Chapter one: Manhunt
I stop running and catch my breath. It seems like days since I escaped but I know it could have only been a few hours at the most. Even if I can’t hear them I still know they are out there, searching for me, I know I must keep moving. As I start walking I take off my rucksack and look through it.
“Hmm what do we have?” I think to myself. “Some money; a few energy bars, I’ll need to ration them, an empty water bottle, a book, a Swiss Army knife, some matches and two books and a magazine.” I know that I need to travel light so I take out the magazine and go to throw it in the river. The River! I stop and run over to it. I don’t bother filling up my water bottle first; I just thrust my whole head under the water then start to drink greedily. It was the best drink I’d ever had. A small voice in the back of my head tells me that I shouldn’t be doing this, I don’t know if the water is clean but it looks so clear and tastes so good that it must, be I think to myself. When my thirst is quenched I fill up my water bottle and think about disposing of the books and the magazine in the river so they won’t be found. But then realise that I could use the paper to start a fire later. I throw the bigger one of the two into the river and watch it sink to the bottom. I then take one of the energy bars eat it and start running.
The only thing I seem to hear is the sound of the birds and all I feel is the heat of the sun shining down upon me. It’s too hot, I need to drink some more but restrain myself and repeat in the words “I must keep moving, I must keep moving” over and over again in my head, like a mantra. All of a sudden I hear a twig snap behind me and stop suddenly turning around. “I’m just paranoid.” I tell myself. All of a sudden I hear a whistle about a hundred yards to my left. Panic surges through my body. I feel like a deer being stalked, I am. This is no more than a game to them but to me its life and death. I jump into a nearby bush and wait, hoping and praying that they’ll pass me by.
I hear footsteps coming down the path, closer to my hiding spot. I try to sit there as still as possible as to not make a sound but my body is shaking uncontrollably, every muscle in my body telling me to run but I know if I do they will catch me and I can’t let that happen. The footsteps are getting closer now, they can’t be any more than three meters away, I hold my breath and say a silent prayer begging God to protect me as I slowly reach down to my pocket. I don’t deserve this fate. No one does. The footsteps stop right outside my bush. I count my heartbeats, each one threatening to burst out my chest. I take my hand out my pocket ever so slowly with the Swiss Army knife in. I flick out the larger of the two knives. “This is my only choice” I tell myself. “On the count of three. One… two… three! I jump out of the bush aiming for his neck…
