Where He Can't Find You

by Darcy Coates

Red thread slid out of her. Slimy and old and matted. She pulled and pulled, but it just kept coming, suffocating her. Tears stung her eyes. Her lungs burned, her throat ached. And then, finally, the largest knot slid free and the tangled mess landed on the ground ahead of her. She stared at the threads, and at her wet hands, and at the holes surrounding her, and then finally up toward the sun. Sarah Ward felt as though she could breathe properly for the first time in years.