Undaunted

Tension

"We have to start moving. I don't know who heard those crashes or if anybody's out walking, but I don't want to get caught if someone's around," I urged, ducking outside of the shed. The centaur followed closely behind, though she had to stoop to get out of the door. Once she was out, she seemed a little more eager to get moving, though she still seemed nervous.

"So now what? Do you have some sort of plan?" A hoof pawed at the ground with anticipation.

I looked around again. Still nothing. "If we head into the forest, I'm sure we can find a place for you to stay for a bit until we can figure out what to do."

"We?"

He smiled slightly. "I'm not going to just leave you off on your own and pretend this never happened."

"Oh." Her tone sounded relieved. "Thank you, I--" Her words cut off abruptly as she turned to stare towards the camp. I opened my mouth to speak, but she raised a finger to her lips and ambled forward, poking her head around a nearby tent. She jerked her head away and moved back quickly. "Someone's coming."

"Come on." I crept forward, heading in the other direction. It must have looked pretty funny, seeing a teenage boy being followed by a horse-girl, but I didn't have time to think about that. I didn't want to be caught around here. The idea of being caught by the circus folk didn't seem very inviting, and I didn't want to think about what they would do to me if I got trapped.

My eyes played tricks on me. I kept thinking I saw looming shadows, but I knew better than to stop and check to make sure. That would be like accepting a death sentence.

The girl walked behind me, still keeping a bit of distance between us. I knew she was still afraid of me and the ordeal had shaken her up quite a bit, but it was a start to know she was listening to me for now.

"Do you see anything?" I hissed over my shoulder.

"Nothing." Though it was hoarse from being gagged for who knows how long, her voice was gentle and pretty as birdsong. I didn't have to wonder very hard about why the circus would want to keep her around.

We had almost made it to the outskirts of the camp when we heard voices coming up behind us. The centaur dashed to the side. "Oh, please, no," she moaned, dancing around on her hooves. The last thing I needed was for her to panic and run.

"We just have to get into the forest. It'll be hard for them to follow us in there," I reminded, holding up my hands like an animal handler. She was still jumpy and looked like someone had shot her, but she stopped pacing. A grim smile spread over my face, but that disappeared as quickly as it came. I spotted flashlight beams illuminating the shed and heard someone curse loudly.

"Frick," I muttered. "We've got to leave now before they see us."

Another flashlight clicked on, closer than the ones at the shed. "I think I hear something over here!" a low voice called. The flashlight edged closer and closer. The girl moved closer to me, trying to escape the bright rays, but she was a little too slow. The light passed over her leg. I heard a breath catch. I couldn't tell whose it was. "What the hell?"

"Run!" I snapped, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward until she began moving. More lights began hitting us and more shouts rang out, cries of outrage and shock. I heard the pounding of heavy feet on the ground close behind us, and I knew if we kept this pace, they'd catch up to us. They were desperate to keep their 'prize' and would probably go to great lengths to capture the two of us.

I was beginning to fall behind the girl's fast gait when she craned her head to look at me. "Get on."

An incredulous laugh escaped my lips, and I hoped that I hadn't offended her. "Are you serious?"