy ending.
    The couple awoke in the night from a feeling in their gut that told them to check on the young girl. They slithered down the hall only to find their maid had vanished. The hound dogs were gathered to collect the scent and then they left. They walked all night, but couldn’t find her. The husband yearned to touch the young girl once more while the wife desired to hear her yelps once more. Too tired to keep searching, the couple was about to give up on the search. They would simply steal another girl. That was until they saw her staggering through the forest. She was headed straight for the highway. She would be lost forever if they couldn’t stop her. The hounds were released to stop the young girl.
    She froze at the rage filled barks that were coming from behind her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to break down, and she prayed for death to come. Her legs didn’t agree with that kind of mentality. She was running toward the highway, and no one was going to stop her. The couple ran after, stopping at the sea of cars that she was running through. She was like a fish weaving through the rocks in a river. The couple followed, needing to keep this one. The husband’s pant leg had gotten caught on rubbish. He cried out for help, but the wife smirked as a car rammed into the man that she never loved. The girl was almost to the end of the highway, but the wife was only a few feet behind her. She shouted at the girl to stop, but nothing could stop her. The wife somehow managed to shove the girl onto the ground, but she didn’t see the massive truck hurtling towards her. The wife died with a scowl painted on her face. The girl’s body was too weak to get up. She made it as far as she could. She was released from those beasts, and she could die happy. She smiled up at the sky as the life was taken out of her. She had finally received her happy ending.