The Hunted

chapter six

I love how your instincts really kick in when you're in serious danger. 

   My mind is a blur, but several thoughts are clear:

  Escape. Now. Run. Far away.

      And so I did.

After only having a night's worth of peace, our camp was ambushed by a small group of hunters. I'm almost positive they were elk, but it's not like I was actually paying attention to that. I was more focused on well, I dunno, STAYING ALIVE. 

    My companions, however, didn't seem to care to much about their lives. Instead, they wanted to get all of their meaningless items, like jewelry and dessert food. 

    I was almost a mile ahead by the timed they started to get moving. And by then, there were elks everywhere, closing in on their prey. 

    I stopped, looking back. There was no way they would make it without me. Sighing, I began to run back to them, risking my own life to save theirs. Aren't I a hero? You bet I am. I decided to help Aren first. 

   I tugged on her arm, trying to pull her away so I could get her to safety. But she didn't budge.

"What's the matter with you!?" I cried.

    "I left my hairbrush, Fig," Aren replied. 

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR HAIRBRUSH, NOW GET MOVING!" I roared.

    She ran off as fast as she could. I had to stay behind, though, to help the rest.

I handed Joven the walking stick he was looking for, then pushed him forward. He got my message, and started sprinting away. Two down, four to go.

    Father was standing still, looking rigid, like a statue. He was paralyzed by fear.

I shook him violently until he snapped out of it. 

   "I'm not dead?" he asked me.

"No, dad, you're not dead. You will be soon, though, so start running!" I told him.

   He did as I said. 

Abbus and the two sisters now knew there was no time left to daudle.  They followed behind father, and I joined them.

   The elks were only yards behind us. They had guns. They had so many guns...

My heart skipped a beat. I kept picturing a red hot bullet burrowing itself into my skull. It seemed so real, that I almost felt the pain. 

   But it wasn't real. and so I kept going. 

Not one of us started to slow down. It would've been too risky. 

   The animals gave up. They stopped, shrugged, and turned around, aimlessly trudging home.

"Whew!" Joven exclaimed. 

   Father nodded. "My legs are burning!"

"Me too!" I said.

  "So this is our new camp?" Sietta asked softly. 

"It looks like it," Aren replied.

    The landscape of our camp was no different from our previous one. This was neither good, nor bad. I was just happy to have a place where I could sleep in peace for a few hours. I think everyone else felt the same way. 

    "Hey, Fig?" Aren said.

"Yeah?" I answered.

   "I was wondering... why didn't you act like the rest of us?"