I nearly choked to death when they said that. What?! No! It was… Cody! You’re supposed to think it was Cody! He has a big appetite, right?!? I wasn’t expecting them to make this decision, so when they separated to search the area, and Maya neared the bush I was hiding under, I freaked out and dashed away with a yelp. Maya stopped short in surprise and asked, “Nim?!” but I was too busy running for my life to answer her.
Squad eight chased me with their weapons like dogs chasing a fox. It wasn’t easy to shake them off, and a tripped and stumbled a great deal. In my panic I screamed over my shoulder, “I’m sorry! I was just so hungry! Here, take it back!” and flung the remaining meat smack! into Cody’s face, who’d been gaining on to me.
Mega was a fast runner, so she was the first to catch up to me. She tackled me to the ground, my face in the dirt, and pinned down my arms. The others came running up and stood pointing their weapons at me. They searched me, but I had been lucky enough to forget the relic back underneath the bush. All they found was my sword and a bracelet my older sister gave me before she died.
“Where are the others?!” demanded Cody, wiping the meat grease off of his face.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8MyzLpnGd
“The… the others?” I said, spitting some dirt out of my mouth, “What are you talking about?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrwAtdicD2
“Don’t play stupid!” he yelled kicking me, “Where’re your team members?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeaejouCrT
Then I did one of the stupidest and most embarrassing things I ever could have done. I started to cry. “I… I don’t know,” I sobbed, resting my face back into the dirt, “They… they just left.”
Maya’s face softened a little. “Maybe she’s telling the truth,” she said.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OHevtG6hh
“Maybe, but we can’t trust her anyways,” said Megan, then turned to me and asked, “What do you mean they left?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHtSNTqQDv
I did my best to tell the story, excluding a few things I wouldn’t want them to know, for example, stealing the relic. It probably was a little hard to understand because I kept stuttering and sniffing. When I was finished, Cody and Megan put some distance between us to discuss what to do. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying, but was only able to catch a few syllables.
After awhile of arguing, they finally made an agreement. Neither of them looked too happy about the decision, but it was the fairest one they could make. Cody crossed his arms grumpily, and didn’t speak until Megam elbowed him. “We decided not to kill you,” he grumpily began, “and that we going to let you go free---”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPkxLTPdAN
My face brightened. “Oh, thank you!”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZarO9johF4
“If,” he continued, “You help us collect a relic.”
Immediately my smile faded. But it was either that or death, so I unwillingly agreed. After binding my hands behind my back, we headed back to their camp. As they continued to pack up, they sat me down and had Maya keep an eye on me. I didn’t want to leave the relic behind, but I knew I couldn’t retrieve it with Maya watching me like this. Then I came up with a weird idea. I guess it’s worth a try.
“Erm… Maya? I, um… I need to use the, uh, bathroom,” I lied, and couldn’t help blushing as I did so. After all, it’s an embarrassing subject, true or not. She looked unsure, then called over Sherry, who said, “What is it? Is she causing trouble?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoIMm2GfnD
“Well, no…” said Maya in a whisper, glancing over at me, “She needs to use the bathroom.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0fAyDgk6F
Sherry glances over at me. I tried my best to look like I needed to I go. I sure hoped I was a good actor. “Well,” she finally said, “I guess it’s best to let her. Don’t do it here and don’t let her get away.” She ran off before Maya could say anything more. Maya led me a bit into the woods then hesitantly turned away saying, “Tell me when you’re done.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrfBEhsoLl
“ I will.” I answered. I don’t actually have to go, so I can’t be done. So I’m not lying… right?
As soon as she turned away from sight, I crept silently over to the bush that I had been hiding and sleeping in. I had to sit down backwards and awkwardly reach out to grasp the pouch because my hands were tied. Once I had it, I stuffed it into my boot and went back to the spot Maya left me. “Almost done!” I called out, then dashed quietly away into the woods. About five minutes passed before I heard shouting in the distance. They had finally discovered my disappearance, but I was already long on my way.
I continued running for a long time before stopping to catch my breath. I didn’t break for long, though. I had already wasted enough time back in the mansion during the storm and being captured by squad eight. I seriously needed to get going if I wanted to meet up with June and the others before leaving the forest. And it was going to be harder than before - my sword had been confiscated.
The air got chillier as I headed along Northwards. I had managed to get my hands in front of myself by sitting down, curling up my legs, and putting my feet through the loop my arms made, but it still wasn’t easy maneuvering through the bracken with them tied together. I also had a hard time pulling my camouflage cloak about myself for the same reason.
I kept my eyes peeled for a sharp stone, or something to cut the ropes on, but didn’t see anything. The land altered from the flat, evergreen wood to grey, rolling hills and scanty trees, if any. The icy wind whipped my face and blew right through my clothes, chilling me to the very bone. It wasn’t a very safe landscape to be walking through---you could pinpoint anything a mile away, and there weren’t many places to hide.
I traveled along this barren country all day. The most exciting thing that happened was when I saw a black silhouette far away on another hill. I couldn’t tell what kind of freaky monster it was, only that it was very big. I crouched down on the ground so it wouldn’t see me, and it eventually moved on. When the sun began to set, it was as red as blood and shone golden light on the hills before disappearing. I had traveled an ten miles, give or take.
The next day was pretty much the same. I drank whenever I could from little streams which wound their way along before losing themselves somewhere in the hills. I got lucky one time and spotted a rabbit, which I immediately pelted with a stone. It’s beef wasn’t so great uncooked and I accidently swallowed some fur, (which, by the way, didn’t feel so good) but my only other option was to eat some thin-growing purslane.
On the third day of traveling in these plains, also the tenth day of the test, there was finally some change in the terrain. The air was still cold, and it drizzled a little, but the oak and birch trees multiplied as I went along, and the boulders got bigger. As I walked along I picked at my ropes and I rubbed them vigorously against anything that seemed the least bit sharp. By the end of the day, the ropes were frayed to just a few strings, but stubbornly remained intact.
Once again I had a meager supper before plopping down in exhaustion. I was horribly hungry, but couldn’t hunt very well by throwing rocks, especially with my hands stuck together. I curled into a tiny ball as the waning moon rose into the sky and the air dropped a few degrees. The stars weren’t shining so brightly tonight, and it was hard to be optimistic. At least I knew that I was roughly 45 miles into the forest, so the next day should be my last.
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