The Cave - Age 12
The cave smelled of damp earth and decay, but it was better than home. Maya pressed herself against the cold stone wall, her thin body shaking from more than just the autumn chill. Three days she'd been hiding here, surviving on berries and stream water, telling herself that anything was better than watching her father's fists connect with her face again. Same way he had been with her mum when she was alive.
She'd been wrong.
The stranger who found her had cruel eyes and hands that reached for her with terrible intent. Maya tried to run, but her legs were weak from hunger and fear. She stumbled, fell, and heard his laughter echo off the cave walls.
"Please," she whispered, but the word came out as barely a breath.
"Don't worry pretty little thing, I'll go easy on you"
