7 Choked

There were cuts that scattered all over my arms, bleeding out until it was messy and semi-wet against my skin.

I could feel every single cut and scratch sting with unimaginable pain.

At this point in time, the tears that had streamed down my face were now dry.

From the corner of my vision, I could see that the sun was already gone.

The afternoon glow having left a while now along with any warmth or light that hope had filled me with.

In its place, was a full moon that glowed in a rather mesmerizing way.

"Did you really think I would kill you so easily?" Kent chuckled suddenly, eyes narrowed on my form.

His hands wrapped around my neck, long claws digging into my skin when he lifted me off of my feet until both legs dangled by more than a foot from the ground.

The sound of my choking quickly filled the entire clearing.

Kent smirked eerily, pleased beyond words at my suffering. While I was in agony, he was enjoying it with every delayed beat of my heart.

My eyes squeezed shut.

So, this was what being choked to death felt like, I thought.

What a terribly painful feeling.

My eyes wanted to roll to the back of my head, but I tried to keep myself conscious no manner how painfully hard it was.

"Beg me," he said with animalistic glee. "And I might think about letting you go."

My lips pinched into a thin line in response to his taunting words.

He was lying.

I knew that no matter how much I beg or plead, he wasn't going to let me go.

He only wanted to see me grovel and beg at his feet before taking my life and my pride.

"Stubborn little fool. I guess I will send you on your way now." His eyes narrowed and his grip tightened to the point that I felt my throat give way.

The pathetic squeaks and gasps coming from my tightened throat echoed in my ears in a deafening way.

I was going to die.

There was no point in denying it now.

At the grim thought, my lips pinched tightly together.

I swung my feet forward, hitting him repeatedly in the leg but he didn't seem affected by my deplorable struggling.

It was like nothing I did could harm him.

My hands were clutching tightly around his right arm while my face felt numb and hot at the same time.

The lower half of my body became numb and my kicking seemed more like wild flailing.

Not very long after, my hands hardened to the point that I could barely move my fingers while my nails remain embedded in his flesh.

I couldn't hear anything other than the sound of my stuttering heartbeat pounding in my ear along with the sound of roaring blood.

It felt as if I would explode if he squeezed my throat any tighter.

I wanted to do more damage to him.

I wanted to put up more of a fight.

But my body was failing me.

The palpitations of my heart started to slow to a sluggish pace and my legs froze into place as I felt the torrents of pain and coldness enter my frozen limbs.

Soon, bright lights blinded my vision with sporadic patterns when my air flow was sufficiently cut off, pent up inside of my lungs, no matter how hard I tried to breathe and keep breathing.

I willed my eyes to stay open but they slowly closed on their own accord.

And the excruciating pain was finally easing when I felt darkness collect at the corners of my vision, dragging me into its depths.

This is what death feels like.

"Stop, Kent!" a familiar voice shouted from afar, sounding rather muffled to me.

I could only wonder if I had imagined this in my desperation to be saved because Kent didn't respond any differently and continued to choke me.

I must have imagined the voice.

"Let her go!" This time a louder and harsher shout seemed to cause Kent to loosen his hold on my poor abused throat.

As his grip slackened, my entire body came crumbling to the forest floor, sides numb and burning as I gagged for air.

Then, bile trickled up my throat and liquid came pouring out of my mouth.