PART 1
He had been running
half the night unsure of where he was, uncertain if he could even escape. He
was being hunted and those who were after him wouldn’t stop until he was either
dead or captured. He had lost Sam having been separated from him hours ago. A
stupid plan, Sam’s stupid plan, to distract their pursuers claiming the one
they really wanted was him. He had
tried to stop him but his brother was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to reason.
Sam’s only concern was to save him and lure those after him as far away from
his location as possible. What Sam had failed to take into consideration was
that they most likely had plans for him too.
They were persistent
driving him and Sam deeper into unfamiliar territory keeping up a steady
pursuit for well over four hours now. The outcome was looking very grim for him
and his brother. They were at a great disadvantage. They didn’t know the area
well, had never actually been to the area until several days ago and now they
were being run down by people who knew the area like the back of their hands.
They knew every in and out of the woods, knew where to go, what lie in wait,
what to avoid and where to hide. He and Sam were at a huge disadvantage in that
respect, the disadvantage a rather big one hanging over their heads. Neither of
them knew where the hell they even were let alone how to get out.
He knew who was out
there, he knew what was out there
and if either of them were captured the outcome would be anything but good.
They had to escape. They had to get as far away as was humanly possible, but
that was looking more and more like a nearly impossible goal to achieve.
He could hear voices
now, trampling behind him, in front of him, the woods around him quickly
filling with the loud crack and snap of twigs being broken, sticks being
trampled beneath determined feet, branches twisting at odd angles as his
pursuers pushed harder into the woods certain that they were closing in on at
least one of their prey. The group was smaller now having split apart when Sam
separated from him. There weren’t as many and if it came down to it he’d go
down fighting, but he wasn’t sure how much one could do when they had an
injured arm and were on the verge of passing out from excessive blood loss. His
arm was useless in a possible fight and the strength he had so far expended to
keep running had all but drained his reserves leaving him with little energy to
continue. The only thing driving him onward was the fact that Sam was also out
there somewhere, likewise being hunted down.
He tensed nearly
freezing as he heard the sound of snarling, barking dogs off in the distance
triggering an accompanying memory that nearly drove him to his knees. Through
sheer force of will he pushed the memory, the image out of his mind. He
couldn’t afford to become distracted, especially by a memory that could
potentially cripple him enough for those after him to gain more ground on him.
As the barking and snarling continued he found himself swallowing hard forcing
his legs to move faster, driving himself deeper into the woods, determined to
place as much distance between he and that ravenous pack as was possible. The
only relief he could find in the gruesome situation was their persistence… They
were tenacious in their pursuit but still hunting for both of them he was certain.
He ran onward forcing
his legs to keep moving, his body to continue on a path forward wincing as yet
another branch slapped him across the face tearing open his cheek and making it
sting. He forced the pain to the back of his mind knowing they were gaining on
him. They were so very near he was certain his luck was about to run out, but
just as quickly as he had heard them they veered off in the opposite direction having
taken up pursuit of another, that other was most likely Sam. Someone must have
spotted him and the others took up the pursuit. He mentally cursed their luck
hoping against all hope that Sam would outrun them, outfox them and manage to
elude capture yet again.
As the shouts echoed
back to him from a distance he found himself caught in indecision: should he
follow them to see if they had found Sam, and if they had what could he do to
help his brother? What if they were now closing in on him and there was nothing
he could do? He faltered nearly stumbling as a wave of panic entered in. He
couldn’t let them get Sam, but he also couldn’t allow himself to be captured
because if they did find Sam and he too were captured then there was no one
left to free his brother. As that reality sunk in he found his desire to escape
fueled further. He needed to keep running, needed to get away, for if Sam were
captured then he was his brother’s only hope at freedom.
He ran harder, faster,
pushing himself until he was certain the hunting party was far enough behind
him that he could stop and take a momentary break. He needed to catch his
breath and regain his focus so halting he stopped by a tree feeling his legs
threatening to buckle on him as he did. Tensing he prepared himself for the
impact of hitting the ground only to realize the direction he had fallen was
back not down. He had fallen against a tree, but even though he found himself
leaning back against a tree his legs still quivered violently under the impact
threatening to spill him the rest of the way to the ground where he feared once
he landed he’d not be able to get back up from. As the quivering began to
subside he allowed himself to relax slightly assured that he wouldn’t be
collapsing to the ground just yet.
He remained propped
against the tree gazing above him panting and gasping drawing in shaky breaths
as he tried to regain a normal semblance of breathing. He had to catch his
breath, for they were still out there, and he knew it was only a matter of time
before they found him again. He needed to get moving. Staying in one place too
long was very dangerous it made him an easier target to locate. He had to move.
He attempted to push
off from the tree determined to get back on the run but quickly fell backwards
wincing aloud as his back impacted the tree he had been leaning against and
triggered pain in his injured shoulder. He needed to move, but he apparently
still needed to take a moment to rest too. Shit!
Shaking his head he
told himself he would take another moment, just one more moment then he’d move
on, so pressing back against the tree he momentarily settled growing anxious as
he felt his reserves of strength fading fast. He had to move now, for if he didn’t…
He bit into his lip
biting back a groan as pain arced through his injured shoulder reminding him
again of the injury he had spent countless hours trying to ignore. Wanting to
soothe the pain he carefully drew his left arm across his chest, turning to
assess the arm noticing the obvious dark stain covering the sleeve of his
jacket. His arm had bled a lot, but it looked now as if the bleeding had since
stopped, the blood drying and hardening on his coat.
He had been wounded
early in the night but had been far too close to those tracking him to remain.
He hadn’t had time to do more than look at the injury before taking to running
again. Now as he focused on it he noticed the pain was more pronounced as
another twinge traveled through his arm he gritted his teeth silencing yet
another groan of pain that wanted to come out aware that the effort alone made
more sweat break out across his face. The wound needed tended to and soon or it
wouldn’t be just those chasing him that could inevitably kill him.
As more pain sliced through
the wound he forced his head back against the tree, pushing hard into it as he
tried to keep from releasing yet another cry of pain. Squeezing his eyes
tightly shut he waited it out. Once it subsided and receded enough that he
could function again he forced his mind to focus on the present, on the here
and now turning his attention onto his environment. He was being hunted. There
was no more time to waste, so drawing in several slow calming breaths and
forcing the pain to the back of his mind he centered his senses, honing them,
as he began to listen closely.
He could hear the soft
subtle rustle of trees being slowly stirred and rocked by a gentle wind, the
crickets singing merging with the sound of frogs chirping and overhead an owl
hooted. Swallowing hard he found himself hoping that owl wasn’t a death omen.
Silencing his mind
again he forced his attention to expand listening closer to what was around
him, paying more attention to what was happening. He could feel the roughened
bark of the tree he was leaning against, the weakness in his legs, the
exhaustion filling his body as he remained idle much longer than he should, but
he had to be sure, to be certain that he
was alone, that no one had picked up
his trail yet again.
Again he silenced his thoughts and centered on the noises around him. He heard nothing out of the ordinary, no alien noises that seemed to be disproportionate to the woods around him, no awkward sounds that didn’t quite fit, nothing. Off to his left he picked up the sound of a stream rumbling and in the distance the faintest sound of dogs barking. They were near, but not so near that they would easily pick up his trail. He was safe for the moment, for the moment he was safe, but what about Sam? Had they found him or were they still hunting for him? Had those pursuing he and his brother decided to take a break or had they just found Sam?
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