Fighting My Way Out

Goodbye

It didn't take long for the howl of hunting dogs to reach my ears and if they were released they would be on me in no time at all. Behind me, Holden was yelling something that falls on pounding ears deaf to anything but a racing heart and the howl of a predator. I was too panicked to pay him mind; I refused to be a prisoner again.

Howls got closer, human yells added to it, angry and demanding. I reached the woods before they got too close, thorns and twigs digging into my bare feet and lower legs. I looked back toward Holden once safely behind a thick tree. He wasn't as fast a runner as I was and had tripped over something buried under the snow. I remained hidden as guards and dogs descended upon him, crowding above him like wild predators. His screams reached my ears in a cry of mercy, driving a blade into my heart. The dogs barked wildly above his wet-sounding cries. And then all was deafeningly silent. I was so afraid to even breath, fearful they might have heard me all those yards away.

The dogs were far too interested in what remained bloody on the ground to care about hunting something new. But I knew the humans would spot my footprints in the snow and track me down. My mind was screaming at me to move, but my body refused to respond. But after yelling other profanities in my mind, my feet finally stepped away from the trunk of the tree. Delving deeper into the woods, I couldn't see where I was headed. They sky above was cloudy with no moon to light my way as I stumbled around. Low branches latched on to my hair, clawed at my arms, and tugged on my clothes. I gave those none of my attention as I continued my invisible path to an unknown place.

Howls echoed around me, sounding too close in the vastness of the trees. I quickened my burning feet to move, trying desperately to ignore the bruises and frostbite all over my body. I became aware of all the injuries my body must have endured the last few days, growing more extensive with each step I took. I had to ditch the dogs and humans behind me if I hoped to survive again, so I had to ignore any pain I had. I knew when that was all over, I could worry about whatever my body had been subjected to, but now was not the time or place to pause and contemplate the state of my battered frame.