Hunted

Chapter Three

The bitterly cold wind angrily whipped my hair around in knots. My legs screamed in pain as I pushed myself to the limit. There was no way in hell I could stop running now.

Tears streamed down my face, staining my flushed cheeks. Gun shots fired behind me causing me to jump; I bit down on my lip to stop myself from screaming which would expose my location. An engine roared to life in the distance almost as if it was a threat towards me.

My legs were shaking with fear to the point that I could no longer stand up. I hid behind the biggest tree near me in hopes that they wouldn't find me. Tears started to sting as I wept uncontrollably, my breathing was speeding as the seconds passed and the cuts on my legs demanded to be felt as they throbbed with pain.

Blinding lights hit the trees in front of me and the engine got louder, clearly getting closer and coming in my direction. There was no way I was going down without a fight. Using all my strength, wincing and inhaling sharply through gritted teeth I managed to pull myself off the ground and lean against the tree.

The engine roared louder still, now I could hear shouting and screaming coming from the people hunting me down. How close were they? Slowly I moved to the edge of the tree and peered round the side, I was blinded with the headlights coming from their truck. It took a couple seconds for my eyes to adjust but then I could just about make out their guns they were threateningly waving in the air. There were five of them in the back of the truck, each with two guns occasionally firing them into the air.

Quickly I hid behind the tree again, careful not to be seen. They were really close. I have a couple of seconds last on this Earth. There was no way in hell I could get away from them. I collapsed onto the ground in defeat with my head in my hands. The only thing I could do now was wait for death to come, I couldn't run from it anymore. I could only sit and listen to the sound of the engine, the sound of death approaching.

These were the longest few seconds of my life, it was like everything was happening in slow motion. Like I was being punished. It felt like I was drowning in emotion. Finally. The engine cut to a sudden stop, the lights still blinding everything in its sight. Guns firing. All the sounds blurred into one deafening mess and everything started to spin. The only thing that was clear in my mind were my dads words echoing 'Never show your enemies weakness'.

That was all I needed, a flicker of hope. No matter how small.

Numb to the pain, I pushed myself off the ground one last time. The tree catching me as I nearly fell. I made my way round the tree and walked out into the blinding lights of the truck, exposing myself to the enemy. I forced myself to stop crying and hide my pain as much as possible. I stood there, feeling no pain, no emotion, prepared to die.