4

Sarah sprinted from the school, gasping for breath. She heard shouts as the police still stationed outside spotted her and began to chase her.

Oh, crap. Not good. Sarah reached the path running from her school down to the nearest major street. It was fenced by trees.

Big trees…

Sarah skidded to a stop, thankful that ice hadn't arrived to turn the path into a small luge. Gathering her legs under her she jumped, just as police arrived at the top of the path. Shivering in the concealing branches, she watched as the police raced by underneath her.

She sighed slightly, relieved. Thank the Force.

Soon, though, she remembered her larger predicament and turned pale. Darth Vader, killer of the Jedi, after her! It wasn't as if she was a danger to him or his Emperor. She was just a kid! Well, sixteen, but still not old enough to really fight him. She whimpered quietly as she felt the cuts he had inflicted on her stomach.

"A little lost Jedi, crying alone in a tree? I thought you had a little more steel in your spine, little one." Vader appeared on the path below her, eating an apple and smirking up at her.

"Leave me alone!" Sarah snarled, enraged at her own helplessness.

"Please," Vader snorted, "I tracked you this far, do you think that I would be deprived of my prize?" He smiled again, "This is actually quite enjoyable."

"Glad you're amused." Sarah muttered, clinging to a branch that seemed suddenly quite unstable. She glanced around, looking for a weapon, an escape route, anything…

A large tree stump caught her gaze. The soil around it had mostly eroded thanks to the rain, and it looked like it could fall at any moment.

She concentrated for a moment, then sent it flying toward Vader.

It stopped a foot from his face, and he smiled up at her. "Very good." He gestured with one hand and sent the stump crashing against her tree.

The tree shuddered and bucked, throwing her free of its branches. She landed with a scream and a thump at his feet. Then all was dark.

Sarah woke with a groan. Her left arm felt like someone had taken to hitting it with a white-hot piece of steel. Clutching her arm, she weakly opened her eyes.

She blinked twice in bafflement as her own ceiling greeted her. She quickly glanced around, confirming that she was, in fact, in her own bedroom. A breeze wafted in from an open window, making her familiar white curtains dance. She gingerly sat up and tried to move her arm. Waves of pain greeted her at the motion, and she gasped. Grasping her forearm tightly, she chanced a glance down at it.

The arm was a blue-black mess, swollen to twice its normal size. She winced as she saw the deep scratches, some of which still oozed blood. She tried to rise, but as soon as her feet touched the ground a wave of dizziness swamped her, and she slumped back onto the bed, eyes already closing.

"Sarah…oh Sarah," A singsong voice broke though her troubled sleep. "Wake up, little Jedi."

"What?" Sarah moaned and her eyes fluttered. She bit her lip to keep from crying out at the pain in her arm, which had doubled since the last time she woke. She opened her eyes and screamed.

It wasn't much of a scream, as screams go. It was weak, and it was short, but it was a scream.

Sarah jumped into a sitting position and scuttled into a corner between two walls before she even registered the thought to move. Vader knelt calmly beside her bed, toying idly with his small knife. He looked amused at her terror, and moved to put his elbows on the bed. Sarah whimpered and tried to back further away from that knife, but she was stuck in a corner.

"Poor little Jedi…you're trembling." Vader smiled cruelly.

"Stop toying with me." Sarah tried to keep the stammer from her voice and mostly succeeded. "Spare me or kill me."

"All in good time, child." He leaned forward to whisper to her, "I have a secret to tell you."

"Oh goody." Sarah pressed herself against the wall, frightened of his power and his cruelty.

"My Master called me…he needs my services in a week." He whispered.

"Do his boots need licking?" Sarah tried to insult him. Perhaps he'd kill her quickly.

Vader laughed softly, "Good, I almost thought you had broken." He leaned closer, "I will give you two hours to run. Go anywhere…make it difficult for me. I want an enjoyable hunt."

"Oh, as long as you have fun…" Sarah's voice shook as she stared into his eyes, only inches away.

He smiled, "I will hunt you for three days. If I catch you during that time I will be very disappointed. You don't want me to catch you."

"Naturally. I'm sure you'd have use for that." She nodded at the knife.

"This?" He laughed, "How quaint. I'm sure I can be a little more creative." He cocked his head slightly, bringing his blade up to rest lightly on her face, "Although some consider me an artist with this…"

"I hear many artists like paint."

"Perhaps. But blood makes a good substitute. As I said, you have three days to run."

"I thought you said your Master wants you in a week."

Vader smiled evilly, "I did. You are the last of the Jedi, young one. I need the extra four days to make up for the quick deaths of the others."