Elena felt the grip in her hair relax, and looked past Elena to the door, still open a sliver. Through the leaning crack in the door, Lily could see the dirt floor beyond and open stalls. It appeared as if she was in a barn of some sort, and the sounds of shuffling feet beyond suggested livestock of some sort.
“You can try to run,” Elena smiled, a cold and humorless expression, “but you won’t get far. I have employed measures to ensure my property remains safe.”
Lily looked away from the door to Elena, her red hair soft and fragrant. She was a stunning woman, even if she was mad.
Another look to the door and Lily knew she had to try, had to attempt an escape. Mustering her courage and depleted strength, Lily wrested free of Elena’s hand, leaving a swath of stringy hair behind as she pushed past her, banging into the door with her shoulder and throwing it wide.
She ran past the stalls, catching glimpses of movement behind the stall doors, but she couldn’t focus on details as her head whipped around, looking for an exit. The barn was tall and wide, dimly lit in the deep interior save for lights over stalls and long pairs of fluorescents hanging from the high ceiling. She could see wide double doors across from her and made for it, her steps tumbling and off-balance as the panic pushed her to run with abandon.
She slammed into the double doors and pushed hard, felt them give some, but then bounced back against her. She turned away from them, ready to run the length of the barn to the other end, hoping the doors were open there, if they existed at all. She couldn’t tell across the dim length of the place.
She felt a sharp sting in her side and looked to her left where Elena stood, holding what appeared to be a gun, leveled at Lily. When Lily looked down, she saw a needle extending from her abdomen, synthetic yellow fur at the end. She pulled it out and held it before her, marveling at the fact she’d been tranquilized like a wild animal, and then the world shifted and grew dark.
As she fell onto the dirt-strewn floor of the barn, Lily heard Elena somewhere near, saying to someone else, “Did you see how she ran?” The question, she thought before darkness consumed her, was filled with admiration.
