Hunted

Standing silently amidst an endless field of evergreen trees, Katie Novos shut her eyes and let the breeze drift over her sticky skin. Her tired muscles relaxed slowly in the quiet calm, and for a time she just stayed there, swaying in the light wind. This was where she came to think, to get away from the stench of humanity, and the city; this was where her problems ceased to exist for a few moments. Katie almost reached that perfect place between sleeping and waking when a sudden series of splintering crashes filled the air. Her eyes snapped open.
Was it him? Instantly alert, Katie quickly slipped behind an ancient tree, wincing as a few needling pines jabbed into her lower back. A single car horn split the sudden silence, wailing through the trees with an eerie echo, and Katie used the cover to pad across the underbrush towards the disturbance. What finally came into sight was a badly damaged jeep; covered with pine needles and mud and housing a lone woman, apparently unconscious, pressed into the steering wheel, a stream of blood pooling onto the dashboard from a deep cut in her forehead. Katie didn't recognize her, though that wasn't saying much: most of her features were obscured in shadow, while her shoulder-length brown hair covered the rest of her face. It couldn't be him. He'd never send someone this foolish. Would he? Katie cautiously tread through the forest floor, making her way to the prone woman's figure.
She was still alive, but wouldn't be for long with the amount of blood she was losing. Gently pulling away the woman's hair, she stared silently at the woman's features; noting with interest the tear-stained, bruised cheeks. A quick once-over showed several more bruises, varying in age from yellow to dark purple, all over the exposed skin on her arms and legs. Several poor-looking suitcases were jammed into the back along with the remains of several days worth of fast food. She'd been running somewhere, fast. But from what? Or whom?
Katie's thoughts trailed back several years, when she'd shared many of the bruises this woman did. That's how she recognized what made them so easily. A fist always told. Shuddering slightly, she forcibly pushed away her macabre thoughts and warily considered the woman before her. She'd been taught firsthand how deceiving looks could be, though she wouldn't bet this woman was capable of running far, let alone putting up a fight.
Pulling out a pair of handcuffs, Katie chained the woman to the steering wheel before taking off at a fast jog towards her own slate gray Honda. Transferring the woman and her belongings to the car took considerable effort, and by the time she was satisfied, the sun was already quite low in the sky. Katie glanced around once more at the evergreen field. Finding everything quiet and still, she slowly navigated her Civic onto the gravel road that led back towards what passed as civilization.
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The woman's name was Muriel, and someone named Thomas apparently filled her nightmares. Katie was at least grateful her patient had slept through the stitches without anesthetic, though she'd considered doping her up just to stop the frightened whimpers. Whatever Muriel had been running from had completely and utterly terrified her. Although Katie was no longer afraid for her safety, she still kept the woman handcuffed to the bars of the headboard. A thorough search through her luggage had revealed nothing more than worn clothing and several photo albums filled with a smiling, curly-haired young girl.
Across the room, the bright red lights of her clock read three in the morning. Katie rubbed her temples, closing her bleary eyes while she considered what to do. As if reminding her of it's presence, her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and Katie quickly pulled it out, glancing distastefully at the name on the screen. She would be the only one calling this early in the morning. Let it ring. Ten minutes later the phone was vibrating with a low hum, and with a surly motion Katie grabbed the phone and flipped it open.
“It's three ten in the morning, Sylvia. Stop calling me.”