Chapter 10

Close but no dice

Black picked up his pace as he recognized familiar surroundings. Emma had a hard time holding him back at a lope. He knew where he was and he wanted to get back to the barn.

It was daylight and Emma had risked following a road that ran parallel to the Canal in order to move quickly. The canal route had too many low hanging branches and she didn't want to risk Daryl getting hit.

He'd passed out as soon as she got him onto Black at the garage. Wanting to travel quickly, she tied Daryl's arms around Black's neck to ensure he didn't fall. It made him more secure in the saddle than he had been. She worried about what that position would do to any broken ribs, but speed was the priority today.

She was breathing so hard she almost didn't hear the car. The sound of Black's hooves clip-clopping on the dirt shoulder masked the sound of the engine's approach. Shading her eyes from the sunlight she peered at the car, recognizing the red dodge charger from the parking lot at the school. There was no doubt in Emma's mind that they had seen her.

"Damn."

She was in the middle of farm land and there wasn't enough brush for her to hide in. Emma wouldn't make it to the nearest building. Emma grabbed the pistol out of Black's saddle bag, and quickly tied the reins up over his head.

Grabbing Black's bridle, she pulled his big brown eye level with hers. "Run. Run home Black."

With a yell she gave the gelding a giant swat on his backside. She screamed at him until he turned tail and ran across a field, making a beeline to the fortress. Emma waited a second to make sure Black didn't slow down as he crossed into the next field, then she turned to run in the opposite direction as fast as her feet could carry her.

Given that she had been running all day along side Black, she knew she didn't have much in the tank to go off. She tripped over herself when she climbed the first fence and decided to dive between the boards of the next one. The dodge charger came to a screeching halt on the road behind her. She head car doors opening.

She glanced back, there were three men and they were following her. Emma ran for a stand of trees in between the fields, hoping to loose them there, or at least put something between her and the nasty looking rifle one of them was carrying.

"She's headed for the trees John!" That was Akhil, it seemed he hadn't drank the coffee afterall.

"Nowhere to run baby!" She recognized John's voice from the Library. "It'll go easier if you give up!"

She made it into the trees when she heard them open fire. Instinctively she ducked her head and ran low. Instead of continuing to run straight, she ran alongside the tree stand in adjacent field, heading for another line of brush.

Emma heard the men crashing through the foliage behind her, they were gaining. Adrenaline kept Emma moving as she reached the next patch of cover.

"Over there!" John yelled.

She didn't bother looking back, she just kept running. Emma crashed through another section of brush, too late realizing there was an old wire fence hidden under the vines, her foot caught on it and she was flung face first down into the dirt.

Those fucker's a raped ya, beat ya, then raped ya again.

Daryl's words rang in her head as she struggled to scramble free from the wire.

In the end, she was too late.

-:{O}:-