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Run

"Run!" Carl instructed as he and Enid took off, adrenaline and fear pumping through their veins.

"After them!" one of the strange men yelled. "They mighta' overheard us!"

The men ran after the two teenagers who had gotten a large head start.

"There's no way they can catch up to us. They're too out of shape," Enid yelled to Carl as they ran.

When Carl heard this, his mind went back to the horrid night where his dad bit the neck off of Joe, the old, heavier man who sought cruel vengeance after the death of one of his crew members. Carl also remembered the demented, fat man who was one of Joe's men and had tried to abuse the preteen-Carl. He shuttered at the thought. Had they not been running for their lives he might've teared up a bit. Chills running up his spine distracted him from the path ahead.

"Carl! Look out!"

He looked up just as he ran into a hard, low-hanging tree branch. His speed mixed with the density of the branch knocked him back and caused him to fall on his arm. As something sharp penetrated his bicep, he yelled in pain. Enid rushed over to him and tried to hurriedly pick him up off of his feet.

"Come on! We've got to keep going!"

He got up as quickly and painlessly as he could with Enid's help and kept running. He tried to forget the excruciating pain in his arm and the blood running down his neck. A numbness overwhelmed his senses. There wasn't any time to process what his nerves were telling him; he'd have to push on.

Enid looked back to see where the men were but saw nothing. She stopped in her tracks and turned completely around.

Nothing.

"Enid! What are you doing?"

"Shhh! Listen."

Carl came to a stop in front of Enid and listened. All he could hear was the wind and their heavy breathing. Enid walked a few yards towards the direction of the river. Still nothing.

"Enid, let's go. They could be anywhere!" Carl gasped.

"Or they could be trying to follow us to Alexandria," she warned. "We should try to divert them."

"You might be right," Carl responded. "But I need to get to Alexandria... and fast."

Enid spun around to look at Carl. He had pulled up the sleeve of his jacket on the arm he'd fallen on. Blood gushed out of a gash above his forearm apparently created by a sharp rock. She gasped and ran over to a very pale Carl.

"Why didn't you tell me before? I'm so sorry I didn't notice. I-I..."

"It's alright. I promise."

She tried to collect herself. "Okay, okay. We need to act fast."

Carl shuttered and tried to speak normally. "Grab your knife. We can cut off a part of my shirt for a tourniquet."

She unsheathed her knife and started sawing away at a dry strip of his blood-stained shirt.

"Just cut the hem or something," Carl winced. The throbbing sensation in his head was starting to take over. It was rhythmic and progressively got louder. Something was off.

"I'm trying," Enid said in desperation.

Finally, she cut the last threads apart from his shirt and tied it in a tight knot above the gash. Still, he was losing blood. His whole right sleeve was drenched, and almost all coloring in his face was gone. 

"Enid," Carl sighed as his eyes rolled back and his knees gave way.

"Carl? Carl!" Enid screamed as she tried to catch Carl in her arms.

His body fell limp against her, his hat falling off from the force. 

"Carl, stay with me! Stay with me!" Enid said as she tried to shake him. "C'mon, Carl. Wake up! I don't know if I can carry you all the way back. Please, Carl. Please!"

Terror flashed through her blue eyes. She couldn't go back to the river because the men might be there, but she couldn't go to Alexandria because they might be trying to follow them. She'd have to figure something out before Carl lost too much blood. She dragged Carl to a tree and leaned him against it. She took his sheriff's hat off and brushed his brown hair away from his closed eyes. Before she could do more, a large hand that felt like shackles grabbed her from behind.

"Gotcha," laughed a deep voice.

Enid's arm was snatched up in the man's firm grip, and his other hand covered her mouth as she tired to scream and squirm.