The night air hit Victor like a slap as he stumbled down a dirt path, his breath coming in sharp bursts. The stolen car's engine still roared faintly behind him, the smell of gasoline clinging to his hands. His heartbeat was loud, too loud and every rustle in the trees sounded like pursuit.
He stopped near the edge of the woods, the darkness swallowing him whole. The moonlight was thin, broken by shifting branches, and his reflection in a puddle at his feet looked like that of a stranger.
He had escaped, he let out a laugh.
The thought burned in his skull, fierce and intoxicating.
He was finally Free.
For the first time in months, no walls. No restraints. No guards shouting his name. No Clara or Julia telling him what to do.
Just the night and the noise in his head, the one that whispered her name.
Lynn.
