Sorry for the lull of the last one. I had it all in my head but it didn't work out quite so well going onto paper. Hopefully, this one will be more interesting.

Chapter 6

We stop for the night in an old, dilapidated building.

"So," I bite into an apple and eye the girl that escaped with me. "What's your name, kid?"

She had been following me for weeks, mimicking my movements as I cleaned the house and tened to the animals while searching for more weak spots in the Warden's security detail. She was about five years old and lanky. Her long blond hair was dirty and matted and dust covered her face.

"Leah."

"Nice to meet you." I nod to her and then toss her a blanket I had smuggled. "Rest up. Our day starts early tomorrow."

"We're going to die, you know." She states worriedly. "He'll catch up and then we'll die." She hides her face in her knees and I shrug.

"He has to catch up first and we got a pretty good head start. We'll stay here for a few hours and then start moving again. We'll change directions to throw him off and swim a few miles downstream to lose our scent in case he has dogs coming after us." In the end, I knew we'd get away. He may be good, but I was better.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Her brown eyes are wide with wonder.

"A couple times and see? I'm still here aren't I? Now, sleep. If you slow me down, I'm ditching you first chance I get, got it?"

"Got it." She lies down on her side and after a few minutes, allows unconsciousness to ferry her away.

She was so small, so young. She didn't deserve the life she had been dealt or the way she had been treated…and she reminded me of Adva. It wasn't that she needed to escape; it was that I needed to help her.

…

Dusk arrives way too early. I rub my eyes and sigh. Time to get moving. Yay…I can hardly wait…not.

"Come on." I prod Leah awake gently with my foot. She yawns and looks at me blearily.

"Hmm?" Her eyes flicker closed as she tries to drift back to sleep. I tap her harder in the side with my boot. We don't have time for this!

"Time to move out, kid." I say loudly and she whines.

And then we're wearily plowing on. The sun burns our shoulders and thorns bite at our exposed skin, sometimes drawling blood. Our feet stomp in unison as we hop over rocks and weave through the thick forest. Somewhere out there is home. Somewhere out there is my family. My heart marches in step with my body as the invisible bungee cord separating me and mine pulls me home.

Hours drag by. By now, my feet are beginning to blister and burn from all the walking and reunning we've been doing. The Warden would definately be noting my absence by now and I wonder vaguely if he has considered the possibility that I escaped yet or was still searching his own property…probably the former. He was a monster, yes, but a fool he was not.

By the time we reach a town, it is nightfall. My legs wobble and quake beneath me and I know Leah isn't doing much better. We sneak into a hotel room and stay the night. I force her to shower and then we devour everything in the mini fridge.

"Goodnight," Her tiny voice whispers and I smile back at her in response.

Goodnight, little one. I think.

…

Khan flies his ship to the town where he had bought the woman and he looks around casually. She'll be approaching from the north. Given the distance between his property and here, it'll be a few days yet until she arrives, and then he will make her pay dearly.

That's when he sees a picture of a much younger version of the woman plastered to the inside of a school window. Curious, he wanders in.

"Hello?" A receptionist asks him. "Can I help you? Are you here for a pickup?"

"No. I came here to inquire about the picture in the window," Khan says neutrally and he nods towards the window to drive the point home before smiling a little to help put the lady more at ease.

"Oh, this…? Yes, she used to be a student here. A tragic thing really. Her entire family died in a housefire…not sure how it started. They were sleeping that night and, poof, place went up in flames. We never did find the bodies of the two girls, Meira and Adva, but we figured they'd have died. No one ever saw them again and they were always in town helping out doing one thing or another: volunteering at the local animal rescue, spending time at the local nursing home, or helping out in the soup kitchen. They were such nice kids. Quiet, sure, but they had good hearts…"

"And what about the older one?"

"Oh, Meira?" The woman frowns. "What about her?"

"What was she like?"

"Well, she was a regular puzzle, I suppose. She was bullied often but didn't usually defend herself, but she watched over her sister with a vengeful passion. Mess with the little one, and you'd find yourself in the ER."

"Sister?" Khan's eyebrows knit themselves together. So that's why she escaped. Family could drive anyone to do impossible things—even end their lives. He of all people should know that.

"Yes, Adva. She loves horses. Every day Meira and her would walk four miles to my house just so Adva could pet my horse and feed her some sugar cubes." Well, that explained why the woman, Meira, had taken an interest in and helped care for his mare without him asking it of her: it was something her younger sister would have done.

The lady continues to speak: "She was a sweet child. Quiet, but sweet. It was a real tragedy what had happened, but that's life I suppose. Why all the interest?" She cocks her head to the side inquiringly.

"Just curious." Khan shrugs, "Do you mind if I take this article with me?" The woman frowns but hands Khan the newspaper from the window and then he leaves without a second glance at her.

"Well, you're welcome!" She yells at his back.

He says nothing to her.

He mind whirls with questions: why wouldn't they tell anyone that they had lived? That woman seemed to care for them, why didn't they just go live with her? Why allow everyone to think they were dead?

So many secrets, so few answers. It was infuriating!

Well, he knew buying that slave would make things interesting. He may as well start looking around.