with her bound wrists. Was there some kind of wild animal here? Someone from another group of insurgents that had found them?
Looking to her left, she sensed the man she was tied to was still asleep. He didn’t tug on the rope at all, even though she knew it was still around his waist. It lay slack on the ground between them, only ten feet separating them from one another. He didn’t stir as she looked over at him in the darkness. She couldn’t see him but knew he was there. She didn’t hear him move.
She looked to the right, where the campfire lay dying thirty or so feet away, but she didn’t see any movement near there either.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching only a few feet away, and as she parted her lips to scream, a gloved hand covered her mouth. A man crouched down in front of her, seemingly decked out in combat gear and holding a weapon. She couldn’t see him in the darkness, merely felt his vest, gun, and other equipment as he hovered over her. She tried to kick at him and wrestle away, tugging at the ropes binding her wrists as she did. Her back dug into the rocks she’d been leaning against, and she pulled harder, fighting both the restraints and the man silencing her.
Her captor felt the pull of the rope at his waist and mumbled in his sleep a few feet away before jumping up, yelling.
“I’ve got the package,” the man in front of her said in clipped tone. He pulled a knife from somewhere on his person and she fought harder, biting at his hand and then screaming as he pulled it away. She froze as he sliced through the rope binding her, while another man sprang out of nowhere and knocked her captor to the ground with a loud umph.
Voices were suddenly shouting from every direction, and she looked frantically around as the mystery man yanked her to her feet. Without thinking, she kneed him in the groin. He cursed as he bent down, and she heard him yelling something in English as she turned and ran the opposite way.
Her wrists were still bound together and tears streamed down her cheeks, but at least she was free. The guy had cut the rope tethering her to the insurgent.
Someone reached out, trying to stop her, but she leapt away and kept running through the darkness.
The men around the campfire were yelling and firing their weapons into the air now. She dove to the ground, crawling across the pebbles and rocks as best she could, staying low to avoid getting hit by a stray bullet. Her wrists hurt, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t look back.
She was panicked and scared, and she didn’t even know who it was that had covered her mouth, preventing her from yelling.
“Kimberly Turner!” a deep voice shouted.
In her fear, she didn’t even think to wonder how any of the men would know her name. She heard yelling behind her but jumped up and ran again, stumbling down the mountain and away from both groups of men. Away from the man wearing gloves and holding a knife. Away from the terrorists who’d kidnapped her.
Gunfire sounded again behind her, and she heard men fighting and yelling.
She tripped and fell in the darkness, wincing as she landed on her side. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard of a fall, and she struggled a moment before standing. She pulled at her wrists, trying to wrench them free, but the knot on the rope was too tight. After she got further away, she could work at it, trying to untie her bindings.
She needed to escape. To get away from all of them.
The sound of gunfire grew quieter the further she got. She tripped over some weeds, stumbling again, but kept moving. It was a long way down to the base of the mountain, but if she could get far enough away, she could hide. After she freed her wrists, she’d keep moving until morning. She wouldn’t stop until she was safe.
Kim heard rustling behind her and knew she was being followed. Would they shoot her rather than let her get away? How’d they even know which way she’d gone in the pitch darkness?
She heard yelling in Farsi, and her head swiveled to the right. A third group of men seemed to be rushing toward the area they’d been camped in. She heard footsteps thumping on the ground and wondered where they’d all