She was out of breath...

The cold morning air hit her straight in the face but that was hardly surprising, usually that was what the temperature is early in the morning, but all Jane Jensen could concentrate on was escaping.

Her mind screamed at her to run at a rapid pace. She was being persecuted by god knows whom. All she knew was that she had to find help.Fast!

The men pursuing her could be killers or psychopaths for all she knew. God knows why she had the thought to go out for a run in the first place, all alone without any protection.

The forest loomed all around her, trees surrounding in every direction making it impossible for her to identify which path to follow, not even a single trail in sight to make it easy for her. The heavy footsteps suddenly apprised behind her, the men seemed to be closing in on her. There were three men altogether, from what she could tell, the trio were dressed in black, not to mention heavily built and they reeked of alcohol, presumably drunk.

Drunk! Oh hell no...

Men usually in this condition are considered to be dangerous. But in her case, definitely dangerous.

Jane had fortuitously bumped into them, those so called goons, while she was on her way to a long run that she was deprived of, the reason being, her recent injury, results of a bicycle incident.

Jane was accosted by the trio on the abandoned silent street with no sign of help anywhere and the only escape Jane could think of was to run in the direction of the relatively large area that led towards the forest. And a huge mistake that turned out to be.

The highway.....of course why didnt she think of that before. If only she could divert those thugs enough to escape in the direction of the highway to seek help. Maybe thats what I should do but how....think Jane think.

All Jane could feel was her heart pounding like crazy with fear and dread. She looked behind her to gauge the distance between them and increased her pace a bit more to keep them at bay until she could not see them anymore but still could hear their heavy footsteps but it was a bit faint now.

Jane suddenly changed the direction of her pace and started running towards where she could hear a faint blaring horn of a vehicle which probably meant that she was not far from the highway....But first she had to get rid of her pursuers. She ducked behind a thick branched tree that provided a perfect spot for her to stay invisible from their sight.

Controlling her breathlessness was a difficult task but now she had to control her heavy breathing to keep as quiet as possible, it was either that or give away her hiding spot....no chance of that. Jane could see, feel them coming closer to where she was hiding. She covered her mouth with a hand to keep from making a noise to alert them of her presence.

"Darn it, where the hell did she go?" a slurry voice spoke from somewhere close to her.

"Well she ain't far from us thats for sure," a different voice answered with a slurrier speech.

"I've kept an eye on her for the last two days, no way am gonna just let her get away,"  another low pitched voice spoke spreading chills all over Jane.

Just then they all heard a loud squeak from somewhere behind them and Jane froze in fear, holding her breath.

"Did'ya hear that, I bet she went that way , looks like we got ourselves a feasty meal boys," the first thug spoke in a more clearer voice, ridding of his slur. Their accent was different, Jane absently wondered which dialect they spoke.

Did they see me...God I hope not. She could feel her heart pounding a bit more, faster than its previous pace.

She peeked from her hideout, the rustle of leaves debris from behind her made it easy for her to detect the movement of the men.

All of a sudden the men moved in the opposite direction from where Jane was concealed in her hideout. She sighed in relief and then waited for a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear before making her way towards the direction of the highway as she had previously detected.

Jane could now easily espy the highway, it was not that far away from where she was.This area did not seem familiar to her. There were no cars or any other vehicles in sight. Now what. She looked behind her. Not a single soul in sight. Jane half ran, half walked, a few miles along the edge of the highway.

She could not manage to move any further, deciding to take a break instead. A tremendous idea, considering the suffer she was going through from fatigue. She walked back toward one of the trees and leaned against it, all the while keeping an eye out on the road for any vehicles.

She was lost. That was the first thing that emerged, rather clicked on her mind. With that thought her situation registered, she was exhausted, thirsty, not to mention hungry and on top of that she was sleepy. She needed help and her Dad.

"Dad....oh Dad I need you so much right now," Jane couldn't hold back her sobs any longer. Tears automatically coated and filled her eyes. If only her Dad were here with her, he would have just given her a big hug and everything would feel right all around her. It made her realise how helpless she felt without him. Her father was the only good thing in her life, he played the role of a mother to her ever since her Mom passed away when she was only twelve years old.

Jane was twenty years old now but her father still treated her like a kid. Now she really felt lost without her Dad.

Determination brought her upright in a standing position, Jane wiped her eyes with her palm. No more tears. She would seek help and then go straight home into her fathers loving arms.

Jane walked for another ten minutes along the road when she astonishingly came across a service station.....oh thank god....she let loose a laugh in relief while jogging across to the station.

Two vehicles were parked there, but her attention was only centered on one car which piqued her interest. It was a lamborghini, it seemed odd or rather strange, sighting an expensive flashy car, particularly in this area.

She needed to call her Dad immediately. Jane was almost there when without warning, three familiar figures emerged from the restroom. She froze in fear and quickly hid behind one of the vehicles nearest to her, fortunately it was the flashy car. She ducked behind it and then peeped from there, they were coming in the cars direction, so that meant one of the vehicle were theirs. She quietly opened the cars door, which was surprisingly unlocked without the presence of a driver and eased her way in and crept inside at the backseat.

Jane waited for a few minutes for them to get inside the other vehicle but they sure were taking their precious time.....discussing something earnestly, looking from their serious expressions she could tell.

Overcome with sudden tiredness and exhaustion, Jane felt her eyes close off on their own accord, she couldn't possibly doze off right now. The fear of getting caught terrified her but the need for sleep was what controlled her entire body together with the luxurious comfy, warm feeling the car provided.

Jane was uncertain of when she dozed off , the only thing registered on her mind was the awareness of the car door being opened before her mind surrendered to the darkness that engulfed her.