It's a wonder that we're here now. It's a wonder that I managed to kill that guard. He's dead, for sure. I twisted his neck. Even though I swore to myself never to kill anyone ever again.
I did it for her.
This guy didn't deserve to die. Well, probably he was a bad man, following the orders of a bad regime that ordered him to treat people badly, but that doesn't mean he deserves death. I shouldn't have been his last judgement.
I did it for Audrey. Like everything else. I took his gun, his taser, and his clothes. For the first time in months, I wear shoes again now.

I've kept her behind me, the whole way out, while I kept the gun in front. The way is lined with corpses now. I killed the two guards on the lower floor, just while they were locking the doors. Their keys were within reach. I took their guns and ammo, and I used it.

There's still some left, but right now I don't even need it.

This was not a high-security prison building. The problem is, that it is in the middle of a wide military complex that we still haven't left. When we reached the exit, we were surprised to see that it was night. Maybe that was the reason for the low number of guards. Must be.
We started running, away from the buildings, across a shooting range, taking cover behind the wooden targets that they built in the middle of the flat land. On the other side of the compound there's a forest. But that would have been the logical place to go - but also the place where they're looking for us now, not knowing that we're somewhere else.

I crouch down behind one of their targets. I'm out of breath and every other step hurts, but I'll keep going. Maybe Audrey was right all the way from the beginning: we do have a chance to get out of here. We've made it out of the building and the compound will be the next thing for us to leave behind.

I look around in the dark - Audrey ran a few yards behind me. She needs a few seconds to catch up with me, until she crouches down in the same place with me, behind a wooden wall resembling a mock tank. She's out of breath. Just like me. Probably it's the first time for her to run at all, ever since months. I can't blame her for being slow. I should have looked back earlier, going slower myself not to leave her that far behind.

It's hard to see her contours at night, so I lean over until I can feel her body. Are you okay?, I whisper into her ear.

Uh-hm She's totally out of breath. But I have to demand even more from her now.

Do you see the river, over there? It's shimmering in the moon light, about two hundred yards away from us. Flat terrain, no chance to take any cover. If they spot us running over there, we're done running.

I give her a few more moments to catch her breath again, before I force her to stand up and run once more. The first few yards I tear her along, having grabbed her hand, to save her some energy. But when we reach the open terrain, I push her in front of me - if they spot us, they'll shoot. I am the only cover she has.

I saw the motion sensor too late - when I noticed the little red flash, a laser, in which we had run into. The side down to the river is not as ill-protected as I had hoped for.
Their cars come out of the forest again, where they searched for us, and over to us! We have to run faster. I can't.
I dare to look back, to see how much time we still have. Not much. They're five hundred yards away only, and we have another fifty to run.
They start firing at us.

Audrey screams as she hears bullets zip by on both sides. Their aim is not very good, out of a driving car, onto two moving targets.

At least she runs faster - I have to do that, too, to catch up with her.

We didn't have that much of a plan. Get out, get away. But when I saw the river, the decision was done: this was our only way out. As I plunge into the water, a few seconds after Audrey, I just hope that the current will be strong and take us away quickly.

It does.
Audrey is already ten or twenty yards ahead. The guards are gonna shoot at the things they see - I'll give them a target. She's doing it right. She doesn't attempt to cross the river, just swims along with the current, as I told her. That's the fastest way out.

I'm too exhausted and too tired to do it like her. I can hardly keep myself overwater.
As a piece of driftwood comes by, I gladly take it and hold on to it, so I don't have to swim any more. I'm done. I can't go on. I can't move. It's time for a break.

It's hard to make out Audrey in the dark. She's already a lot ahead, and it looks like hearing the bullets gave her more powers than ever. She has to make it. And she will, I'm sure.
I have to move my legs, at least. Do something to get away from here faster. Swim, damn it!

A few minutes later, I hear that typical sound of a boat engine. They have boats. Of course they have boats, damn it.
I look back - it's only one, with a giant searchlight.

I have no chance.
I never had.
There is a time to live the idea of possible freedom - but there's also one to be realistic. I can't make it out of here. I'm drifting on a river, they have a boat, probably more than only one.

Once more I try to spot Audrey, but I can't make her out in the dark. She's somewhere ahead of me. The boat is behind me.
The searchlights are not allowed to find her - even if it means that I'll make them find me.

I change direction an swim out into the middle of the river, away from the shore, where the ground troops would probably take care of me.

It doesn't take them long to find me, with their searchlight.

They're not firing any more: they want me alive. Of course they want me alive, to give me back to the Russians. I guess they had to pay a huge deposit.

I swim faster holding on to the branch of driftwood, trying to give them the impression that I was heading for the other side of the river - which means that they'll look for Audrey there. It'll give her time. I told her never to cross the river. It's nonsense - it takes a lot of power, it only slows one down and it is dangerous to be in the middle of the river, with no cover on any side.
I hope she sticks to the few advice that I gave her: stay close to the edge, but enough inside the river to use the faster current. Staying close will mean that your legs can reach the ground when you get tired, making it easier not to drown. When a boat comes, you can get the hell out and take cover somewhere. Don't stay there too long. Go back into the water and make a getaway.
If there comes a large town, get out of the water, you'd be too easy to spot. And it's quite easy to hide somewhere in a town. Continue to travel at night.

Well, that's not necessary anyway. The only town - the only lights, that I can see are far behind us. There was a town, upstream of the military complex. The direction that we're going, there's only darkness for now.

Audrey didn't want to hear all that. She didn't want to hear me talk about getting parted, about what to do in case I wouldn't make it.
But I had to tell her. I always knew that I wouldn't make it out of here. I had that feeling. I am getting proven right.

No matter how hard I try to get out of the cone of light again, their searchlight is merciless. They're closing in on me.

I have to distract the boat for as long as I can. If there is only one boat, it means that if I can distract them, Audrey's chances will improve significantly.

Something hits the water next to me. A bullet? Damn it, what about giving me back to the Russians?
A wave of panic comes over me.

Go faster.
If not for freedom, then at least to make it out of here alive.

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