Hostage

The Forest

Forest- my last name, and our current location.

I knew my way around, thankfully; but running through territory you know makes it unfamiliar if you're going so fast that you can't even tell where you're going.

Lewis was gone; I blamed myself. I should've expected them to chase us; I should've made a Plan B for that. But no, I didn't. So now our group was down to seven.

We were doing okay, for now. We each had backpacks, and there was a responsible person at the front and rear of the group- Fox at the front and myself at the back.

I checked behind me several times before shouting "I think we can stop!"

The entire group seemed to sigh with relief, and we all slowed down.

"Are they gone?" Squeaked Sara, after sliding down from Fox's back. She was now hiding behind Fox's right leg.

"Don't worry, kid; we're safe." I smiled down at the little girl, but I frowned to myself.

Sure, we were safe. But for how long?

Fox looked up at me, and we exchanged a knowing look.

"So, I say we split into groups. One group of three, one group of four. One looks for shelter, the other looks for food." Tyler suggests, scratching his arm.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Fox nods. "I'll lead one group, since I've been in the forest before. Jett, do you want to lead the other group?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll take Ferris and Mia and we'll go look for shelter, if that's okay with you." I nodded, my head reeling.

"Yeah sure. That leaves me with Cameron, Sara, and Tyler. We'll go look for food. I'll yell if we find anything," she smiled weakly at me. I nodded and agreed to do the same, then walked north, towards the thicker forest.

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We had been scouring for shelter for around an hour, and so far we had found close to nothing. Sure, we had found one or two trees with large enough branches to sleep on, but they would be easily spotted.

"Maybe we should go the other way and look?" Mia suggests carefully. I was currently impatient, as the sun was about to set.

I sighed. "Let's just go a little bit farther. I feel like we're really close here."

Ferris mumbled something under his breath, but continued walking forward.

"I really think we're far too close to the edge of the forest for there to be a safe camp, Jett." Mia continues. "Maybe we're safe in the trees here, but it's still too close to the edge. . . One step out, and they might see us."

"Fine," I agree after a minute. "We'll go the other direction. Tell me if you see any place that we might have looked over the first time around." I was glaring daggers now.

After some time, several turns, and a completely lost feeling or two, we came across a stream. Mia tried the water, since it probably wouldn't hurt her. She clarified that it was drinkable. My spirits began to lift a bit.

I looked to my left, and there happened to be some sturdy low-hanging branches big enough for one or two people to sleep on. Oak wood maybe? I didn't know.

"Hey guys," I said slowly, a smile making its way across my dirty face. "I think we just found a place."

"Yeah, this place looks great. Low branches, clean water, mid forest. It's perfect," smiles Ferris, and Mia simply nods before adding in, "See? I told you we needed to turn around."

"Now we just have to find Fox and the others." I sighed. I had no idea how we got here. . . How were we supposed to get back?

"I'll go," offered Mia.

"Great, thanks." I smiled at the girl. Ferris nodded as well.

"I'll yell if I need anything," she says with a wave as she disappears into the forest.

We had finally found a place; just in time, too. The sun was just about to dip down below the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, especially to someone who hadn't seen it in so long.

We were safe; that was all we needed right now.

Well, that, and food.

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Hey guys!

I hope you liked this pretty pathetic excuse for an update :)

Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been pretty busy, and I've run low on ideas. It'll get better though, I swear. I hope so, at least...

So that's about it, I guess.

OH BTW WE'RE ALMOST TO 300 READS WOW GR8 THANKS GUYS THIS IS GREAT WOW

Thanks again for reading! Ilyasm!

~Flash💙