Darkness
Was all I saw. I was alone, afraid, anxious. Snap, crack. Another crossbow fired on target, just below my feet, but did they know? Did they know I was here or did they think that their arrows were off target? Was I still safe? Did they think I was somewhere else? They wanted this. They wanted me to feel
Fear
Ripped through my body as I heard footsteps approaching. I felt sick.
This was it, my last day. I will never see another sun set or my dad's deep brown eyes, reassuring me it will be ok.
A dogs bark, a man's call, scratches on a tree. They were close, too close. Anxiety gripped my stomach in an iron fist. I could not move, not see, not breathe in fear that the tiniest sound would alert them to me. The footsteps receded, the barking became muffled and soft. The silence was deafening. I left out a ragged breath signalling my
Relief
Made me shiver and caused the smallest of smiles to etch into my dry cracked lips. My muscles tingled as I began to move. I was numb and sore all over. How long had I been in here? I was still as silent as a mouse, still cautious, still aware as I moved from my hiding place in that log. The sun burned my sore tired eyes and danced across my mat of golden hair. I smoothed out my clothes as best I could and tried to figure out a way to cross the river when I heard it. A low growl coming from not too far away. I froze, breath caught, ears strained.
Terror
Filled my every move. I had come so far, so far for a girl my age. I was going to die for a crime I didn't commit, someone else's mistake, so why am I the one to die? Slowly I turned, keeping my muscles taut and my ears alert, but I hear no more than I saw. Nothing, silence, safety. I quickly scurried back to my log, to cover, to protection. Snap…snap, snap. Twigs were breaking and leaves were being crushed hastily. It was a trap, they wanted me to come out myself. Of course they did, this is what the sport is all about. The thrill of it, the excitement of outsmarting your prey. They were hunting me, a prisoner they let loose in the woods. If you outsmart them you live, if they outsmart you, you die. I ran. I headed straight for the river only about five hundred metres away from here. My arms and legs burned and the only thing keeping me going was
Adrenaline
Pumped through my veins as I sprinted through the woods. I was certain they were chasing me now. I heard cries and barking dogs as they charged through after me. Trees whipped my face and scratched my bear arms, my skirt kept falling and catching on sticks and rocks. I was suddenly jarred to a halt as my dress caught on a tree branch jutting out in my path. I ripped and tugged to no avail. My heart beat faster my tugs growing more and more desperate. The fabric was ripping but at an alarmingly slow rate. My heart squeezed, they were getting closer, I was a sitting duck. Rip. I was free. Not wasting any more time, I sprinted the last hundred metres to the lake, where I was met with more men. My world slowed as I hit the muddy bank of the river. Men grabbed my arms in and iron vice. I kicked and screamed, bit, pulled but it was useless. They had me. Twang. A cross bow fired…into the man on my right, then left and the two others around me. What? I cast a quick glance back to see a man lowering his cross bow and continuing his chase for me. I didn't dare give it a second thought. I ran for the river's shore line. I was going to make it. I was going to live another day, to see my mother and father's faces, hear my little brothers first words, smell the wonderful smell of freshly cooked bread. My heart fluttered inside my chest. My feet splashed the river water. Twang, thud, pain
Silence.