Blood

Howl (27)

Hallo!

I am pleased to be seeing an increase of about 250 reads (give or take) every time I update and I would like to thank you greatly for this! I am aiming for 10,000 reads by the time I finish and stand currently at 8,000 +. I have achieved the 1,000 vote target but I have yet to reach 1,250 comments! Please show your support!

Thanks! Enjoy!

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My feet pounded the damp earth, kicking up mud and soil around me as I raced through the trees.

I had completely discarded my injured foot, the adrenaline being sufficient to block out the pain, and my speed seemed to increase to a point where I could simply go no faster.

Shouts echoed behind me and the loud bangs of pistols, handguns and rifles were frequent, bullets skimming past me dangerously close.

A bullet scraped across my cheek and I let out a small yelp, almost grinding to a halt.

No! Keep going; we can’t stop now! Monique yelled in my mind, shoving her urgency roughly into my consciousness.

The flurry of emotions had me racing on in a second, my strides increasing and becoming longer as I forced myself to my limits. I resumed my speed, my chest heaving heavily and my breathing sounding like a wheezing animal. My heart thumped in my ears, almost drowning out the yells, but I kept going.

I don’t know how long I can keep this up! I thought quickly.

Monique’s distress mixed with my own but she kept her cool all the same.

Keep going in this direction but don’t go straight! We can’t get shot – that would be the end of it! We must keep going till we reach the end of the woods.

Then? I demanded.

We will decide when we get there!

In no mood to argue, I kept running, sliding in and out of the trees and occasionally ducking or leaping up. My coat flared by my sides and a bullet went straight through the side, narrowly avoiding my ribs and leaving a perfect circle in the material.

A small gasp of relief and fear escaped my lips as I ran and that was enough distraction to miss the large root of one of the larger trees.

I fell with a yell of surprise, sent flying forwards a few feet by the speed at which I had been running before I landed. Earth sprayed over me, pulled up from the forest floor as I skidded through the dirt

I leapt up again, abandoning the coat on the ground in my haste, and began to run again.

The men had already gained way too much ground at me and another few bullets whistled by, way to close for comfort.

Exhaustion was now damaging my performance and I could feel my pace slowing agonizingly.

“Come on lads! Shoot the damn girl!” A voice shouted, making me realise how close they were.

Another few shots were taken at which I swerved to the side and picked up a new direction.

I heard a few curses from the angry men but I knew that the move had made them lose some ground on me thankfully.

The trees rushed by, a mixture of green and yellow, and soon my body seemed to swerve naturally around the shrubs and other plentiful obstacles in the undergrowth.

I took a risk and headed straight towards a thicker area of wood, the trees closer together and the branches tangled just a few inches above my head. Their knotted roots were yet another obstacle for me but I knew that these trees would present more difficulties for the men behind than me.