Awakening

I didn't know how I got out of that cave, but suddenly I was in the middle of the forest. A single high-pitched tone rang in my ears. My legs were folding under me. Everything within me resonated. I felt my anger and sadness like physical pain, flooding my bones and muscles. I thought that I was prepared to hear the truth in all its ugliness, but I wasn't.

God, I might have been in love with Ash already. I couldn't even think of what would have happened if I had confessed to him. Would he thank me for giving him my heart before taking my life? A dumb, naïve part of me still held to the tiny bit of a chance that killing me was never a part of Ash's plan, that I was never just a tool for him, that I should confront him before deciding that everything he did and said was nothing but a lie. But then wouldn't only a fool do that? Would a prey ask the predator if he was going to kill it?

Whatever was happening inside me, it was getting stronger. My chest heaved and fell rapidly. I greedily