The bark bit into her palms. Rough. Splintering. Real.
Bella gasped, her chest heaving as she clutched the tree like it was the only thing keeping her from collapsing into the mud. Her legs burned. Her lungs screamed. Silver hair clung to her sweaty face in dirty, matted strands that had lost all their shine.
'Run. Keep running. Don't stop—'
But her body wouldn't obey anymore.
Her knees buckled. She slid down the tree trunk, the rough bark scraping against her back through the thin, tattered rags she wore. The same rags she'd arrived in. The same filthy, torn cloth that marked her as nothing. As no one.
She hit the wet forest floor hard. Her ass sank into cold mud mixed with rotting leaves. The dampness seeped through immediately, soaking into her skin.
Bella didn't care.
