Since the Beginning

Escape?

{Astella's POV}
I can't stand it anymore. I open my eyes and adjust to my surroundings. A vision comes back and I remember what happened. As we were speeding along a side road, a police car caught us and then we crashed into a tree and guns were fired. Right. I try to sit up but pain rushes through my body. I look down and see blood gushing from my side. Oh, right. Another vision comes back. The police were firing and so were my captors. And then they dared the police to shoot. If they did, I'd get shot. Guess the police didn't think my captors would be serious. I look around. We're in a forest. Well, in the "entrance" part. The road's about a few meters from here. I try to stand, but it's too painful. Where are my captors? I don't see them or hear them.

I adjust my eyes to the now darkened forest. I think it's still daytime but I don't know what time exactly. I look down on my wrist and find that I have no watch on. And, I've been wearing these same clothes since the time they kidnapped me. I think that was 3 days ago. I cover up my wound with my right hand and use my left elbow to help me stand up.

I take in my surroundings again. I pray silently. Lord, please help me. This would hurts too much. And I don't want the kidnappers to find me. I know You will keep me safe. Amen.

The forest seems so quiet. And that's when I notice what I have been looking for. I turn around to face the direction of where the car got banged up. It's pretty bad. I look around the car and see footprints leading away from where I stand and heading towards the road. So that must mean either the kidnappers were caught or they ran away and hitched a ride. No footprints lead back to the forest except for mine. I wonder why I got dragged in so far and they weren't even close. Dragged. I scan the ground and see prints of something or someone being dragged. Oh. They dragged me and left me here while they went away.

I should be relieved right? But I'm not. How do I get home? I'm not gonna hitch a ride with strangers. No way. I decide my best option is to stay in sight of the road since I can see it from here, and walk along side it and see where it leads me. It's gotta at least lead to a gas station right?

Before I leave, I open the trunk of the car and see if there's anything helpful. I get a backpack filled with 2 bottles of water and 2 sandwiches. I look for another one but that's it. Guess I'd better ration it. Wait- ration? It's like I'm going on some adventure. Well, I guess I am. I sling the backpack over my left arm. I look into the car and see a green t-shirt. I look down and see I'm in my tank top. So that means that's my shirt. I grab it and tie it around my wound. The bleeding has slowed down since my hand's pressure was on it but it's still bleeding. I look behind me and see a trail of red from beneath a tree to where I stand. Well, at least people will know I was here. I pray another prayer of protection and start off.

After about 5 minutes of painful walking, I stop and take a sip of water. I look at the road and see a few cars. And then I realize something. I'm not in America. Does London have gas stations near the road so far out in the suburb? Oh, great. I didn't even think THAT through. If there's no gas station, there might just be a house right? I sure hope so. And I hope I don't run into the gang.

I continue to walk until I hear a twig snap. I stand stock still. I turn my head to the side looking for someone, specifically one of the captors, who might jump out at any second. But what I see behind the trees scares me even more. A group of dogs have started running towards me followed by a hunter who looks like he could kill anyone. I stand still and don't run. I have no chance to run away anyway.

The dogs stop and sniff me. The hunter walks up to me and studies me. "Well, well. What do we have here?" He says menacingly. I stay quiet and stare right back. "Hmm. You look quite familiar." He says with his face changing into a dreamy kind. "Wait. I know. You're that girl that went missing!" He exclaims with a joyful look. I just look at him and his dogs expressionless. "Don't worry, child. I won't hurt you." He says with a friendly smile. I raise an eyebrow. "I hunt animals. Not people." He says shouldering his gun. "And if you haven't noticed, you've gone quite out of way from the road and you might get lost without a little help." I look to the right and see that he's right. I was too focused at looking for someone that could scare me from the woods that I forgot to keep track of the road. I groan. I have no choice to but to follow. If I don't, I will probably stay lost and never find a way out. He waits patiently for my reply. "Um, what's your name?" I ask him. "Oh. Sorry. I'm Robert. My wife should be cooking up dinner now." He says. I breath a sigh of relief. He looked so intimidating and scary at first but now he seems kind and gentle. I don't let my guard down though.

He leads me deeper into the forest till we reach a trail. "I made this trail on my own with my dogs. We're the only ones who still hunt. We're allowed to since we don't have enough money to actually go into the city." He explains. I nod and follow him with the dogs trailing behind me. After another few minutes of walking, we reach their snug house at the end of the forest.

His wife, Christine, greets us and she leads me inside. We eat dinner but she keeps her eye on my shirt wrapped around my side. "What's wrong dear?" She asks after the 'nth time after looking at me. "I got shot." I say nearly causing Robert to spit out his drink. "You were shot and you didn't tell me while we were walking?" He asks. I smile shyly. He grins. "You are one brave girl." I smile at the comment. After dinner, Christine tends to my wound and she actually takes out the bullet. But it's very painful.

A loud knock comes at the door and Robert gets it. A loud voice comes through and I recognize it. German guy.