When All is Lost

Chapter 28

My group was slowing at the tree line with a few of their heads swiveling back towards me, but I waved them on, urging them to keep going. "Do they have guns?" I shouted at them, unable to look behind me. I couldn't care if the group behind us heard. I needed to know if distance would help.

"No!" Carlos yelled hugging his rifle to his chest as he helped Paula over a root.

"I don't think so!"

"Only knives I think!"

"I didn't see any," Ian added, agreeing with the others as he waited for me to catch up.

"Then go!" I yelled. "Faster!"

I made it into the tree line, but it seemed as though the group pursuing us had no intention of giving up. They dove right in behind us, chasing us down as we fled with every ounce of energy we had.

"Don't lose sight of them!" A man shouted from what had to have been fifteen feet behind me. "We need those guns!"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

They wouldn't be giving up and neither could we. We needed every resource we had.

Small branches scratched at my face as I ran and raised roots hidden by the snow tripped me up, but I refused to slow my pace. I pumped my arms, taking in short, sharp gasps of frigid air that stung my lungs with each inhale. I was sweating, but I was also shivering. I shook so hard that my balance became unsteady.

It seemed I wasn't the only one struggling. Jamie fell face-first into the snow not far ahead of me.

"Ian," I said between gasping breaths.

"On it." He tugged off his backpack and practically threw it at Misty as he knelt on the ground in front of Jamie.

Jamie wasn't small. He would be a massive weight on Ian's back, but he was struggling too much for us to wait. Ian wobbled a bit as he stood with Jamie, but he managed to take off in a jog. Misty followed close behind, putting Ian's backpack on her back.

We ran for what felt like another five minutes before the forest seemed to grow brighter and then, almost out of nowhere, it simply ended. We were met with a vast, open, and empty field.

"Hurry up!"

It wasn't one of us who yelled. The group was hellbent on catching us.

"Go!" I screamed to my people. A stitch in my side throbbed fiercely as I passed Ian and Jamie. Ian's cheeks were turning red. "You... you guys okay? Jamie, can your run for a bit?"

"Yeah," he answered. He looked terrified but determined.

I paused my run, making the two stop with me. "Ian, put him down."

Jamie slid off Ian's back as Misty caught up. She didn't stop. She simply grabbed Jamie's hand and forced him to run with her. I noticed her cheeks were red and blotchy too. I had a horrible, sinking feeling that it wasn't just the running, but also the weather that was getting to us.

We were running too hot and becoming too cold. Ian and I began to run again and I took the chance to look over my shoulder. Somehow, we'd managed to make a bit of distance between us and our pursuers, but they were still coming.

Facing forward again, I noticed that my group had stopped. As I caught up, I could see why.

This isn't happening.

There was a short drop that lead to a small stream. It cut all the way through the heart of the field. It looked a few feet deep and narrow but it was too wide to simply step over. There was a larger stone that poked its head out of the water, but it was wet, glistening at the top.