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The List by Patti Flinn 
Prologue She turned, grabbed her handbag, and walked, almost ran out of the room. The house went by in a blur but she felt an intensity that she realized had been there from the moment she stepped inside. There was a gentle hum in the walls, an electricity that was constantly whirring beneath the velvet curtains and underneath the expensive furniture. Something in the walls that seemed to vibrate. She didn't know how she had not noticed it before. The hum suddenly seemed deafening. And suffocating. She didn't know if it was the fact that she was upset that made it so noticeable now. All she knew was that suddenly she couldn't get out of the house fast enough. She couldn't get off the grounds soon enough. Only hours before she had been ready to spend her life in this place, on this land. But now, she felt as if merely being on it was stifling the life out of her. She opened the door and flew into the night air. The tears that had frozen in her eyes cooled in the breeze gratefully. She reached the circular drive, and headed to the right, over the green, green lawn and into the trees beyond. She had seemed to float to Beauville earlier. Now all she could think of was the long trek to home. The trees made the night even darker, but she didn't care. Once she got beyond them and crossed the creek to the woods, she would be safe. She was to the line of the woods when he stepped in front of her. He called her name, but she didn't want to hear him. His eyes were red and wet, ragged with emotion. But she didn't want to deal with his emotion when she was busy dealing with her own. "Why did you do it?" He asked her. "Move out of my way," she murmured, wishing she did not sound so desperate. Did not feel so desperate. She murmured something to make him leave. She was too raw to be polite, too tired to be sensitive. She told him the truth and his eyes shone with hope for a moment before he realized what she'd said. Then he began to argue with her, his words coming at her fast. Why couldn't he see? Why couldn't he understand that she was merely hanging on by a thread? The air was thicker, and wetter. And still she felt the hum under her feet and the incredible need She felt her own patience snap and the tears broke loose as she screamed at him. The hurt and confusion on his face told her he would never understand. She also caught a glimpse, maybe a long hidden insight that she had never before seen. It didn't matter what she wanted. What mattered to him was what he wanted. He was like a dog with a bone. She knew with sudden clarity he might never let go. Lightning cracked the sky and seemed to freeze them for a second, the two of them staring at each other mutely, realizing somehow they were at an impasse. Then another voice, calling her name. Another voice wanting something from her she was no longer willing to give. Her head clouded and she felt drugged. Everything was happening and yet she only wanted to leave. To get beyond the trees. More yelling. More talking. And then she felt herself move toward the water, toward Cemrek Creek. It was as if her own legs knew the truth. Safety was away. This was no longer a matter of the heart. It was a matter of life and death. She moved to the water, dropping her purse and not caring. Stumbling, and not worrying. The important thing was that she get away. Her pride, her ego, her independence, none of those things mattered anymore. She was no longer the person she was when she walked onto this land. She was now a trapped animal, sensing perhaps that danger was too close to give up on her. She heard her name and turned one last time to look. Knowing she shouldn't. Knowing that to look would be to see her own mortality staring her in the face. And yet she did. And when her fate came to meet her, she was silent; for there was no more need for sound.
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