It's strange. I was a slave for the entire eighteen years of my life and I was never chased once. Now I'm free for less than twelve hours and I'm more wanted than I've ever been.

I run behind Rene and Nick, focusing on keeping up with them and not on the men only a dozen or so yards behind us. "Hey, where are we going?" I yell up to them.

They glance at one another and for a moment the only answer is the crackling of the leaves being crunched under our footfalls. My heart skips a beat when I understand what that means.

"I was following you," Nick sputters at Rene.

"How can you be following me when you're in front?" Rene questions sharply.

"We're side by side, Rene."

"Are you kidding me?" I cut in. "Does either one of you know we're going?"

"Don't get snippy with us, kid," Nick snaps. "You're the reason we're in this mess, remember?"

"Passing blame won't help right now," Rene gasps, breathless from running.

"Yeah, well it sure helps me," Nick mutters. "And for the record I told you helping her was a mistake." He grabs Rene's elbow and pulls her to a stop.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Against my better judgement, not ditching you." Taking my arm with his free hand he guides the two of us toward a wide oak tree.

I jerk away from him. "I'm asking again: what are you doing?"

"Shut up, will you?" He and Rene squat in front of the trunk of the tree. I reluctantly do the same. It does in fact shield us from sight in the direction the men are sure to come from in a few minutes.

Nick scowls at the dirt beneath his boots. He stabs a finger into the sand, before speaking. "Listen, you really are too dangerous to be around right now. Slave hunters have a pretty good description of you and they know the route you're on."

So, he is ditching me after all? I open my mouth to call him a coward, but he raises his hand for me to let him finish.

"But we won't leave you alone. Me and Rene—," he glances at her and she gives him a faint smile— "it's really important that we get where we're going. We can still only get you to Nebraska, if you're really serious about getting to Canada, you would still have South and North Dakota to go through by yourself."

"I know that." I also know it sounds ridiculous. How can a wanted slave girl make it across two and a half states on her own? I don't blame him for wanting to be rid of me. In fact, if the roles had been reversed, I would have left him a long time ago no question. Survival isn't supposed to win you any friends.

"Okay. Here's what we're gonna do." He starts to move his finger in the dirt, drawing out lines. Those men are coming from the east so we're going to head south. The brush gets thicker through there; they'll lose sight of us. They know they're looking for a girl slave so it'll throw them off if they see me first. I'll head straight out." He drags his fingertip in the dirt, making a line that represents a path. "I won't veer off; I'll go straight up and into the bushes. Next Rene, you and the kid follow. They don't know which of you is the girl they're after. The wanted poster said they wanted her back alive so they're shouldn't be any shooting."

I raise an eyebrow. "Shouldn't be?"

Nick gives a loud sigh. "I could always ask them pretty please if you want."

"Oh, yes do," I patronize in a sickly-sweet tone.

He chuckles and stands up, but is careful to stay behind the tree. "Wait and follow ten seconds after you can't see me, then you two leave together, got it?"

"Got it." Rene reaches up and briefly laces her fingers through Nick's.

"Oh here," he reaches into his bag and comes out with a small revolver. He holds it out to me.

"I don't know how to shoot," I admit, but I take it anyway. It's heavy and cold against my hand. A bit of rust and gunpowder coats the underside.

"Don't worry, it's empty. If you need to, I hope you know how to bluff." He gives me a slight nod before darting off into the open.

"There's one of the blacks now," shouts one of the hunters. "No wait, where's the girl?"

"They must have scattered," answers one of his partner's.

"Three...four...five..." Rene counts under her breath.

My muscles tense like twine being woven into a basket.

"Eight...nine...ten. Go!" We both head in the direction Nick went.

"There she is." I don't know if they're referring to me or Rene, but I don't pause to ask. A loud bang sends shock waves through my chest. I smell smoke in the air. Gunshots. They're firing at us after all. They're willing to risk me being fatally shot and jeopardizing the amount of their award money.

The next shot whistles by so close I can feel the wind it makes breeze across my elbow. The bullet hits the tree ahead of me, exploding some of the bark. Surprised by this, I trip over my own feet and hit the ground.

"Lyric," Rene stops, turns around to come back to help me.

"No," I shake my head and wave her away. Go, I mouth. Go.

She hesitates, but the men are coming down the slope now and will reach us in a moment. I motion forcefully for her to leave and she finally does. I couldn't jump up and follow her because I feel into a thorn patch. The thorns cling to my dress and my hair, keeping me in place.

Frantically my hands tear and rip at the bottom of my dress. I manage to tear the material, but it doesn't rip away until the hem of my dress is up to my knees. The thorns scrape bare flesh, but they're not holding me down. I jerk my head forward, wincing when the sharp plants pull at my roots, but my hair comes loose. I scramble to my feet; the gun Nick gave me hits the inside of my pocket against my thigh. Running for the brush that will bring the hunters exactly to where Nick and Rene are. Should I care? Survival isn't supposed to win you any friends.

Mari's blueish, choked face flashes into my mind. And the decision is made for me. I run in the opposite direction.

"Don't let her get away, but shoot her only if you have to."

I pick up speed and duck under a tree limb. Skinny branches tear at my scars as I go. I'm not far ahead of the hunters, their loud and close noises spurring me to go faster.

Ahead an embankment cuts into the ground. Glancing over my shoulder, I'm out of sight of the hunters so I duck down to hide.

I press my back against the dirt wall caused by the slope of the embankment. Flecks of sand fall from the wall as my back causes it to shift from the rapid rising and falling of my chest. Attempting to quiet my breathing, I close my mouth and breath in through my nose. The earthy smell of the forest fills my lungs. Birds sing a happy note from somewhere close by. The woods would probably be a beautiful, peaceful place if I wasn't running for my life through them.

Almost without thinking I slip my hand into my pocket and pull out the gun. It's heavy in my hand. It glints in the sunlight that peeks in through the trees. It's warm in some spots from being in my pocket, but still cold in others. It looks lethal. But it's not. Without bullets, it can't protect me at all, but it might be able to buy me some time.

Footsteps from another direction pound the ground. I can't pinpoint if they're coming from the side or behind me. I grip the handle of the gun so tight it turns my knuckles white. Don't see me. Don't. See. Me.

The footsteps run hard and fast, almost unevenly. Whoever it is must be in a frenzy to find me. I count my heartbeats and prepare to fight or flight, when the toe of a boot clips me across the face and I hit the ground.

~

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but hope you enjoyed it. Vote and comment to let me know. See you next week!