The Prospect's Deal

02

Ezra nodded and turned around toward his partner. "Alright partner, let's go." He looked back at me and smiled. "You coming?"

I nodded slowly as I carried my backpack and walked behind them slowly.

The three of us started to walk back toward the base. Ezra and his partner were walking side by side while I walked behind them. I kept a small distance between me and the two men, who were talking to each other.

"You know, she's pretty cute," The partner said to Ezra.

"Yeah, I can see it," Ezra said, glancing over at me for a moment. He noticed that I was keeping my distance and seemed pretty tense.

I kept walking behind, I looked at my oxygen tank making sure I had enough. I kept slowly walking behind them.

"So, what are we going to do with her?" The partner grunted.

"I'll figure something out," Ezra said.

The two men were silent as they stepped over some large roots that were protruding from the ground. Ezra glanced back at me, seeing me step over the roots carefully.

My oxygen tank was getting lower as I fidgeted. I walked behind them slowly, I was listening to their conversations.

The two men were chatting with each other as they walked. "So we just gonna keep her as a hostage or something? Do we sell her?" The partner asked.

Ezra stopped walking and turned back to look at the partner. "No, we definitely don't sell her. She's coming back to base with me."

I heard the word sell, got scared and slowly moved off down another pathway in the forest.

Ezra noticed that I moved off and stopped in his tracks. He turned to his partner. "Stay here."

The partner looked at him and then he shrugged. "Alright."

Ezra started to run down the same path that I had gone down. "Hey, where are you going?" He shouted as he ran.

I stopped and waited for him.

Ezra had caught up to me. He was gasping for breath. "Hey, where are you trying to—" He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the fear in my face. He paused, taking a moment before speaking again. "Did you hear what my partner said?"

I nodded slowly.

Ezra frowned in the direction that his partner had stayed behind, then he turned back to me. "I promise you, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to sell you. Okay?"

I was weary at first then nodded slowly.

Ezra breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at me, though he noticed I was still a bit uneasy. "You trust me, right?"

He extended his hand out to me, offering to shake it.

I moved my hand out to his as I shook his rough calloused hand.

"There's a good girl." He smiled at me again and kept walking, motioning me to follow him. He was taking smaller steps this time to match my pace.

I followed him behind slowly, I didn't look at his partner since I didn't trust him so I followed Ezra.

Ezra noticed that I didn't look at his partner as I followed close behind him. He was keeping a close eye on me, making sure I felt safe and comfortable. He was being very gentle with me, taking it slow and speaking softly.

After a while, the two of us reached the base. The partner had made it back ahead of us. He was leaning up against a tree nearby, waiting for the two of us. Ezra looked over at him and rolled his eyes.

The partner smirked and looked at me. "Alright, she's here. Is she worth keeping?"

Ezra narrowed his eyes at the partner. "What do you mean, 'worth keeping?' Of course, she is."

"She's pretty quiet, isn't she?" The partner looked at me and laughed.

I put my hand into my pocket and pulled out a little knife.

The partner went silent upon seeing the knife. Ezra stepped in front of me to block me from the partner's view. "You know what, partner? I think she's just scared and nervous, right?"

I was absolutely terrified.

Ezra took another step forward and spoke again. He was acting very protective over me now. His partner seemed a bit intrigued by this.

"Just give her some time. I'm sure she'll warm up to us."

The partner looked down at me and sighed. "You're sure you want to take her back to the base with you?"

Ezra was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Positive."

The partner shrugged and crossed his arms. He was watching Ezra closely as he talked about me. He seemed skeptical. But then he sighed. "Okay. She's your responsibility, got that?"

"Loud and clear. She's my responsibility." Ezra responded. He glanced back at me before looking at his partner.

"Alright, whatever you say." The partner glanced at me before turning around and started walking away.

I slowly put the knife back into my pocket as I saw the partner walk away to his camp in the base.

Ezra kept looking at the partner as he walked away. He waited until he was gone before he turned back to me. "Come on, let's go back to the base, got it?" He held his hand out to me, offering to hold my hand as he started walking.

I gently took a hold of his hand and slowly walked.

He smiled softly as I took his hand and started to walk. He was walking at a slower pace to match mine. Ezra was silent for a moment before he broke the silence. "What's your name?"

I spoke quietly. "Sadie."

He looked at me briefly when you spoke. "That's a pretty name." He smiled. "Is it short for anything, or is it your full name?" He was still holding my hand as the two of us walked.

"Full..." I continued to walk.

After a quiet moment, he spoke again. "That's a pretty little name you have there." He smiled at me again. "If you're comfortable with answering this, may I ask you a question?"

At first I didn't say anything then I nodded.

"How long have you been staying in these woods by yourself?" He asked me, keeping his voice soft and gentle.

"Almost a year." I said quietly.