Numbers That Follows

I have never felt so close and yet so far away from anything before. I could hear people yelling, they noticed I was gone. I have been locked up for so long I forgot what the forest felt like. Full of life and green. By the time someone notices they are heading the wrong way, it will be too late. My plan was to escape, run south for a bit, then circle back to my prison. As soon as they followed the scent south, I would run north. I could hear a river north, so I would run to the river then wade up stream so the scent would be lost. Find somewhere safe to cross, then take off, continuing north. My heart is pounding so hard I am afraid my captures could hear it and ruin the whole plan.