a TV in the corner. At least she was given extra things and she wasn’t covered in bruises.
Melanie breathed hard as she looked at me. “Oh my fucking god…”
“We’ve got to go. Got to get a head start before the storm hits.”
“I…” She looked around her cabin, like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave.
“I’m not sure if this will make you feel better or not, but I’m scared too.”
Her emotional eyes shifted back and forth as she looked into mine.
I pulled the flashlight out of my pocket and placed it in hers, along with the bottle of water and the plastic bag of nuts. I kept the knife for myself. “We can do this.”
“Did you get a horse?”
I shook my head. “It’s bolted.”
“How far can we get on foot?” She whispered even though no one was around.
“We just have to hide from them. They’ll eventually give up…and we can take our time.”
“Raven, we won’t survive long enough to take our time—”
“I’m going. Are you coming with me or not?”
She hesitated.
“Don’t make me leave you here…but I will.” I wanted to get her out of here, but I couldn’t force her, couldn’t force her to be brave. I wouldn’t stay just to be near her. I would roll the dice and hope for the best out in the wilderness. Just because she wanted to remain a prisoner didn’t mean I had to do the same.
She finally nodded. “Alright.” She put on her boots, pulled on her jacket, and then opened her drawers to stuff her pockets with the extra food she had lying around. She had an extra bottle of water, so she took that too. “Okay, let’s go.”
I looked at my little sister, seeing the same look of terror that she’d had in her gaze when we were growing up. She’d always been scared of the unknown, but that was just how she was. I never judged her for it. Magnus called her weak, but that wasn’t how I saw her. I pulled her in and embraced her, hugged her for the first time since our capture. “We’re gonna make it.”
She clutched me hard and nodded against me.
“Let’s go home.” I walked to the front door, poked my head out to see my surroundings, and then nodded for her to join me. We shut the door behind us and headed for the tree line, the darkness of the forest, the loud creaking sounds haunting.
Melanie stayed at my side and gripped my arm once we stepped into the trees. “I can’t see.”
“It’s fine. Keep going.”
“Can we use the flashlights?”
“Not now. We’re too close to camp.” But we really did step into the pitch-blackness, and our only guide to our surroundings was the wail of the shifting trees. It was the only way to navigate and not strike a tree. There were no stars in the sky because a blanket of clouds covered it, so we couldn’t use the starlight to distinguish through the silhouettes either.
With our hands held together, we moved through the darkness…and escaped.
With our flashlights on, we navigated through the darkness, pointing at the bases of the trees to make sure we didn’t crash into anything. Our feet fell deep into the snow with every step. It was hard to move at a decent pace because we continued to shuffle forward, our legs aching as we pushed through the cold resistance.
“Won’t they see our tracks?” Melanie looked behind her, pointing her flashlight over the streaks in the snow.
“The storm is supposed to hit in a few hours. The wind will cover it.”
“Hope so…”
I kept the lead, not knowing how deep this forest was. The trees were close together, so it would be difficult for the horses to come this way, but not the hounds. We had to keep moving quickly.
“Fuck, it’s cold out here.”
“Just think about a hot cup of coffee in front of the fireplace.” I was too focused to feel cold, too determined to get the hell out of here to worry about the elements.
“Did Magnus at least give you a direction?”
“No.” His help only went so far.
Melanie groaned as she trudged through the snow.
I kept going…unsure when this forest would end.
The storm hit so unexpectedly. It was calm, and then suddenly, it was raging full force.
It was like being hit by a freight train.
Melanie fell several times, but I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up. The wind was fierce, daggers in our eyes, and our eyes began to smart, only to