Gravity - By Abigail Boyd Page 0,3

didn't have that kind of stamina, so I struggled to keep up. My gaze remained locked on her as she sped away from me. The sound of my frantic footsteps hitting the pavement filled my ears, like drums.

"Wait!" I shouted, but she didn't hear me. Up ahead, the road dead-ended, but she didn't stop running. Past that were the trees that bordered the woods. I was sure she would stop, but again I was wrong. Like a colorful butterfly, she flew in between the giant trunks of the shaggy hickory trees. I didn't have a net, nothing to catch her. And so I followed her.

Unseen dangers threatened me in the dark of the woods. Sharp sticks scratched my bare arms below my t-shirt sleeves. Branches whipped my cheeks, snagging in my long hair. It was as if they were trying to stop me.

Jenna stood out as a bright spot, flickering in the trees ahead. I felt like if I lost sight of her for a moment, she would be gone forever. I was in the middle of my only chance. That thought kept me going, even as every breath burned, and my legs felt like they would give out. The sound of my lungs expanding and contracting took over the tattoo my feet were beating on the ground.

The only two people in the world at that moment were Jenna and I. She knew her destination, I could tell, as I crashed through the foliage that slowed me down. But whether she wanted me to follow her, or whether she was trying to get away, I didn't know. I wanted to shout again, but I knew the effort would be futile. I didn't have enough oxygen anyway.

Picking up speed with every step, she gracefully darted between trees and rocks. I stumbled over a low stump, crying out in pain as I nearly fell. But I got up again and kept moving, trying to ignore the throb in my shin. The woods seemed never-ending, even though I knew better. I'd been there many times, the dark green leaves hiding me like a secret. As little girls Jenna and I played in these same woods, our laughter echoing off the tree trunks. It seemed like a different world now.

A clearing appeared ahead, past an archway of bowed branches, grasping each other like a handshake. She ducked through them and disappeared. Panic seized me. I had lost her. I wasn't fast enough. Defeat threatened to swallow me alive, a fish in the mouth of a whale.

But as I came out on the other side, I caught sight of her again. In front of me wound a dirt road, the surface black as if wet with rain. The unnatural purple clouds rolled by, like a strong thunderstorm pushed them in. Trees made a wall on my side of the road, and I couldn't see the space I had just come through.

Jenna didn't stop like I did, I realized too late. A huge, wrought iron fence stood across the road, with a tall gate. To my surprise, she pulled open the gate and continued to run on the property beyond. The gate slammed shut behind her with a deafening clunk.

I ran across the street and slammed into the closed gate, harder than I intended to. The bars struck my chest, skin stinging beneath my shirt. Frustration rushed into my throat, wanting to roar out. The gate rattled but didn't budge. Wrapping my fingers around the solid bars, I tried to pull the barrier open, but it seemed to be locked. A copper colored symbol sat in the center, like a bundle of sticks.

The fence wrapped all the way around the property as far as I could see. I stepped back and walked from side to side, like a caged animal. Instead of wanting to get out, I wanted inside. But there was no break in the endless duplication of iron bars. No way in.

Jenna! I tried to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. My tongue stuck behind my teeth. But she finally stopped running, standing still. There was no slowing down; one moment she ran at full speed and the next she was at a dead stop. I wondered if she heard me, after all, when I didn't hear myself. Only then did I notice the tall building that stood before her. I recognized it after a moment as the Dexter Orphanage, one of our town's supposedly haunted sites. Haunted for tourism, since