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down the worn country road until he spotted a familiar figure slowly stepping out of the woods.  Luke slammed the car to a stop and jumped out.  It was only when a few feet away, that he saw the blood trickling from underneath her hand.
     
    “My God, Nicole!  What happened to you?” he sputtered, reaching out for her as she weaved on her feet, looking like she might pass out any second.  Her clothes were dirty and torn, her hair sprinkled with bits of twigs and leaves, and she was ghostly white.
     
    “Let’s just get in the car and go!  I don’t know where he’s at but he can’t be far.  We should be able to catch him if you’ll stop babying me and get your ass moving.”
     
    “What are you talking about?  Who are we catching?  Are you saying someone did this to you on purpose?” He rambled off the questions, not sure which one was most important but knowing that he demanded answers to all of them.  Nicole pushed past him moving toward the patrol car still idling in the middle of the road.
     
    Luke ran around to open the door for her, still determined to get answers, but trying to suppress the urge until they were moving again.  As he reached for the door handle, Nicole’s knees buckled but he managed to catch her before she hit the pavement.  He swung her up into his arms holding her tight against his chest.
     
    “Nicole, you are going to the hospital, you don’t realize how bad you’re bleeding, honey.  I’ll call the situation into the dispatcher so they can send another officer out here, then we will figure out the rest later.” He placed her gently into the passenger’s seat then brushed her hair off her sweat-drenched forehead.
     
    “No, I’m fine, just get the creep that did this to me, Luke!  Now get in the car and drive, he couldn’t have gotten far.” Her voiced quivered as she tried to remain firm, her words coming out more a mumble than a demand.  She grabbed onto Luke’s arms as he tried to put the seat belt across her.  “Luke…”  Then her arms dropped to her sides and she passed out.
     

 
    Chapter 4
     
     
     
    Beautiful rolling hills in varying shades of green, dotted with blankets of small violet flowers, surrounded her.  The sky was a pristine blue without a single cloud floating by.  Birds sang cheerfully as if it was the first day of spring.  Nicole didn’t understand where she was or how she had gotten there but she loved this place.  Her heart soared with the happiness of a homecoming.
     
    A white cotton sun dress kissed the top of her feet as a gentle breeze filled the air with the scent of sea water.  Her hair was loose, hanging in long perfect spirals to the middle of her back as her bare feet reveled in the softness of the deep green grass beneath her.  She closed her eyes, turning her face toward the sky as she breathed in deeply, trying to drink in some of the beauty and serenity into herself.
     
    When Nicole opened her eyes, she was under a canopy of giant oak trees with the occasional Wych elm towering high and stretching wide.  The trees created a natural wall all around her casting everything into shadows.  The soft pillow of green grass had been replaced with a mixture of yellow and brown weeds like the brittle grass you find in the middle of December in the South.  The only touch of beauty in this dark gloomy place was small yellow flowers which sat on top of five leaves that formed a star beneath the bright petals.  They looked out of place among the lifeless undergrowth.
     
    Her eyes followed the trail of flowers from her feet, reaching out from under the canopy of trees.  Her eyes continued forward, stopping with a start when she realized she was standing at the edge of a cemetery.  The scattered head stones were weathered from time with most having green moss creeping over them and very few of the inscriptions were still legible.  A large weeping willow towered in the center, its long, dangling limbs dancing in the