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Chapter 9: Escape

Hey, I have a challenge for you all! If I reach 100 reads OR 30 votes, I will post a chapter from Benjamin's POV! Good luck and enjoy❣️ :) 

The next morning, the woman was gone. She was extremely paranoid last night, so I'm guessing she ran away out of sheer terror, but that means she could have run into the hands of the masked men. Ben and I were quite worried about her wellbeing, until we found a short note that she left for us.

I had to go. They are hunting me. I went somewhere safe, don't worry. I didn't want them to come and find you with me if they found me. I don't want you to get hurt on my account.

Diane H.

"She's safe, and that's good..." Were the only words Ben was able to find. I wasn't able to say much more. "Do you think they're hunting us Ben?" He wrinkles his brow "I'm not sure... I hope they aren't, but they're not waiting in the shadows anymore that's for sure..." 

I nod and he suddenly grabs my hand. "I've been thinking, this spot is too noticeable Mar... If they are hunting, this is one of the first spots they'll look. Besides, we're running out of food here." He gestures to the few bags of ships and containers of applesauce in the corner. "But I have no idea where we would go..." Suddenly I have an idea. "The supermarket at the end of the street!" He looks at me and raises his eyebrow. "We can go there. They have locks and shelves so we can barricade the door, and there's a bunch of food, and a bathroom! The only problem is, how do we get there, and what is they're already there?" "That's actually a really good idea Mar!" He says with a smile. "What if we took the path through the overgrown garden over there! The colorful shrubs will kind of hide us, unless one of the masked men looks close enough. It's a stretch, but we need to survive. I agree, and we grab two crow bars from a back shelf and try to move the cabinet as quietly as possible.

We open the creaky door as quietly as we can and looked around for masked men. When we didn't see anybody around, we decided to make a run for it. We bolted out across the streets and into the garden, our hearts beating and adrenaline rushing through our veins. We were lucky that we weren't spotted. We jump into the shrubs and begin to make our way through the plants and flowers. When we reach three quarters of the way, a feeling hits me. It seemed to quiet. I would have expected to see something by now. I look around and make sure that we're not being stalked. I peer over the bushes that rise above me. I don't see anybody. 

Then, I feel something move in front of me. I whip my head around, and find myself staring into the face of a masked man. He tilts his head silently. I scream and run sideways, and the man runs after me. I dart forewords and try to jump through the leaves. I hear Ben running through the shrubs beside me. As I jump, my shirt gets snagged in the plants, and I rip it in order to keep running. We hear the panting of the masked man as he runs behind us. He was catching up. We see others up ahead, but we are lucky enough to have reached the sidewalk in front of the store already. I hear a yelp from Ben and turn around. The masked man had him by the wrist. He wrenched out of his grasp with a shout and we throw open the door of the shop and scurry inside. My heart was beating so hard. We cover the door with a stack of chairs that was sitting behind it. The masked men slam on the windows as we back up behind the counters. They were hitting the glass so hard, I thought they were going to break it. Then, we would be doomed. The slamming gets louder. There must be more. Then I hear a crash. 

It's all over, I thought.