Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. The air was rushing past her ears and though her hair as she ran. She ran fast, faster than they had ever forced her to run before, faster than she thought possible. They had pushed her too far this time. This time there was no turning back. She grimaced and pushed herself harder. Just thinking of them was making her stomach turn, making her angry. She needed to push them out of her mind, distract herself. She took in her surroundings, the black cracked pavement beneath her feet. It was higher in some spots than in others, with the extreme changes in the whether making the pavement expand and contract. She noticed the wrapper of a Snickers bar off to the side of the street and cigarette butts littered the curb and sidewalk beside her. She didn't have to look up; she knew where she was going. This path was all very familiar to her. It was where she ran to whenever they got like this, whenever they used her as a "thing" to get their frustrations out on. How they could even call themselves parents she hardly knew. Again, she felt her stomach turn. I can't keep letting them in. She looked at her surroundings again; she spotted a side path that she had never noticed before. She glanced around and didn't noticed anything else that was out of the ordinary so in a split decision, she decided to take the unfamiliar path.

She took the path at a full run but the further she went the more she slowed down until she was merely walking. Around her there was nothing but trees, the light coming down from above was bouncing off the leaves and highlighting the trunks below. She could tell from the size of the trunks that she had stumbled upon a part of wood that had been around for hundreds of years; the kind of trees that if they could talk, they'd have stories to share with the world. She suddenly came to a stop as she realized her visibility had decreased; the wood had grown thicker and the leaf coverage had become so dense barely any light was able to break through. Off in the distance should heard a distinct humming noise, but it was off. It didn't belong in this atmosphere, of that she was sure. She didn't really know where she was heading but her feet seemed to be moving with a purpose. The humming noise in her head seemed to be getting louder the farther she wandered and suddenly, she came to a stop.

In front of her was a tree. At first glance this tree looked like every other tree in this obscure piece of land, but at further inspection you would see that this tree had a different light about it. She was instantly drawn to this oddly beautiful tree, with its branches flowing out, instead of reaching up for light like most of the other trees. Its bark looked worn and its roots were so close to the surface she had to watch her step to insure she wouldn't trip. She looked down and unexplainably her hand was outstretched, reaching for this tree. She hesitated out of shock, shook her head and thrust her hand forward.

There was an instant shock to her finger and then suddenly her surroundings blurred and she couldn't quite place where she was. Loud noises were coming from what seemed to be every direction and her head felt fuzzy. In front of her there were two bright lights that looked as if they were coming towards her. "Stop" she yelled in her head, but the lights moved ever closer. There was a loud screeching noise and a dull thud against her body as she fell to the ground. She felt more than saw the panic that surrounded her but she couldn't figure out why. There were voices and faces huddling around her but she didn't hear what they were saying. Then out of the masses one voice stood out.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing Lillian?!"